The Lawrence High boys basketball team flew past Gardner Edgerton on the road 62-47 in Friday night’s regular-season finale. The Lions kept the Blazers (7-13) off the scoreboard for nearly the entire first quarter.

Junior Zaxton King led LHS (16-4) with 18 points on 7 of 11 shooting. Senior Will Leuschen finished with 13 points, including a team-high three 3s. Seniors Kenton Simmons and Jaylon Case each scored eight points.

After the game, LHS coach Mike Lewis said this team’s ready for the postseason.

“We’ve prepared our guys for a five-game tournament,” Lewis said. “But, you have to finish to get to that point and being on the road on senior night, nothing should be given to you. You should have to earn it and fight for it. I thought our guys came out in sync and in rhythm with each other.”

Macade Lewis and Leuschen each buried three-pointers in the first quarter, as the Lions got off to a 12-0 start forcing a timeout by the Blazers with 2:26 left. LHS kept the pedal down early, leading by 16 heading into the second.

Leuschen, entering double figures before the break, knocked down another 3 midway through the second. Case joined the action with a 3-pointer of his own just before the half, and LHS entered the locker room leading 33-10.

LHS opened the third quarter with nine consecutive points. Simmons completed the run with a one-handed dunk to force a timeout by the Blazers with five minutes left in the third.

“He’s an easy kid to cheer for,” Mike Lewis said of Simmons. “He’s a huge piece to our team but he’s just one piece to our team. Our guys know that and he definitely gives us a lot of momentum.”

Blazers senior Malaki Taylor stepped up in the second half, scoring nine points in the fourth to help bring LHS’ lead down to 18 with 2:45 left. Taylor’s boost wasn’t enough to slow down LHS late, and the Lions rolled away with the win.

KSHSAA releases substate brackets on Saturday. LHS is ranked No. 3 in the Class 6A west region after Friday’s win.

BOXSCORE:

Lawrence High (62): King 7-11, 3-4, 18, Leuschen 5-8, 0-0, 13, Simmons 4-6, 0-0, 8, Case 3-3, 0-0, 8, Lewis 2-3, 0-0, 6, Harris 2-3, 0-0, 4, Bassett 1-3, 1-2, 3, Watson 1-3, 0-0 2. Totals: 25-40, 4-6, 62.

Gardner-Edgerton (47): Taylor 10-22, 0-0, 25, Pasacarelli 7-10, 0-0, 15, Williams 2-4, 1-1, 5, Hawkinson 1-2, 0-2, 2. Totals: 20-48, 0-2, 47.

3FGs: LHS 8-16 (Leuschen 3, Case 2, Lewis 2, King 1); GEHS 7-12, (Taylor 5, Pascarelli 1, Williams 1). TOs: LHS 7; GEHS 12. Fouled out: none.

LHS girls pass Gardner Edgerton in regular-season finale

The Lawrence High girls’ basketball team finished its regular season with a 57-49 road win at Gardner Edgerton on Friday. The Blazers (8-12), trailing for most of the game, made a late stand and cut within one-possession of LHS with a little over a minute to play.

Sophomore Brynnae Johnson led LHS (16-4) with 22 points, including three 3s. Seniors Amaya Marshall and Lucy Hardy each finished with 12 points. Senior Daphne Bracker Sturm added seven points and junior Cyrenity Hardy chipped in four points.

Lucy Hardy and Johnson heated up from three-point land early, pushing LHS into the second quarter up 21-13 on the Blazers. Johnson entered double figures in the first quarter.

Success behind the arc continued for LHS in the second, with Cyrenity Hardy and Marshall adding two more 3s to place the Lady Lions in front by as much as 10 in the second. A late layup by Blazers senior Abri Leiker kept things within single digits, as LHS led 33-25 at halftime.

LHS coach Jeff Dickson was proud of how his group handled responsibility changes in the second half.

“Our kids, Destiny (Savannah), Daphne, Delilah (Barnes), and Amaya, made the adjustment at halftime to switch up our zone and that helped shut down their drives a bit more,” Dickson said.

Three Lady Lions – Johnson, Marshall and Lucy Hardy – entered double-figure scoring in the third quarter, as LHS took an 11-point lead heading into the fourth. Blazers freshman Landri Schaffer opened the fourth with six fast points, cutting LHS’ lead down to seven with 4:36 left.

Schaffer, dropping 10 points in the fourth, led the Blazers within three of LHS with 1:24 remaining. LHS hung on late, pulling away at the charity stripe.

KSHSAA releases substate brackets on Saturday. LHS is ranked No. 3 in the Class 6A west region after Friday’s win.

BOXSCORE:

Lawrence High (57): Johnson 7-15, 5-11, 22, L. Hardy 5-11, 0-0, 12, Marshall 3-4, 5-6, 12, Bracker-Sturm 3-6, 1-2, 7, C. Hardy 1-2, 1-2, 4. Totals: 19-42, 12-23, 57.

Gardner-Edgerton (49): Schaffer 9-16, 2-2, 21, Leiker 3-5, 2-5, 8, Pemberton 4-8, 0-0, 8, Cunningham 1-2, 1-2, 4, Hinck 1-3, 1-2, 3, Hofer 1-2, 1-2, 3. Totals: 20-39, 7-15, 49.

3FGs: LHS 7-16 (Johnson 3, L. Hardy 2, Marshall 1, C. Hardy 1); GEHS 2-10 (Schaffer 1, Cunningham 1). TOs: LHS 12; GEHS 14. Fouled out: none.