Preview: Lions face Blue Valley Northwest in state championship

WICHITA — The Lions are looking to win a state championship tonight against No. 1 Blue Valley Northwest and bring state title No. 108 back to Lawrence.

They play at 6:15 at Koch Arena. The Lions beat No. 2 Manhattan on Wednesday 51-44, and No. 6 Blue Valley North on yesterday 41-36 to advance to the title game.

Senior Jackson Mallory said the Lions have to play aggressively tonight if they want to win against Blue Valley Northwest.

“They like to pressure on defense so we can’t let them dictate our offense,” Mallory said. “We will need to slow them down, and if we can get them to play at the speed we want to, that will give us a little bit of an advantage.”

After winning third place in the state tournament last year and second place in 2015, Mallory is hoping to come out on top in his final year at LHS. He said this game is different than other games since this is his last high school game ever.

“I’ve been here three times and gotten second and third,” he said. “So if I can add a first to that, that would be amazing.”

Blue Valley Northwest beat Free State 67-40 last night. In order for that not to happen to the Lions tonight, they have to step up their defense, Mallory said.

“We know they are a really good team but if we can lock down defensively, then we know we’ve got a shot,” Mallory said.

Last year, the Lions played Blue Valley Northwest in the third place game and won 74-66.

Blue Valley Northwest returns this year featuring largely the same lineup as last year, however their extra experience has lead them to hold the No. 1 ranking in the state for the majority of the year.

Mallory, however, is unfazed.

“I’m going to leave everything I have on that court and I trust my team to do the same,” he said.