Lee’s Summit Tigers run past Raytown for a Missouri district championship

Lee’s Summit junior Blake Spellman stood nearly 50 feet from the basket, hunched over at his waist and his hands on his knees.

Inhale. Exhale.

The previous 90 seconds had left his head spinning and his legs shaking, he would later describe, the repercussions from running a collection of sprints.

In other words, the latest Lee’s Summit victory looked a lot like the previous 20.

The Tigers outran Raytown for a 79-67 win in the Missouri Class 5 District 14 championship game on Friday night.

Spellman supplied a game-best 25 points, and senior Drew Lock added 22 more.

“We try to go in and play as fast as we possibly can,” Spellman said. “And when you play like that, sometimes you can’t feel your legs.”

The particularly exhausting stretch — a sequence that lasted less than two minutes — provided the turning point in the game. And it came early.

Lee’s Summit, 21-6, trailed by two points late in the first quarter before scoring the next 16 points to take a double-digit advantage. A three from Spellman. Another from Jordan Bennett. A third from Oliver Edwards.

The damage was done. The Tigers built a 28-14 lead 20 seconds into the second quarter, and they led by at least five the rest of the way.

Five different players nailed three-pointers in the first quarter alone.

“We got guys who can handle the ball. We got guys who can really shoot the ball. And they’re all unselfish,” Lee’s Summit coach Blake Little said. “When you have that recipe, it leads to some fun basketball.”

The uptempo style was enough to offset a distinct height advantage from Raytown, which found success on the offensive glass. Forward Derrick Walker had 18 points, including five putbacks, but he picked up his fourth foul midway through the third quarter and didn’t score again. Fellow forward Jailen Gill had 12 more for the Bluejays, the Suburban White Conference champions who lost for just the second time in their past 19 games.

Lock and Marquawn Wilson were assigned defensive duties on Raytown’s twin towers.

“This is probably the most tired I’ve ever been after a game,” Lock said. “Jailen is a phenomenal player. (Walker) was bumping me around all game. My legs are dead right now.”

There won’t be much time for rest. The Tigers return to action Wednesday for the Class 5 sectional playoffs. They will meet Rockhurst at 6 p.m. at Grandview High School.

This story was originally published March 6, 2015 at 10:00 PM with the headline "Lee’s Summit Tigers run past Raytown for a Missouri district championship."