photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence junior forward Josh Galbreath jumps up for a layup against Sumner Academy on Tuesday, January 28, 2025 at Lawrence High School.

Fresh off a productive tournament in Topeka last week, the Lawrence boys basketball team (3-7) returned home Tuesday to host Sumner Academy and won 64-56.

Lawrence had a slow start to their night on offense. Senior guard Aden Ramirez was the only Lion to hit a field goal for the first quarter, which came on a 3-pointer. He led the team with 19 points in the game. Free throws from junior guard Eddie Roman Nose and Devin Foster provided the only other points in a 7-point quarter.

Coach Nick Wood said the team didn’t have the right energy at the start of the game, which contributed to Sumner’s early lead. Eventually, the Lions got on the right track with help from some of their top reserves.

“We got back to who we are,” Wood said. “Our identity has to be that we out-compete teams. That first quarter, Sumner had better energy than we did.”

Josh Galbreath, who made his season debut against Sumner after missing some time from a nagging leg injury from football, missed his first couple of shots in the first quarter. After that, the junior forward was lights out. He scored 9 points while being the team’s best rebounder. His presence in the paint noticeably changed Sumner’s offensive success.

“It felt good (to be on the court),” Galbreath said. “I was a little rusty — I’m still knocking (the rust) off.”

Aside from Galbreath’s plays with the ball in his hands, his ability to drive through the Sabres’ zone defense helped give the guards some space to shoot.

“He’s an amazing talent,” Wood said. “You can’t replace his athleticism and leadership. He does so many great things for us on the offensive end and the defensive end.”

By halftime, the Lions led 27-24. A late push from the Sabres resulted in a 5-point swing, but the Lions made it up with a dominant third quarter. Sumner scored the first basket but only made two more field goals through the rest of the quarter. Meanwhile, the Lions were having a lot of success cutting through the Sabres’ defense and scoring at the rim.

Lawrence finished the third quarter on a 15-2 run to take a 50-31 lead. The team has seen an increase in minutes from the start of the season. Alongside Galbreath, Wood complimented freshman Truth Pope, who has played well defensively off the bench and added 2 points on free throws against Sumner.

Sumner made a strong push in the fourth quarter. Ramirez hit a 3-pointer to take a 55-38 lead, but the Sabres rattled off 11 straight points. Senior Marko Simac ended the run with two free throws, and a driving layup from freshman Joey Dooley gave the Lions their double-digit lead back.

The Sabres continued to push the Lions in the final four minutes, but the Lions always answered with a bucket. The win was the Lions’ third of the season.

Lawrence will play Washington High School on the road on Friday at 7 p.m.