photo by: Chance Parker

Lawrence senior guard Zeke Mayo handles the ball against Shawnee Mission Northwest. Lawrence won 51-38 on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021.

Thanks to some late-game theatrics, Lawrence High’s boys basketball team was able to snag a 82-75 overtime win at Shawnee Mission East on Tuesday.

After trailing for much of the night, the Lions (No. 3 in Class 6A) made a ferocious charge with a 27-point outburst in the fourth quarter. It was a stretch that was highlighted by a pair of clutch technical free throws from senior Zeke Mayo that helped send the game to overtime.

The technical foul was issued on Shawnee Mission East (No. 7 in Class 6A) for having six players on the court, something that was originally caught by LHS senior team manager Jelani Ragins, who then alerted assistant coach Jacob Larsen. Larsen then mentioned it to the officials, leading to the timely technical foul.

“Very proud of the way our guys hung in there on a night when we just didn’t play very well,” Lawrence head coach Mike Lewis said. “But we had enough heart and fight left in us to finish.”

The Lions improved to 12-1 on the year with the win, while the Lancers fell to 10-3 overall.

Mayo led LHS with a 30-point performance, shooting 9-for-13 from the floor and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Mayo also finished with 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals to help Lawrence extend its win streak to four in a row.

Avion Nelson finished with 19 points and five rebounds on the night. Pearse Long continues to play well for the Lions of late, as he produced 17 points to join Mayo and Nelson in double figures.

LHS will host Olathe West at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Lawrence 13 8 17 27 OT 17 — 82

SM East 18 14 15 18 OT 10 — 75

Lawrence (82)

Zeke Mayo 30, Jack Ryan 1, Avion Nelson 19, Truman Juelsgaard 5, Jackson Dooley 8, Garrett Cleavinger 2, Pearse Long 17