Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports
Lawrence High’s Joey Dooley (24) and the rest of the Lions bench cheer following a big play early in the fourth quarter of a boys basketball game against Kansas City East Christian Academy on Dec. 9 at Lawrence High School.
A close contest was broken open in the fourth quarter as the Lawrence Lions rolled to a 65-51 victory over visiting Kansas City East Christian Academy on Tuesday night.
Lawrence (2-0) opened the game on an 8-3 spurt and led 16-15 at the conclusion of the first quarter. Simon Simien’s step-back jumper put the Lions up 24-20 midway through the second quarter, as the Lions entered the half with a 28-27 lead.
KC East’s Japheth Nowlin’s 3-pointer to open the second half handed East a 30-28 advantage. The lead was short-lived as the Lions replied with a 10-2 run, punctuated by sophomore forward Joey Dooley’s driving baseline layup.
An opportunity for East to quickly trim its deficit was foiled by poor free throw shooting. The Lions were assessed a technical foul for slamming the ball into the court following a foul call, but East failed to fully capitalize after misfiring on three of its four free throw attempts.
The Lions, who looked like the more athletic team, were able to consistently penetrate into the lane for high percentage shots, pulling ahead for a 44-37 lead through three quarters of play.
Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports
Lawrence High’s Simon Simien looks to pass the ball during a boys basketball game against Kansas City East Christian Academy on Dec. 9 at Lawrence High School.
Simien buried a 3-pointer to open the fourth, and followed with a steal and coast-to-coast layup to quickly push the Lions’ lead to double-digits. The junior point guard was assessed a dead-ball technical foul late in the third quarter and was playing with a laser focus the remainder of the way.
“I was just thinking ‘next play’ mentality after my tech,” Simien said, adding that it was a good learning experience, and could have been more negatively impactful in a closer matchup.
A DaMarre Cunningham 3-pointer, followed by a mid-ranger jumper off the hands of junior forward Kenyon Doleman, swelled the lead to 57-40 — busting the game wide open midway through the final frame.
Dooley paced the Lions with a team-high 20 points. Simien added 14 points, nine rebounds and three steals — while Doleman chipped in 10 points, knocking down 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.
Lawrence head coach Nick Wood dubbed Simien all-around performance “amazing.”
“He was rebounding the heck out of the basketball, handled the ball really well, shot it with confidence, was attacking the rim and making plays for other guys,” Wood said. “If Simon’s able to play like that consistently for us, which we know he can, he’s going to be a problem for a lot of teams.”
Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports
Lawrence High’s Joey Dooley goes up for a layup during a boys basketball game against Kansas City East Christian Academy on Dec. 9 at Lawrence High School.
Wood added his squad’s performance on both ends of the floor was uneven during the early going.
“I feel like it took us a half to get going, to play to the level we need to be successful,” he said. “I thought we came out with a much better mindset in the second half. We were doing a better job of attacking the glass and just getting after them.
“We talked about how ‘we are only as good as our weakest link,’ and so it takes all of us to be successful. And I saw us doing that in the second half.”
For the contest, East connected on just 12-of-27 free throw attempts, as 12 of their 15 misses came in the second half. For East, Nowlin finished with a team-high 17 points while burying five 3-pointers.
Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports
Lawrence High’s DaMarre Cunningham launches a 3-point shot during a boys basketball game against Kansas City East Christian Academy on Dec. 9 at Lawrence High School.
Coming off a pair of double-digit wins to open the season, Wood said his squad still needs to improve in a number of areas if it wants to reach its ceiling.
“Transition defense and rebounding,” he said. “And offensively, we’ve got to do a better job of moving without the ball.”
Wood also addressed the multiple technical fouls assessed to the Lions.
“There were some emotions that cost us some points tonight that we have to clean up,” he said.
Lawrence returns to the hardwood Dec. 17 for a home clash with Olathe South.
Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports
Lawrence High’s Simon Simien let’s out a roar after slamming the ball in frustration at a call during a boys basketball game against Kansas City East Christian Academy on Dec. 9 at Lawrence High School.
Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports
Lawrence High’s players celebrate with the student section after a boys basketball game against Kansas City East Christian Academy on Dec. 9 at Lawrence High School.
