OLATHE — The Free State boys basketball team got back in the win column Friday night, taking down Olathe East 60-49 at Olathe East High School.

Led by Jailen Thompson’s 16 points, the Firebirds (5-2) led wire-to-wire over the Hawks (3-4). Olathe East could not keep up with the relentless defense of the Firebirds, who forced 13 turnovers.

“I got to tip my hat off to the guys,” FSHS coach Sherron Collins said. “They battled and they listened tonight.”

Both teams struggled to find consistent offense in the first quarter, but five Olathe East turnovers paved the way for a five point lead for the Firebirds at the end of the opening eight minutes.

FSHS leaned on aggressive play by Wesley Edison and Thompson, among others, with that aggression leading to a dunk by Thompson as time expired in the opening frame.

To start out the second quarter, Dash Johnson hit two 3s in the first 1:18, prompting an early timeout by Olathe East.

Johnson drained another 3 moments later, extending the Firebirds lead to nine with 5:30 remaining in the first half.

However, the Hawks responded with a run of their own led by Micah Deaver and Tyson Grimes, leading to a Free State timeout with the Firebirds leading 21-18 midway through the second quarter.

Both teams went back and forth the rest of the quarter, with the Firebirds having a slight lead of 28-24 heading into halftime.

“We have to pride ourselves on toughness and defense,” Collins said. “We want to be the toughest team on the floor every night, and tonight we were. That’s how I was brought up.”

Edison led the way for the start of the third quarter, scoring five points in five minutes and forcing another timeout by the Hawk,s with the Firebirds now up 37-27 at the three-minute mark.

The Firebirds had a sizable lead at the end of the quarter, leading 41-32 after another 3 by Johnson.

Free State continued its attack early in the final quarter, getting four clutch points to push the FSHS lead to 14 with 3:58 left in regulation.

From there, Thompson added more clutch points, bringing his total to 16 and sealing Free State’s victory.

Free State will next head to McPherson to compete in the McPherson Invitational, with the first day of action set for Thursday.

“We’re just going to approach it one game at a time,” Collins said. “Hopefully we play our game plan and come out with wins.”

BOX SCORE:

Olathe East (49)

Dakota Marshall 1-4 0-1 3, Monzell Blake 6-12 1-2 16, Ryan Horsch 0-0 1-2 1, Micah Deaver 4-9 2-3 11, Devin Schmitt 0-2 2-2 2, Carter Gooding 1-2 0-0 2, Tyson Grimes 5-7 0-0 14 Drew Purdy 0-5 0-0 0, Daleshawn Jenkins 0-1 0-0 0 Totals 17-42 FG, 6-10 FT, 49.

Free State (60)

Jailen Thompson 7-9 2-4 16, Dre Daniels 0-4 5-6 5, Tay Daniels 0-1 0-0 0, Wesley Edison 2-4 5-6 9, Devon Hamilton 0-1 0-0 0, Dash Johnson 5-7 0-0 15, Korbin Dowdell 1-2 1-2 4, Zeek Brown 2-5 1-2 6, Will Mlynek 2-2 1-2 5, Totals: 19-35 FG, 15-22 FT, 60.

3-point goals: OE 9-21 Tyson Grimes (4), Monzell Blake (3) Micah Deaver (1), Dakota Marshall (1) ; FS 7-15 Zeek Brown (1), Korbin Dowdell (1), Dash Johnson (5) Turnovers: OE 13; FSHS 9. Fouled out: None

Olathe East girls 73, Free State 8

The Free State girls basketball team fell 73-8 to Olathe East on Friday at Olathe East High School, leaving them still in search of their first win of the season.

The Firebirds (0-8) got off to a slow start, and the Hawks (2-6) swooped in, holding Free State scoreless at 22-0 after eight minutes of play.

Early in the second quarter, two free throws from Symira Spencer gave the Firebirds their first points of the game, and the defense continued to improve by forcing its first turnover of the game midway through the quarter.

The Firebirds trailed the physical Olathe East squad 36-2 at halftime.

After the break, an aggressive drive by Hadley Lonnberg was rewarded with two free throws, which she sank. A 3 by Chloe Clossen pushed the Firebirds to seven points, to close out the third quarter 61-7 in favor of the Hawks.

The fourth quarter was a defensive battle, but it wasn’t nearly enough to make up the distance.

Next, Free State will take on Shawnee Mission North Tuesday night at home with tipoff set for 7 p.m.

BOX SCORE

Olathe East (73)

Braylee Rogers 3-8 2-5 8, Graysyn Mills 5-8 1-2 5, Corrine Cole 4-5 2-3 14, Jillian Reese 1-2 0-0 2, Meredith Reese 3-9 0-0 9, Samantha Young 1-2 1-2 4, Kate LeFever 5-8 0-0 11, Cate Whitehead 2-3 3-5 7, Cameron Hall 1-1 1-2 3, Millie Dermer 0-0 2-2 0, Totals 25-46 FG, 12-21 FT, 73.

Free State (8)

Addie Fulscher 0-7 1-2 1, Hayden Moore 0-1 0-0 0, Hadley Lonnberg 0-2 2-2 2, Cara Jeffries 0-1 0-0 0, Cydnee Price 0-6 0-0 0, Symira Spencer 0-3 2-2 2, Chloe Clossen 1-6 0-0 3, Sydney Hulcher 0-1 0-0 0 Totals: 1-27 FG, 5-6 FT, 8.

Score by quarters

Olathe East 22 14 25 12 — 73

Free State 0 2 5 1 — 8

3-point goals: OE 11-21 Samantha Young (1) Katie LeFever (1) Graysyn Mills (2) Corrine Cole (4) Meredith Reese (3); FS 1-17 Chloe Clossen (1); Turnovers: OE 3; FSHS 12. Fouled out: None