At what was the final home basketball game for this year’s seniors, emotions were high for everyone, with the substate title and a trip to state on the line. It was these seniors, who make up four of the five starters for the Lions, that scored 46 of the team’s 65 points in the basketball game on Saturday, Mar. 5.

The Lions became substate champions after they beat the Shawnee Mission Northwest Cougars, 65-44, in the second game of the substate tournament.

The Lions, who beat the Cougars on the road earlier this season on Feb. 9, did not want a repeat of the nail-biter finish, and used the high emotion tonight—along with the raucous crowd—to jump to an early lead.

After one quarter, the Lions edged the Cougars by eight points, but following a quick start for the home side, the Lions pulled away and never looked back.

The second half largely consisted of the seniors enjoying their last home game. Many alley-oops were thrown and deep threes were taken, but the Lions still added to their lead.

Senior Fred Brou was one of the most memorable Saturday, scoring ten points and playing strong defensively and offensively at the rim. The crowd roared when he made two consecutive dunks in the third quarter including a thundering slam over a Shawnee Mission Northwest defender, slamming it home and drawing a foul.

“It was good,” Brou said. “I was kind of in the moment when it happened.”

With a team-high fifteen points Saturday, senior Price Morgan led the Lions at the offensive end, showcasing the versatility that has made him a crucial member of the basketball team over the past few seasons. Whether it was posting his man or showcasing his shooting touch, Morgan had his way on the floor tonight.

Senior Anthony Harvey Jr. was all over the floor, tearing away rebounds from the opposition or deflecting passes to start the fast break down the court.

Harvey’s shining moment came in the second quarter when he ran the floor following a block by junior Kobe Buffalomeat and received an outlet pass from senior Justin Roberts. He went up strong and finished the lay in, despite taking a hard foul.

Roberts, with ten points, carried the Lions early on, finding his teammates in open areas and making cuts to open up room for his teammates to drive. He said the team has good chemistry, which helped with their win and allowed for a chance to repeat last year’s postseason run.

“It was great,” Roberts said. “It was just the way we wanted to come out of the gates and just try to defeat them from the beginning so we had to play for the full thirty-two minutes and try to get it going.”

The Lions’ next game is Thursday, Mar. 10 at 3 pm. They play Dodge City (12-10) at Wichita’s Koch Arena. Remembering last year’s state tournament where they lost in the championship game to Wichita East, Roberts wants to change the outcome this year.

“We’re just trying to win all three games this year instead of just two,” he said.