photo by: Carter Gaskins

Lawrence High's Zeke Mayo (2) shoots over Lee Summit's Tommy Erwin (24) during the Blue Valley Shootout on Friday, Dec. 07, 2018.

TOPEKA — With his feet planted firmly on the Topeka West Charger logo, which was a good distance beyond the arc, Lawrence High sophomore Zeke Mayo decided to let it fly.

Mayo’s shot splashed through the net with three seconds left in the first half, giving Lawrence a 1-point advantage. LHS carried that momentum over to the second half, recording an 82-66 victory over Topeka West Thursday night at Topeka West.

The win helped the Lions (7-1, No. 3 in Class 6A) advance to the semifinals of the Topeka Invitational Tournament, where they are set for a much-anticipated showdown with Wichita Southeast (No. 2 in 6A) at 6:45 p.m. Friday.

And it was made possible by Mayo channeling his inner Steph Curry.

“I don’t think I have showed that range before,” Mayo said. “I just tried to shoot it to give my team a chance for a putback, in case I missed it. But it went in.”

It was that kind of night for Mayo, who finished with a team-high 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting. He didn’t even have to take a shot in the fourth quarter with the score out of hand.

Mayo, who drained five triples, said he knew it was going to be a good night after he hit a 3-pointer at the 7:40 mark in the opening quarter.

“When I hit my first shot, I knew I was going to be on,” Mayo said.

The Lions leaned on Mayo during a tightly-contested first half. Mayo scored 8 points in the first quarter, as Lawrence and Topeka West (2-6) were deadlocked at 13-13. The Lions claimed a 31-30 advantage at the intermission behind 8 more points from Mayo in the second period.

“I thought the first half was just competitive,” LHS coach Mike Lewis said. “I think kids look at records and rankings. But the fact is that it was just two teams competing, and that’s the way it should be.”

Lawrence came out firing on all cylinders during a 27-point showcase in the third quarter.

Senior Trey Quartlebaum, who finished with 20 points, canned three consecutive triples midway through the third period to create some cushion. Junior Mayson Quartlebaum then netted a couple buckets on nifty post moves.

It wasn’t all offense either. Junior Bryce Johnson recorded a thunderous block at the 2:09 mark. One possession later, senior Clarence King forced Topeka West into a five-second violation.

King (16 points) punctuated the third quarter with a viscous dunk in transition on an assist by senior Bryant Graham. The sequence gave the Lions a 57-38 advantage by the end of the third quarter.

“We had another good third quarter, similar to last Friday,” Lewis said. “Life is good when you are hitting shots.”

LHS finished things off with a 10-0 run to begin the final quarter. Brett Chapple closed the stretch with a layup on an assist by Graham.

The 82 points by the Lions marked a season high, as they hit 11 triples in the win. It is the fifth time in eight games that Lawrence has scored at least 70 points, increasing its season average to 68.75 points per contest.

“I knew we were going to get some outside looks,” Lewis said. “A lot of it was just that rhythm and momentum in the second half.”

Lawrence (82)

Zeke Mayo 8-12 2-3 23; Clarence King 6-13 3-3; Brett Chapple 4-8 0-2 8; Trey Quartlebaum 8-16 0-0 20; Eric Galbreath 0-2 0-1 0; Mayson Quartlebaum 4-5 0-1 9; Willie Dotson 0-1 0-0 0; Bryce Johnson 1-3 2-7 4; Bryant Graham 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 32-62 7-17 82.

Topeka West (66)

Hunter McDaniel 6-8 2-2 16; Korbin Kido 4-11 2-2 12; Elijah Brooks 2-5 0-1 4; Trevion Alexander 5-10 1-2 15; Elijah Clanton 2-3 0-0 5; Dre Durall 3-5 0-1 7; Marques Hidalgo 1-7 4-6 7. Totals: 23-49 9-14 66.

Lawrence 13 18 27 24 — 82

Topeka West 13 17 17 19 — 66

3-point goals: LHS 11-25 (Mayo 5, T. Quartlebaum 4, M. Quartlebaum, King); Topeka West 11-20 (McDaniel 2, Kido 2, Alexander 4, Clanton, Durall, Hidalgo). Turnovers: Topeka West 12, LHS 12. Fouled out: None.