photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence Free State head coach Dwayne Paul instructs his players against Shawnee Mission East Friday, Dec. 13, 2024 in Prairie Village.

Prairie Village — The Free State boys basketball team got off to a slow start that led to a cold shooting performance throughout a 54-31 loss at Shawnee Mission East against the host Lancers in the fifth-place game of the Championship Showdown on Friday night.

On the evening, the Firebirds shot 12-for-46 from the field and 2-for-18 from three.

“I told the guys before the game that the more together, tougher team was going to win,” coach Dwayne Paul said. “Solely from the fact of you play a third game in four days, (the) first thing to go is your legs, and we’re a team that we got to make 3s in order to be successful. It opens everything else for us, and we didn’t make shots.”

One thing that stood out from the Lancers’ approach was their physicality, which is something the Firebirds will continue to see throughout the rest of the season in an always difficult Sunflower League.

“We have physical guys, we have guys that can be smart and be physical,” Paul said. “It’s about doing it and doing it consistently, and that’s what we had to do, we have to have that physicality on the ball and if we can do that, I think we have a chance.”

The Firebirds (1-2) were the first on the board after a basket in the paint by Braden Wilmes, then the stifling Lancer defense took away any more breathing room, forcing the Firebirds into tough shots, and converting a transition opportunity to take an 8-2 early lead.

Ethan Prescott cut the deficit in half following a 3-pointer, but Shawnee Mission East ended the quarter on a 4-0 run. Free State shot just 2-for-12 in the opening stanza, while Shawnee Mission East got easy buckets, converting at a 6-of-9 clip.

“Credit to Shawnee Mission East, their ball movement is hard to guard, they put you in positions of having to close out,” Paul said. “They drive hard, they’re tough, they’re physical, they’re strong and they make tough 2s.”

The second quarter was much of the same, with the Lancer defense making it hard to get off good looks. The Firebirds got their first four points at the free-throw line and got another basket inside by Wilmes, but the Lancers extended their lead to 16 following back-to-back 3-pointers.

The Firebirds cut the deficit to 14 at the half after a nice inbounds play on the baseline finished by AJ Eason, but could not bring the margin any closer after getting two good looks at the buzzer.

Free State continued to struggle offensively in the third quarter after conceding a 9-0 run in the first three minutes. Brendan Barrett added three points and Connor McFarland scored two of his own, but Shawnee Mission East held a 43-18 advantage heading into the fourth.

Paul said that despite the shots not falling, he encouraged his team to keep shooting because it’s a make-or-miss sport, so when shots start to fall, it’s easy to go on runs and string points together.

On the offensive end, the fourth quarter was the most cohesive quarter the Firebirds put together. Barrett opened the period with a two, then AJ Eason hit a three, the first since Prescott’s in the early going. Barrett, Maddon Brittingham, Everett Essman and Jaden Clock each added two points each the rest of the way, but the Lancers’ lead was too wide of a deficit to come back from, as they held on for the 54-31 win.

Barrett led Free State in scoring with seven points off the bench, while Eason added five points.

The Firebirds will open their Sunflower League slate on Tuesday at 6 p.m., visiting Shawnee Mission North. The Bison won their season opener, defeating Lawrence High, 82-64, on Tuesday.

“New season,” Paul said on what he told his group ahead of the league opener. “Most important game, because it’s the next game. I just told them that we have to pull up the film. It’s not going to be fun to watch, but we got to watch the film We got to see where we made our mistakes. I think as we get more fresh and our legs under us, some of the things that kind of lacked will get better as we get a little more fresher.”

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence Free State freshman Brendan Barrett is fouled while going up for a shot against Shawnee Mission East Friday, Dec. 13, 2024 in Prairie Village.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence Free State freshman Brendan Barrett passes the ball to a teammate against Shawnee Mission East Friday, Dec. 13, 2024 in Prairie Village.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence Free State junior Ethan Prescott shoots a free throw against Shawnee Mission East Friday, Dec. 13, 2024 in Prairie Village.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence Free State junior Ben Graves goes to the ground for a loose ball against Shawnee Mission East Friday, Dec. 13, 2024 in Prairie Village.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence Free State junior Bennett Nagel goes to the ground to fight for a loose ball against Shawnee Mission East Friday, Dec. 13, 2024 in Prairie Village, Kansas.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence Free State junior Braden Wilmes fights off two defenders against Shawnee Mission East Friday, Dec. 13, 2024 in Prairie Village.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence Free State junior Braden Wilmes makes a layup against Shawnee Mission East Friday, Dec. 13, 2024 in Prairie Village.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence Free State senior Korbin Dowdell drives to the basket against Shawnee Mission East Friday, Dec. 13, 2024 in Prairie Village.

Girls basketball falls to Shawnee Mission North

The Free State girls opened their Sunflower League schedule, hosting Shawnee Mission North on Friday night. The Firebirds came in with a record of 2-0, while the Bison entered the contest 1-1.

In a defensive grind, Shawnee Mission North held a 15-9 advantage over the Firebirds at halftime. The Bison continued to extend their lead, and ultimately defeated the Firebirds, 45-29, dealing Free State its first loss of the season.

Free State is now 2-1 and will take to the road on Tuesday, visiting Junction City at 7:30 p.m.