OVERLAND PARK – The Free State boys basketball team fell 47-30 to Shawnee Mission South Friday night, on what was a tough shooting night for the Firebirds as they remained behind for most of the second half.

Free State (10-6), was led by Jailen Thompson’s nine points, but the Raiders (9-7) outscored Free State 30-16 in the second half to earn their ninth win of the season.

“We just got to be better,” FSHS coach Sherron Collins said. “We’ve got to come out and play like we always played. “At the end of the day we have to play our game style.”

Free State started quick and scored the first six points to force an SMS timeout just three minutes into the game, but neither team found their groove offensively and as a result the Firebirds were only up one at 6-5 through the first eight minutes.

The second quarter began back and forth, but the Raiders took their first lead of the game nearing the end of the first half courtesy of 3-pointers from Ben Webb and Kieron Smith.

That gave the Raiders a 17-14 lead at halftime and the Firebirds swiftly had to play from behind after a physical and low-scoring first half. Dash Johnson’s two 3s gave him a team-high six points, while Will Mlynek added four points to round out the Firebirds scoring.

After both teams struggled for much of the third quarter, Wesley Edison managed a much needed basket for the visitors as the clock ticked down, but not before SMS pulled off a small scoring run that extended its lead to eight heading into the fourth.

Shawnee Mission South grew their lead to 10 early in the fourth quarter, but a 3-point play for Thompson cut the lead to single digits to give the Firebirds important momentum.

However, the Firebirds could not cut the lead any closer, and the Raiders made several late baskets down the stretch to secure a huge home victory Friday night.

Free State next will return home Tuesday to face off against Shawnee Mission East at 7 p.m.

“We’re going to forget about this one quick,” Collins said. “We just have to refocus and get our energy back up. We got a lot of fight in us.”

Shawnee Mission South (47)

Ben Webb 5-13 2-2 15, Daniel Burns 0-2 3-4 3, Kieron Smith 5-6 2-6 14, Jadon Sautter 6-8 0-0 13, Drake DeBaun 0-7 2-4 2, Jackson Laughlin 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 16-37 FG, 9-16 FT, 47.

Free State (30)

Jailen Thompson 4-9 1-2 9, Dre Daniels 1-4 0-0 2, Tay Daniels 0-2 0-0 0, Wesley Edison 1-4 0-6 2, Dash Johnson 2-8 0-0 6, Zeek Brown 2-7 0-0 4, Will Mlynek 3-8 1-2 7, Korbin Dowdell 0-2 0-0 0, Totals: 13-44 FG, 2-10 FT, 30.

Score by quarters

Shawnee Mission South 5 12 10 20 — 47

Free State 6 8 5 11 — 30

3-point goals: SMS 6-14 Ben Webb (3), Kieron Smith (2), Jadon Sautter (1); FS 2-16 Dash Johnson (2). Turnovers: SMS 4; FSHS 6. Fouled out: Free State: Jailen Thompson.

Shawnee Mission South girls 77, Free State girls 9

The Free State girls basketball team fell 77-9 to Shawnee Mission South Tuesday night on the road.

The Firebirds (0-17) struggled to keep up with the Raiders (15-0), who used their speed and size to gain a quick advantage in a wire-to-wire victory.

Shawnee Mission South took an early lead after hitting several 3-pointers and moving the ball effectively, forcing a Free State timeout midway through the opening quarter.

FSHS got their first basket of the opening half on a 3-pointer from Addie Fulscher, who continues her solid freshman season at point guard. Fellow freshman Libby Easter added a late basket giving the Firebirds some confidence going into the second half with a score of 53-5.

Sydney Hulcher and Aly Richardson fought for two more baskets in the second half, but that would be all the offense the Firebirds got. The Raiders controlled the half, adding 24 more points to their total to lock in the home win, 77-9.

Next up, Free State will host Shawnee Mission East at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Score by quarters

Shawnee Mission South 28 25 18 6 — 77

Free State 3 2 4 0 — 9