In the team’s senior night game, the Free State boys basketball team fell to Shawnee Mission South 58-38 Friday night at home.

The Raiders (10-6) completed a near wire-to-wire victory against the Firebirds (5-11), who despite having a chance to take the lead late in the first half, could not make a second-half comeback to earn a win.

“I take full responsibility of tonight,” FSHS coach Dwayne Paul said. “We as coaches have to do a better job of getting them prepared when the game comes.”

The Raiders attacked the Firebirds early inside with Conor Kerrigan scoring 12 points in the first quarter alone to lead the Shawnee Mission South offense.

AJ Eason led the Firebirds back with eight first quarter points to put Free State down by only four after the opening eight minutes, with six of those points coming from the 3-point line.

Throughout the second quarter, numerous fouls were called on both sides due to both teams’ aggressiveness on offense, and the Firebirds were rewarded with 10 free throws as they looked to take the lead midway through the period.

The Raiders responded with five points off the bench from Brody Featherston while Kerrigan added four more, including a buzzer beater, helping SM South extend its lead to 28-18 just before hitting the halftime locker room.

“We had three stops in a row and then we were missing free throws and good shots,” Paul said. “As coaches we’ll get together and we’ll do a better job at getting them prepared for Tuesday.”

After a bucket from Free State’s Hueston Saunders made it an eight-point game early in the third, the Raiders attacked inside once again as Drake DeBaun scored seven points in the third to help his team take a 17-point lead heading into the closing moment of the third quarter.

Despite Dash Johnson scoring five points in the third for the Firebirds, the lead for SM South grew to 46-29 entering the fourth quarter.

The Raiders used the clock to their advantage in the fourth and scored several buckets down the stretch, putting the game away late, despite a late 3 from Jack Randall.

Free State next travels to Shawnee Mission East to take on the Lancers Tuesday night. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. from Shawnee Mission East High School.

“It’s going to be less worrying about the scout about the other team and more about us,” Paul said. “At this point in this season we are who we are. If we can execute we’ll have a chance.”

BOX SCORE:

Shawnee Mission South (58) Calen Gregory 0-3 0-0 -; Drake DeBaun 4-9 4-7 12; Jadon Sautter 1-2 2-2 4; Max McKenna 0-3 2-3 2; Conor Kerrigan 10-13 2-4 22, Ben Allen 0-3 0-0 0, Brody Featherston 5-8 0-0 12, Bret Keech 1-2 0-0 2, Thomas Burns 0-0 1-2 0, Jacob Wood 1-1 0-0 3. Totals: 22-44 11-18 58

Free State (38) Devon Hamilton 0-2 3-3 3; Nika Khosh 0-1 0-0 0; Wesley Edison 1-4 5-8 8; Dash Johnson 2-9 1-1 5; Jameson Carter 0-1 0-0 0. Bennett Nagel 1-3 0-2 2, AJ Eason 3-3 2-2 11, Jack Randall 1-3 0-0 3, Everett Esman 1-1 0-0 2, Hueston Saunders 2-4 0-1 4. Totals: 11-31 11-17 38.

Score by quarters

Shawnee Mission South 15 13 18 12 — 58

Free State 11 7 11 9 — 38

3-point goals: SMSHS: 3-9 Brody Featherston (2), Jacob Wood (1); FSHS: 5-18 Wesley Edison (1), AJ Eason (3), Jack Randall (1); Turnovers: FSHS 13, SMSHS 9. Fouled Out: None.

Shawnee Mission South Girls 73, Free State 13

The Free State girls basketball team took a defeat from top-ranked Shawnee Mission South Friday night, falling by a score of 73-13 at Free State High School.

The Firebirds (1-16), started strong with an early three, but it was the Raiders’ (15-0) relentless defense and ball pressure that controlled the game from start to finish.

With this game being the team’s senior night, Free State head coach Summer Frantz spoke highly about her two seniors, Aly Richardson and Cydnee Price, sticking with the process, even when it may have been harder to fight through the ups and downs.

“It means a lot they stuck with it all four years,” Frantz said. “I was the JV coach when they were younger so it’s been nice to come up with them. I’m really proud of them and it’s fun to see them graduate.”

Chloe Clossen opened up the scoring for the Firebirds, courtesy of a deep 3-pointer, but the Raiders used an early scoring run of their own to take a 16-3 lead midway through the first quarter.

Anniston Clark capped off the first quarter scoring with a jumper inside and a free throw to give Free State six points in the first eight minutes, despite the pressure from the Raiders.

Clark finished with five points in the first half thanks to a putback after a missed Firebirds shot, as she continued to show her aggressiveness on both ends of the floor.

Even with the score heavily in favor of Shawnee Mission South at halftime, the Firebirds never wavered, knowing that their two seniors wanted to cap off their senior nights on a high note.

Clark added to her scoring total with another basket to bring her total to seven heading into the fourth, and Price and Richardson continued to battle hard inside in one of their final home games.

That determination led to a 3-pointer from Price right in front of her bench, sending the crowd into a jubilation.

“I think everyone was happy to see Cydnee hit that shot,” Frantz said. “We were both trying to get them a bucket at the end there and everyone was wanting the best for them.”

From there, both teams proceeded to run the clock down leading to the win for Shawnee Mission South, as the Firebirds then celebrated all the accomplishments of their two senior leaders.

The Firebirds next travel to Shawnee Mission East to square off against the Lancers on Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m.

BOX SCORE:

Shawnee Mission South (73) Jocelyn Moore 3-5 0-0 7; Azailah Funches 5-9 4-4 14; Cameryn Smith 8-8 0-0 17; Laila Berndt 2-9 4-6 8; Ashley VanElders 3-5 0-1 8. 73, Ashley Kramer 3-7 0-0 8, Ella Jack 3-4 0-0 7, Eleni Jouras 1-1 0-0 2, Claire Miglianti 1-2 0-0 2, Elsie Slaven 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 29-52 8-11.

Free State (13) Addie Fulscher 0-5 0-0 0; Aly Richardson 0-0 0-0 -0; Anniston Clark 3-5 1-2 7; Chloe Clossen 1-4 0-0 3; Cydnee Price 1-2 0-0 3. Peyton Moore 0-2 0-0 0, Hadley Lonnberg 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 5-19 1-2 13

Score by quarters

Shawnee Mission South 27 25 17 4 — 73

Free State 6 2 2 3 — 13

3-point goals: SMSHS: 7-21 Ashley VanElders (2), Ashley Kramer (2), Jocelyn Moore (1), Cameryn Smith (1), Ella Jack (1); FSHS: 2-11 Chloe Clossen (1), Cydnee Price (1); Turnovers: FSHS 22, SMSHS 7. Fouled Out: None.