photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State junior Bennett Nagel shoots against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

Overland Park — The Free State boys and girls basketball team both hit the road for the first Sunflower League doubleheader of the season on Friday night, visiting Shawnee Mission West, and only the boys’ team came out with a win.

Free State’s girls got off to a cold start and couldn’t find a consistent offensive groove, falling to the Vikings 49-33, and dropping to 2-3 through the first month of play.

“I thought that we kept battling, even though we got down 20,” coach Summer Frantz said. “Battling in the fourth quarter, we just have to play with that sense of urgency throughout the game.”

With leader Addie Fulscher having a rare off night, the Firebirds got big contributions from Peyton Moore and Chloe Clossen, who each finished with a game-high 12 points.

“I liked that they were staying aggressive offensively and seemed willing to shoot even when shots haven’t fallen at all for us the last two games,” Frantz said.

The Firebirds were the first on the board before going into a cold stretch for nearly three minutes. The Vikings capitalized, building an 11-4 lead five minutes into the game. Fulscher closed the gap to five as both teams went scoreless for the final three minutes of the quarter.

After not taking a shot in the first eight minutes, Clossen hit a 3-pointer to open the second and cut the deficit to two points. That would be as close as it got for the remainder of the quarter, as the Vikings quickly responded with a 6-0 run to build an eight-point advantage.

Another Clossen three cut the lead back to five, but Free State committed unforced turnovers and only added two more points the rest of the half as Shawnee Mission West held a 23-14 advantage heading into the locker room.

The third quarter was much of the same for the Firebirds, as they committed nine turnovers while struggling to slow the Vikings down in transition. Moore chipped into the effort with four points on just three shot attempts in the period, but the Firebirds still trailed 40-22 going into the fourth quarter.

In the final quarter, Free State put together a cohesive effort, finding easy baskets, forcing turnovers, and playing stout defense while taking care of the ball. But the deficit was too steep to come back from, and the Vikings held on for the 49-33 win.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State junior Addie Fulscher shoots the ball against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State junior Addie Fulscher shoots the ball against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State sophomore Peyton Moore shoots the ball against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State sophomore Peyton Moore dribbles around a Shawnee Mission West player to set up for a shot position on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

The Free State basketball team huddles during the game against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State junior Addie Fulscher dribbles the ball against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State sophomore Peyton Moore dribbles the ball against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State sophomore Peyton Moore prepares to shoot the ball against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior Chloe Clossen dribbles the ball down the court against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

Boys basketball

The boys’ contest was a different story, as both teams came out physical and ready for battle.

Coach Dwayne Paul prepared his squad for a closely contested game, and that was how it played out, as Free State squeaked out a 59-53 win over Shawnee Mission West to improve to 3-2 on the season.

“West is a really good team. They’re tough, they guard, they’re physical, but I was proud of our guys’ resilience, our grit, our fight,” Paul said postgame. “I was just proud of them weathering the storm. They came out in the third and went up eight, we didn’t panic, we just stayed the course and I’m super proud of our guys.”

Much like in the girls’ game, Free State got the first two points and was able to keep pace with Shawnee Mission West. Korbin Dowdell hit the first 3-pointer of the game and finished on a nifty layup to tie the score at nine in the first quarter.

Shawnee Mission West found a spark in Miles White, who had nine points in the first quarter and converted a free throw attempt to create a two-point advantage, but Brendan Barrett hit a mid-range jumper for Free State to knot the score at 14 at the end of the period.

It became a game of runs in the second quarter with Free State using a 7-0 run to take a 25-20 lead midway through the quarter. Shawnee Mission West brought a run of its own and carried that momentum into the locker room with a five-point lead after a buzzer-beater.

In such a physical game, foul trouble was an issue for both teams. Paul says he didn’t necessarily make any adjustments on the court but had to tell his guys to be mentally tough in the second half.

“I didn’t care if we won, but how we played was the most important thing; I thought we played well,” he said.

The foul trouble, primarily affecting Dowdell who picked up his fourth foul in the third quarter and ended up fouling out with 13 points, meant that other players had to step up, namely Barrett, AJ Eason and Bennett Nagel. Nagel had 13 points, while Eason had eight points, all in the second half, and Barrett accounted for nine off the bench.

“That’s what your good players have to do. I thought they played well.,” Paul said of Eason and Nagel. “On the flip side, Brendan Barrett stepped up and was amazing today, for a freshman in a hostile environment, a physical team, he came in, he had some great assists, he had great defense. The Sunflower (League) is not for the weak, and for him, that was a big-time thing.”

Out of the locker room, the Firebirds used a 14-5 run to regain the lead while looking to build a bit of separation. Time and time again, the Vikings responded, using a 5-0 run to go into the fourth quarter with a narrow 43-42 lead.

The run continued as Shawnee Mission West pushed its lead to three to open the fourth quarter, before Eason hit a 3-pointer and a floater in the lane to give Free State the lead back, nearly for good.

After multiple ties late, Nagel came up with the key moment late in the fourth, getting an offensive rebound after a missed free throw and finishing through traffic, putting the Firebirds in the drivers’ seat for good.

“It’s really just instinct for me,” Nagel said. “… I got to make big plays in the big moments.”

Nagel got another layup late to put the Firebirds up by four and Barrett hit four free throws to claim the 59-53 road win.

With a three-week break, Paul knows how vital the next 20 days are in order to come back ready to go on the flip side of winter break.

“Rest your body, mentally and physically,” Paul said. “And then, just really come back and if we like the taste of winning and success and working hard, then the approach when we come back is going to be about getting better.”

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior Korbin Dowdell attempts a 3-pointer against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior Korbin Dowdell sets up a 3-pointer against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State junior Ethan Prescott dribbles the ball against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State freshman Brendan Barrett shoots a 3-pointer against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior Korbin Dowdell shoots the ball in the first half against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State junior Bennett Nagel attempts a layup against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior Korbin Dowdell shoots in the first half against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior AJ Eason shoots in the first half against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior Korbin Dowdell jumps up to pass to a teammate against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior Korbin Dowdell jumps up to pass to a teammate against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State freshman Brendan Barrett shoots against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior Korbin Dowdell shoots the ball against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior AJ Eason passes to teammate Ethan Prescott against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior AJ Eason prepares to pass to a teammate against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior Korbin Dowdell jumps up to shoot against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior Korbin Dowdell dribbles the ball in preparation to shoot against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Overland Park.