After taking a hard beating at the hands of Free State at the beginning of their season, the LHS boys basketball team will be playing their rival again with the home court advantage at 7 p.m. this Friday.

The boys broke down offensively in their last game against the Firebirds, and it cost them the game.

“We did not handle their press very well in the second half,” Assistant Coach David Platt said. “That will not happen again though.”

The boys have been making strides since then to gain more confidence and handle the ball better under pressure.

“The LHS boys spread the floor and create great space, and they also shoot the ball extremely well,” Free State Head Coach Chuck Law said. “They were difficult to guard because of their ability to drive the ball and shoot it.”

The Free State boys found LHS’ 2-3 zone difficult to play against, and they intend to penetrate the zone better than they have in the past to get better looks on offense.

However, the Lions have no intentions of letting the Firebirds come in and steal the show on Friday especially since it is their senior night.

Free State’s junior guard Evan Manning and senior guard Nick Hassig will be threats. Senior guard Michael McCabe and senior guard Marcus Ray will be given the assignment of guarding these guys.

“I’m looking forward to getting a chance to play them again and get a win since they got us last time,” senior Michael McCabe said.

The last game against Free State was a hard fought battle that did not have the end result the LHS was hoping for. They are confident this time things will be different.