Boys’ Basketball Recap: SME vs. SMNW

Varsity boys basketball beat the Shawnee Mission Northwest Cougars 51-48 on Feb. 10.

The Lancers started out strong, leading in the first three minutes by two points. But when the Cougars made a three point shot and surpassed the Lancers by a point, the teams were neck and neck until the very end.

“We knew how important the game was for our season and we prepared really well for it all week,” junior Charlie Moreland said. “We defended their best players and executed our offense really well.”

At the end of the first quarter sophomore Kelyn Bolton tied the game at 12-12 with a last minute three-pointer. Both teams’ high energy and fast pace of play carried through the rest of the first half. In the last three minutes, the Lancer offense over-powered the Cougars’ defense and lead to a four point lead to make the score 26-22 at half.

During the second quarter, the Cougars began the third with a renewed intensity and tied the game 28-28 again with five minutes left in the quarter.

The rest of the third quarter was a back and forth battle; the Lancers quickly pulled ahead with 4 minutes left and made the score 31-28, but by the time the buzzer rang Cougars were up by one with a score of 34-33.

Three minutes In the fourth quarter, senior Trevor Thompson pulled the Lancers into the lead with a three-pointer making the score 40-37. After the shot, the Lancers gained momentum and kept the lead until one minute was left when the game was tied 48-48.

Coach Shawn Hair quickly called a timeout for the boys to collect themselves and figure out how to regain the lead. With 17 seconds left, the lancers pulled ahead by two.

With two seconds left, the Lancers fouled and the Cougars were given one free throw. After calling a time-out, the Cougars missed the free throw and the Lancers won. The final score was 51-48 after four quarters of a close game.

“We made some good plays towards the end of the game and we made free throws at the end which helped us keep the lead,” senior Connor Rieg said. “We’ve won our last three and we have a winning record for the first time since December, so that’s something that everyone is happy about.”