photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence sophomore Joey Dooley goes for a layup in a 58-47 win over Winfield in the fifth-place game of the Adolph Rupp Classic on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Halstead.

HALSTEAD — Lawrence boys basketball finished with back-to-back wins in the Adolph Rupp Classic at Halstead High School, including a win over Winfield to take fifth-place in the tournament on Friday.

“This was a great tournament for us,” Lawrence coach Nick Wood said. “Our goal coming down here was to help us group bond and form our identity on the floor, and they did a pretty dang good job of that.”

Lawrence got to spend time together as a team between Thursday and Friday after staying on the road overnight. That time together helped everyone grow their chemistry with their teammates.

“I’m homeschooled, so being around my teammates and growing my relationship with my brothers, that can help on the court,” sophomore Simon Simien said.

The Lions beat Rose Hill 74-51 on Thursday, which put the Lions in the fifth-place game. Sophomore Joey Dooley led the team with 18 points, while senior Eddie Roman Nose and junior Kenyon Doleman both had 12 points. Simien was the other Lion in double figures, after he scored 10.

Lawrence got out to a big start in the game, leading Rose Hill 21-3 after the first quarter. Rose Hill had a better second quarter on offense, but the Lions still led 41-21 at halftime. Across the final two quarters, the Lions outscored the Rockets by three.

Across Lawrence’s final two games, the Lions were aggressive in getting rebounds and creating second-chance opportunities. Against Rose Hill, the Lions had 27 defensive rebounds to the Rockets’ 24 defensive rebounds, but the Lions finished with 12 more offensive rebounds.

Despite facing a tall freshman at center on the other end in the Winfield game, the Lions once again outrebounded their opponent. Lawrence finished with 29 rebounds compared to Winfield’s 26, including nine offensive boards for the Lions. It wasn’t a major discrepancy, but the rebounding effort was a catalyst for the team’s runs in the second and third quarters.

“We’ve been working on that — it’s an area of growth for us this season,” Wood said. “It’s a mindset. That’s one of our goals. It has to be our goal, we have to physically attack the glass… it can’t be one guy, we collectively have to as a team rebound.”

Simien said the mindset of having everyone crash to the ball on rebounds have helped the team find more success, and senior Devin Foster added that the team emphasized boxing out in practice leading up to the game.

“We’re going to have good momentum coming through, and confidence is high,” Foster said. “We’re ready.”

The Lions faced a shaky start to their game against Winfield on offense, as the Vikings took a 9-8 lead into the second quarter. Simien got the first points of the game, but the Vikings went on a 7-2 run to take the lead. Lawrence took the lead back with two free throws from Simien, but the Vikings ended the quarter with two technical free throws to take a one-point lead.

The Vikings started hot in the second quarter with a 9-0 run, but the Lions came back and took control of the game. Roman Nose scored his first points of the game, followed by Foster on a second-chance opportunity. The Vikings hit a 2-pointer, but the Lions rattled off 12 unanswered points to take the lead.

“We got off to a rough start, but they bounced right back,” Wood said. “I think they’re starting to understand it’s an us mindset. We have to compete at an elite, high level, and I saw that for the most part through the games.”

That second quarter run was propelled by numerous second-chance opportunities following offensive rebounds and steals that led to easy fast-break layups. Five different Lions scored in that run, ranging from kickout 3-pointers to breakaway layups to players cutting to the basket for an open shot at the rim. Lawrence entered halftime leading 26-23, thanks to the run.

The momentum carried over into the third quarter for Lawrence. Simien scored the first points again, followed by a 3-pointer from Roman Nose. Dooley scored on a layup, followed by back-to-back layups for sophomore Truth Pope. Only after an 11-point run did the Vikings score, and Pope followed that score up with a free throw.

“The big thing was getting our energy back,” Foster said. “Whenever we have high energy, it just keeps everybody going.”

Lawrence led 41-31 at the start of the fourth quarter, and the Lions kept in front of the Vikings for the final eight minutes. Dooley scored 10 points in the quarter, followed by Pope with five. The Lions closed with layups from Dooley and Doleman and won 58-47.

“We’ve been through a lot, so for them to come down here and form who they are as a basketball team is huge,” Wood said. “The more you care about one another, get to know each other, that’ll carry over through good times and bad.”

Lawrence will be back at home on Monday to host St. Mary’s Academy at 7 p.m.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence junior Adrick Webb follows through on a layup in a 58-47 win over Winfield in the fifth-place game of the Adolph Rupp Classic on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Halstead.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence sophomore Joey Dooley grabs an offensive rebound in a 58-47 win over Winfield in the fifth-place game of the Adolph Rupp Classic on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Halstead.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence junior Caleb Wingerd dribbles the ball in a 58-47 win over Winfield in the fifth-place game of the Adolph Rupp Classic on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Halstead.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence sophomore Simon Simien watches the ball handler on defense in a 58-47 win over Winfield in the fifth-place game of the Adolph Rupp Classic on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Halstead.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence sophomore Truth Pope gets fouled on a shot in a 58-47 win over Winfield in the fifth-place game of the Adolph Rupp Classic on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Halstead.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence junior Kenyon Doleman goes for a layup in a 58-47 win over Winfield in the fifth-place game of the Adolph Rupp Classic on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Halstead.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence sophomore Simon Simien euro steps for a layup in a 58-47 win over Winfield in the fifth-place game of the Adolph Rupp Classic on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Halstead.