March 13 & 14, 2015
Pregame Report: Lions take on SM North at 8:15 tonight
WICHITA — The No. 2 ranked Lions take on Shawnee Mission North (6) at 8:15 at Koch Arena in Wichita for the semifinal round of 6A state basketball.
The team is coming off of a 64-46 win against Wichita South (7) on Wednesday. Top scorers included Justin Roberts with 24 points and Anthony Bonner with 19. The team is now 22-1.
The Lions had a 19-1 regular-season record, earning them the No. 2 spot on the Kansas Performance Index 6A ranking as well as the Kansas High School Activities Association (KHSAA) rankings, just behind Wichita East (1), who plays Olathe East (4) at 4:45 today.
If the Lions overtake the Indians in tonight’s game they will move on to finals at 6:30 tomorrow against the winner of the Wichita East-Olathe East game.
The Budget will be live tweeting the game tonight. Follow @lhsbudget.
Pre-game Q & A with Coach Mike Lewis
How are you guys feeling about tonight?
“I think we’re prepared and I think our guys playing here Wednesday helps with the environment and helps put their nerves at ease. The Koch Arena, the locker room and just the details of where we are at. I think it is going to be a good match-up for us, and I think we’ll feed off of the student section in the crowd. Composure and patience will be important, but all-in-all, I am feeling good. I think the boys are feeling good and relaxed. We just have to be comfortable.”
What is it like for the boys the play at Koch Arena?
“I was trying to put myself in their shoes, if I was a high school kid playing in this arena and walking out there for the first time, how I would feel. It can be really overwhelming. It’s a completely different feel than your gym, like the gym at Lawrence High with the backdrop and everything. So I was really actually pleasantly surprised when I saw them warming up for the first time, how well they shot it. They seemed comfortable. I think they’re comfortable and Koch itself if a very beautiful arena. It’s big, it’s bright, the floor is about as nice as it gets. It’s a Division I facility, so it’s really nice.”
Does the venue affect play?
“Well yeah, but it also affects our opponent, too. It was their first time Wednesday, second time tonight. That is the way I am going to present it to our guys in pre-game tonight…They’re as nervous and anxious as we are. It’s not like we’re playing on their home court. We are both in the same feel there in terms of both being in our second game, both not being from Wichita, both having to travel, so I think we are pretty similar there.”
How will it be having the student section there?
“It will be great. That is the best part of being at home. The student section and the pep band. We can’t have the band because of Orlando so might as well have a bunch of kids having fun and coming down. I know that will be great. I know the students that are coming down will have a lot of fun with it. That is really what this whole experience should be about. Having fun while we are down here and staying as loose as we can ‘cause that is when we’ll play our best.”
What kind of team is SMN? How will you approach them in play?
“They are a fast-paced team. They like to get to the rim with the basketball and really go at you. They’re a team that has multiple weapons in terms of the Weathers brothers, Micheal and Marcus. But then they also have other players that will contribute on any given night. But the Weathers brothers lead the team in scoring and rebounding and defensive touches. They’re the real deal. How they compare to us? Their [LHS] athleticism compares well with them, I think we have a little bit more depth and a little bit more balance to our team versus their team, but the difference in the game will definitely be on the defensive side. If we can keep both of the Weathers boys under control and not let them have big games that will help. Then if we can be solid on offense and make them work on defense that will be to our advantage.”
How will the team deal with the excitement and anxiety of state?
“I haven’t really presented it except in the way that we think of it as a five-game tournament. We knew going in that we would have to win five basketball games to be a state champion, so each one we’ve won to get to this point has relieved some of the anxiety and anxiousness from that goal, but otherwise we have to just focus on tonight, win tonight, get a good night’s sleep and then worry about tomorrow. If the boys can just simplify that, which is easier said than done, if they can just simplify the mental side and say ‘Let’s just focus on Shawnee Mission North and focus on beating them,’ then we will worry about a state championship tomorrow.’”
What does it mean for you as a coach and as a team to make it to State?
“Personally it’s a milestone. You want to get your team to the state tournament. For me, this is my first time as a head coach. It’s been a bit of an overwhelming experience, but you just have to have some fun with it and trust your assistant coaches and go into it as a team and not just me but as a team. For the boys, for everybody on this team I know they’re excited, they’re anxious but I also know that they are a pretty mentally-tough group and they can handle it, so that helps me to be at ease to know that they can handle the situation.”
A lot of the team has been together for four years. How does that factor in?
“It only helps that they have been together for a long time. That is why they have had a good season overall.”
Lions lead 24-17 at half in state semifinals
“Stay loose and have fun” was the advice Coach Mike Lewis gave his team before they stormed onto the court to meet opponets Shawnee Mission North in the semifinals round of tonight’s State Championship tournament.
The team seemed to take the advice to heart as they passed up the Indians 24-16 in the first half.
Junior Price Morgan won the tipoff, passing the ball to senior Justin Roberts, who then ran the first play.
Morgan made another key move early, shooting the Lion’s first field goal with 5:27 left in the first quarter. The game quickly tied up with a three, followed by the next shot outside of the paint by Roberts, pulling the Lions ahead.
Quarter one ended 14-5, Lions.
At 6:32, Morgan grabbed a rebound on the defensive end, hurling it to Roberts who sunk a three to kick off quarter two.
The Lions held off SMN offense entirely until the six-minute mark when the Indians made one free throw.
Lewis shook up his lineup late in the half, substituting Morgan and Bonner for juniors Anthony Harvey and Fred Brou. He then added more fresh faces, subbing in Jackson Mallory.
Koch Arena, the home of the Wichita State Shockers and the largest venue in which the Lions have played, is filled with the sound of the Shawnee Mission North pep band. Although LHS band members could not travel to the game because of their spring break trip to Orlando, the student section is at the sidelines, brought by a fan bus that left the LHS campus at 4:30 this afternoon.
Fans were admitted at the ticket office at the arena and were scanned in by arena employees as they would have been at a college or pro-level game.
Look for more coverage after the game.
Lions advance to championship game for 6A state basketball
WICHITA — After overcoming a long day of travel and getting used to a new, large venue, the Lions overtook the Shawnee Mission North Indians, 78-64, advancing to the championship game against Wichita East tomorrow.
The team came out for the second half ready to follow up a solid first-half performance where they led Shawnee Mission North, 24-17.
The starters came out shooting on the basket in front of the student section, raising hype in the third quarter. Senior Logan Applegate tipped in a field goal at the buzzer to conclude the quarter.
Lewis put the fiver starters back on the court to bring the Lions home, and four of the five remained for the entire stretch. Junior Price Morgan was switched out with Applegate early in the quarter.
The sizeable lead was apparent in the student section, where irrelevant chants such as a reptitive “USA” raged during timeouts.
With 3:05 left in the game, Roberts caught a rebound outside the paint, hurled it to senior Ben Rajewski who, while taking it to the basket, fouled out of the game. Barbee snagged the lost point seconds later.
The student section closed out the game singing the alma mater over the SMN pep band’s song.
The Lions take on East tomorrow at 6:30 p.m.
Pregame: Lions take on Wichita East at 6:15 p.m.
The team takes on top-ranked Wichita East at 6:15 in their first state championship since 1995.
After beating Shawnee Mission North last night with a 78-64 final score, The Lions will be taking on the only team they did not trump in the regular season.
“We want revenge really bad,” junior Justin Roberts said. “It gives us more energy, it motivates us to play hard. I am really excited to play them again.”
East will, without doubt, be a fair opponent for the Lions. They earned their No. 1 rating from the Kansas High School Activities Association with a 23-1 record, the same as LHS, and beat Maize yesterday afternoon 59-46.
“I don’t think we gave it our all that first game,” senior Anthony Bonner said. “I don’t think they got our best shot. This is a good chance to redeem ourselves and I really think we can beat these guys.”
Halftime Report: Lions trail Wichita East in state championship game
The starting five were introduced on the WSU court at about 6:30 to start play in the state championship.
Wichita East first got their hand on the ball but only to knock it to senior Anthony Bonner who then ran the first offensive play that he ended with a three—the first points on the board.
East quickly caught up and kept the Lions scoreless for two minutes, which was broken with a layup by Bonner with 1:13 left in the first quarter. Bonner led the Lions in scoring during the half with seven points.
LHS was down 8-9 at the end of the first quarter.
East’s defensive line kept the Lions from covering needed-ground in the second quarter, but the team was able to stay in the game with a few field goals and a late trip to the free throw line by senior John Barbee, which was one of his two points during the half.
Although LHS did not provide a fan bus like they did last night, the Lions’ student section is full—many returning from last night’s game.
“Both of the teams have a lot of talent so it’s hard to tell who’s going to win,” sophomore Cole Brungardt said.
The Lions are down 13-31 at half.
“I think we need to rebound,” junior Betsy Smoot said. “And work hard and muscle and be good in transitions.”
Lions fall to Wichita East, finish second in 6A basketball tournament
WICHITA — Although the Lions fought to the very end, they were ultimately overtaken by Wichita East with a 58-43 defeat tonight. The team took second in the 6A basketball state tournament.
After the game, Coach Mike Lewis said he and team members were trying to stay positive.
“I just thought about all the good times we had, all the basketball games, all the team dinners, all of the practices,” Lewis said. “We spent an awful lot of time with each other and for it to come to a screeching hault like this is hard, but I just have a lot of positive feelings toward this group.”
The Lions fought to stay in the game despite trailing most of the night. The team trailed 13-21 at halftime.
Junior Price Morgan contributed early in the second half, making both of his free throws at the 7:15 mark in quarter three.
The Lions continued to trail throughout the third quarter, being beat by East’s defensive line who kept the Lions’ field goal percentage down to 37.5 percent.
Coach Mike Lewis put his starting five back on the court with 4:09 left in the third when he subbed in senior Ben Rajewski for senior Logan Applegate.
With 1:53 left in the quarter after East made two, wide-open layups, Lewis called a full timeout to recompose the team.
Senior Anthony Bonner made a three coming off of the time out, then made a free throw to bring the score to 23-40. He ended the game with 18 points.
Rajewski committed a late foul, leading to one more point for East, bringing the score to 41-23 at the end of the third quarter.
Junior Justin Roberts entered the third quarter with a bang, sinking a three at 7:45 and then again at 4:33 and 2:17. Like Bonner, Roberts finished the game with 18 points.
Rajewski made up for lost ground by getting fouled at the 6:30 mark, which was followed by a play under the basket and a field goal by Roberts, bring thing the score to 29-45.
The team’s fight was well-illustrated in a gutsy play by Applegate, who saved the ball from under East’s basket, hurled it to Roberts, which resulted in a field goal by Morgan with 4:21 left in the game.
The Lions continued to look for final shooting opportunities, including a layup by Bonner with 3:20 left, upon finding a wide-open gap in East’s defense.
After Roberts’s late three, East committed a foul, which put the Lions back under their basket. Bonner took and missed a three but then got fouled and shot two at the line.
The last minute of the game was dedicated to both team’s benches when both Lewis and East’s coach Joe Jackson subbed their starters.
The LHS student section applauded their team after singing the alma mater when the players were given silver medals for their second place state finish.
Regardless of the outcome on the scoreboard, students and teachers applauded the team on a great regular and post-season.
“Of course I’ll be disappointed but it was a hard-fought season, I thought it was really cool that we’re here,” junior Daonte Lowrey said.
Zia Kelly 