Enough was enough. Lawrence High’s boys basketball players were tired of calls not going their way and their shots not dropping. They just decided to take matters into their own hands.


The Lions were fired up more than usual on Tuesday against Shawnee Mission East, and they rallied back in the second half for a 57-49 road victory. Credit to them for using that energy on the defensive end, which created buckets on offense.


“There was a combination of things that created that momentum for (SM East), but I like the way we responded in the second half,” LHS coach Mike Lewis said. “I’m happy with the way we got it done.”


Not only did the Lions pick up their first win against the Lancers in four years, but they surpassed last year’s win total, improving to 18-1 with Tuesday’s victory. Now they’ll look to go through the Sunflower League undefeated with a matchup against Free State in the City Showdown on Friday.


Lawrence’s girls basketball team has found its groove and have won three straight games after beating SM East, 52-40.


After opening the season against such a tough schedule, the Lions finally have some momentum going their way. They beat the bottom three teams in the league and now they’re playing with confidence. It looks like they’ll earn the fifth seed in their sub-state bracket, which would mean going on the road to survive. With the way they’ve played lately, three league wins on the road, I think they’re confident enough to not be too worried about it.


In case you missed it, we’re copying one of the popular features of KUsports.com, “Keegan’s Ratings,” where Sports Editor Tom Keegan ranks KU football and men’s basketball players after every game he attends and I’m bringing back the high school ratings for this basketball season. These individual rankings are just one person’s opinion, but it’s a good way to look at how each person impacted each game.

Lawrence High girls basketball

1. Marissa Pope, sr. — Pope has played plenty of games through foul trouble this year, but that doesn’t make it any less impressive when she continues to make a big impact. The Lions’ point guard picked up her fourth foul with more than seven minutes left, but never left the court and kept the Lions with a double-digit lead. She scored a game-high 17 points, had four rebounds and a steal.


2. E’lease Stafford, fr. — The 5-foot-10 freshman told LHS coach Jeff Dickson recently that she wanted to step up in these last few games of the regular season, and that’s exactly what she did on Tuesday. Stafford scored 11 points, knocked down two three-pointers in the first quarter, and was a pest defensively, grabbing two steals.


“We all have high expectations of E’lease and E’lease is a kid who plays hard and works hard,” Dickson said. “She’s extremely unselfish and I’m not even going to say that’s a detriment to her game because she defers to her upperclassmen and she shares the ball and she wants to be a part of stuff. She does a lot of little things that I think a lot of people don’t notice. I think she’s had a fantastic year and as she goes forward, I think the sky is the limit for her.”


3. Matia Finley, sr. — Finley has been huge for the Lions in the last few weeks with her knack to grab rebounds in traffic. The 6-foot forward had 10 rebounds on Tuesday to go along with six points.


4. Alexis Boyd, jr. — Boyd made her first three shots, driving to the rim for layups and knocking down mid-range jumpers. She finished with eight points and six rebounds.


5. Skylar Drum, so. — The 5-foot-6 guard didn’t shoot the ball well, 1-for-6 from the field, but she made so many plays in other areas. She had four rebounds, two steals, an assist and a block.


6. Olivia Lemus, so. — Lemus scored all six of her points in the second quarter, getting behind defenders for layups. She also had two steals and two assists.


7. Madison McKinney, so. — McKinney was aggressive on the court and brought good energy off of the bench. She didn’t shoot the ball, but grabbed two rebounds, one steal and dished an assist to Stafford for a three-pointer in the first quarter.


8. Rebecca Finley, sr. — Like her twin sister, Finley has been crashing the glass hard for rebounds in the past few weeks. She had six rebounds on Tuesday, and missed the only shot she took.


9. Asia Goodwin, fr. — Goodwin picked up a few minutes in the second quarter. She grabbed one rebound and was blocked on the only shot she attempted.


10. Gracie Reinsch, jr. — Reinsch came off of the bench in the first half but didn’t attempt a shot or record any stats.


• Next up: 5:30 p.m. Friday vs. #9 Free State. Record: 5-13.

Lawrence High boys basketball

1. Anthony Bonner, sr. — You don’t want to be guarding Bonner when he gets mad. He was fired up in the third quarter and was dominant for the final 12 minutes of the game, scoring 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting. He also turned up the pressure on the defensive end, grabbing a steal and deflecting a few more passes and dribbles. He finished with a game-high 20 points, three rebounds and two assists.


2. John Barbee, sr. — The 6-foot-1 guard has put together a nice stretch of games lately, and he did it all for the Lions on Tuesday. With Bonner and Justin Roberts being face-guarded, the Lions’ offense ran through Barbee in the first half. He finished with 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and a steal.

3. Price Morgan, jr. — The Lancers have a lot of height and Morgan was ready to fight inside. He scored on a few layups, assisted from Barbee and Roberts, but he also wasn’t afraid to attack the rim. He scored 12 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished two assists. Those seven rebounds were huge because the Lions had some problems preventing second-chance points early in the second half.


“Big time teams make big time plays when it comes down to it,” Morgan said. “Everybody boxing out and getting that rebound so they can’t get that second shot, that’s what we take pride in, especially in the fourth quarter.”


4. Justin Roberts, jr. — Roberts was limited offensively because of SM East’s face-guard defense against him and his shot wasn’t dropping. But credit to him for fighting through it and contributing in other ways, such as hitting the glass hard for rebounds and playing tight defense. He had seven points, five rebounds and two assists.


5. Ben Rajewski, sr. — Rajewski dropped a pair of big threes. He gave the LHS its first points with a three on the right wing in the first quarter. Then in the third quarter he swished another. He played solid defense on the perimeter, helped out inside, and did a good job moving the ball, committing zero turnovers.


6. Logan Applegate, sr. — The 6-foot-3 forward used his strength off of the bench to make an impact in the low post. He avoided fouls and was aggressive on the defensive glass, grabbing three rebounds in traffic. He missed his only shot from the field and two free throws.


7. Anthony Harvey, jr. — When Roberts was limited at the end of the first half with foul trouble, Harvey did a good job of running the offense, especially with Bonner being face-guarded. He missed two three-pointers, but he played solid defense and grabbed one rebound and dished an assist to Barbee for a layup.


8. Fred Brou, jr. — Brou scored on his shot attempt, a layup, after a nice feed from Morgan in the low post.


• Next up: 7 p.m. Friday vs. Free State. Record: 18-1.
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