Entering Thursday, Free State High’s boys basketball team had lost three of its past four games, but nobody was complaining about its defense.


The Firebirds were holding teams well below their scoring averages, but just couldn’t find ways to score enough points to win games. In a two-point loss to Olathe Northwest last week, the Firebirds looked at tape and saw they missed six open shots in the paint.


But when push came to shove against St. James Academy on Thursday, the Firebirds found ways to score in a 49-42 victory in the 1st round of the Saints Classic at St. Thomas Aquinas. They celebrated by blasting “In Da Club” by 50 Cent in the locker room afterward.


“It was a really good win,” junior Hunter Gudde said. “Losing three out of our four, it boosted our confidence a lot.”


The Firebirds were shooting 24 percent (34-for-139) from behind the three-point line entering Thursday, before draining five of their 11 attempts.


Those triples found the bottom of the net when Free State needed them the most. St. James went on a 6-0 run to open the second half before senior Weston Hack drilled a three to help the Firebirds pull even in the third quarter. Back-to-back threes in the fourth quarter by sophomore Sloan Thomsen and Hack gave Free State a lead it would never give up.


?”We dug in and made enough plays on the offensive end, and took them out of their rhythm a little bit on the defensive end,” FSHS coach Chuck Law said.


It doesn’t get any easier for the Firebirds with essentially a road game against St. Thomas Aquinas on Friday, but it’s a good sign that their offense is getting back on track. They had six different scorers on Thursday, all with at least six points.


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.

Free State boys basketball

1. Hunter Gudde, jr. — Gudde did a little bit of everything for the Firebirds. He scored nine points with five assists, seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals. He scored four points at the end of the first half, with a layup and a buzzer beating floater to tie the game. In the second half, he dished out a few assists and picked up some key rebounds.


2. Weston Hack, sr. — Hack was limited in the first half with two fouls in the first three minutes. But he came out with some extra fire in the second half, scoring 12 points in the last two quarters. He also had three rebounds, two steals and an assist.


3. Andrew Keating, sr. — With Hack limited by foul trouble, Keating was the leading guy for Free State’s offense in the first half. He scored seven of his nine points in the first half, finishing with two rebounds and an assist.


“We got some guys in there who really gave us a lift,” FSHS coach Chuck Law said. “Andrew Keating was great, particularly in the first half getting to the basket. I told our guys, that was a great team effort.”


4. Jacob Pavlyak, so. — Pavlyak provided a strong punch off of the bench, scoring six points and adding two assists. He had a big steal and coast-to-coast layup in the fourth quarter to help the Firebirds to a three-point lead. On the next possession, he found Hack on a backdoor pass for an easy layup. He also played solid defense, helping shut down St. James’ shooters late in the game.


5. Chrision Wilburn, jr. — Wilburn picked up a lot of minutes off of the bench with his strong play. He scored six points on 3-of-4 shooting to go along with three rebounds and a steal. He occupied the middle of the Firebirds’ zone and mostly limited drives. On offense, he also did a good job setting screens to help give their best shooters some space.


6. Sloan Thomsen, so. — He made two of the biggest shots of the game. In the second quarter, he drilled one from the right corner to help Free State in a 10-0 run. When the Firebirds needed a boost in the fourth quarter, he didn’t hesitate to launch a three, helping them on their comeback. He also played nice defense at the top of the Firebirds’ zone with his length.


7. Justin Narcomey, sr. — Narcomey missed his only two shots from the field, but he made a huge play in the third quarter, blocking an open layup attempt. The Thunder had scored on three of their first four possessions of the second half before that play, and they only scored on two of their next seven possessions.


8. Jack Raney, sr. — Raney missed his only shot attempt, but had some good energy defensively.


9. Jay Dineen, so. — He had a lot of energy when he was on the court, diving for a steal. He missed the only shot he took.


10. Caleb Holland, sr. — He picked up some minutes in the first half off of the bench, but didn’t put up a shot or record any stats.


• Next up: 7:45 tonight vs. St. Thomas Aquinas at Aquinas Tournament. Record: 5-4.
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