photo by: Carter Gaskins

Lawrence High players Bryce Johnson (14) and Zeke Mayo (2) high five while walking back to the bench during a game against Olathe East Friday night at LHS on Feb. 14, 2020.

Early in the fourth quarter, Lawrence High senior Mayson Quartlebaum misfired on an attempt from the top of the key.

It was the lone blemish on an otherwise flawless night by the talented big man, and by then the Lions were in control anyway. Behind a 19-point performance from Quartlebaum, Lawrence’s boys basketball team (No. 5 in Class 6A) secured a 64-46 victory over Olathe East on Friday night at LHS.

Quartlebaum went 9-for-10 from the floor, as the Lions (13-3, 7-1 Sunflower League) claimed their 10th win in a row.

“He was really finding space,” LHS head coach Mike Lewis said of Quartlebaum. “As a team, we were really finding each other and we were finding him quite a bit. I thought we were really good at finding space and making the play.”

Lawrence’s last loss came on Jan. 7, but it didn’t take long to realize the winning streak would continue on Friday. And Quartlebaum, a 6-foot-6 forward, made sure of that.

Quartlebaum scored the team’s first points of the night at the 6:42 mark, which was a sign of things to come. Thanks to strong passing by his teammates, Quartlebaum continued to receive perfect feeds on the block.

While trading baskets with Olathe East (7-10, 4-5 Sunflower League) early on, Quartlebaum registered three quick interior buckets. Once the Kennesaw State signee hit the 3-pointer in the final minute of the opening period, though, that’s when Quartlebaum knew it was going to be a special night.

“I just kind of shot it; I wasn’t that confident in it,” Quartlebaum said. “I just kept shooting, and I kept making it.”

Junior guard Zeke Mayo drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer, giving Lawrence a 24-14 advantage after the first quarter. Quartlebaum played all but one minute during a 9-point effort in the opening period.

Quartlebaum added 8 more points on four field goals in the second quarter. He was a perfect 8-for-8 in the first half, providing 17 points to give the Lions a 37-28 advantage at the intermission.

Mayo along with senior guards Peyton Mallory, Ruben Littlehead, Valdez White and Ethan Bentzinger were all responsible for finding open holes in the zone defense with precise passes to the inside.

“My teammates just fed me the ball and they trusted me with the ball,” Quartlebaum said.

Quartlebaum only missed about two minutes in the entire first half, but was on the bench for the final four-plus minutes of the third quarter.

Bryce Johnson, a 6-foot-5 senior forward, picked up right where Quartlebaum left off though. He scored 9 of his 13 points in the third period to help maintain a comfortable advantage over the Hawks.

Johnson also swatted multiple shots and controlled the glass against an Olathe East frontcourt that featured 6-foot-7 junior Antwaun Massey.

“I thought we had mismatches,” Quartlebaum said. “I thought we were able to get at them and just attack them.”

The Hawks made things interesting in the fourth quarter, but the Lions burned time off the clock and got good looks in their half-court offense. White finished with 11 points to join Johnson and Quartlebaum in double figures.

With 10 straight games of being in the win column, LHS is now one win shy of matching last year’s stretch of 11 consecutive victories.

“I think they deserve to be confident,” Lewis said. “They also need to be really, really hungry and look to next week as an opportunity to get better.”

Lawrence will travel to Olathe North at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Olathe East (46)

Jack Whitehead 1-5 2-3 5, Antwaun Massey 5-13 1-1 11, Hezekiah Newman 1-4 0-0 2, Kamari Armstrong 6-13 1-2 14, Andrew Sonner 2-7 0-0 4, Charlie Cannon 1-2 0-0 2, Kameron Byers 3-6 2-2 8. Totals: 19-50 6-8 46.

Lawrence (64)

Zeke Mayo 4-9 0-0 11, Peyton Mallory 2-6 0-0 4, Bryce Johnson 5-12 3-4 13, Mayson Quartlebaum 9-10 0-0 19, Ruben Littlehead 2-4 0-0 6, Valdez White 5-8 0-0 11, Willie Dotson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 27-50 3-4 64.

Olathe E 14 14 10 8 — 46

Lawrence 24 13 18 9 — 64

3-point goals: OE 2-5 (Whitehead, Armstrong); LHS 7-15 (Mayo 3, Littlehead 2, White, Quartlebaum). Turnovers: OE 10; LHS 11. Fouled out: None.