Lawrence Lions are runners-up in class 6A basketball

Lawrence boys basketball coach Mike Lewis turned his back to the cameras and wiped tears from his eyes as he reflected on what this year’s group of Chesty Lions meant to him.

Moments earlier, Lawrence had suffered its second loss of the season to Wichita East, and this time the stakes were higher in a 58-43 decision at the Kansas class 6A state championship game at Wichita State’s Koch Arena.

Still, Lewis could not have been prouder of the team that fought to keep him as their leader in front of the Lawrence school board last offseason when he was fired after finishing 17-5 as substate runners-up in 2014.

“We have been through a lot, and we are a pretty tight-knit group,” Lewis said. “I am really proud to be connected with them.”

This was the matchup that Lawrence had been dreaming of with a chance to avenge its 83-72 loss from the Topeka Invitational back in January, but it ended similarly with the Chesty Lions fighting back tears as they retreated to the locker room.

Wichita East’s Xavier Kelly, who is committed to play football for Kansas State, scored eight straight points to start the game and kept that pace up for the rest of the night to finish with 22 points on a 10-for-19 performance from the field. He also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds. Zach Jackson proved just as lethal with 23 points going six for eight from the field.

Lawrence, on the other hand, struggled in the first half, making four of its 20 shots and just one in the second quarter. Lawrence was also out-rebounded 25-10 before the break.

“I think our guys were trying, but there was just a physicality there and an athleticism there that was the difference when it came to getting loose balls and rebounding,” Lewis said. “We started to press a little bit on offense and weren’t real crisp.”

Wichita East came out just as fiery in the second half for a 14-2 run to start the third quarter. By the start of the fourth, Wichita East held a 41-23 lead that Lawrence was never able to knock back down to single digits.

The closest Lawrence got was 11 points with 2:27 left in the game thanks to a Justin Roberts three-pointer. It was his third of the game to close the gap to 51-40.

Roberts and Anthony Bonner each finished with 18 points for the Chesty Lions and combined for all five of their three-pointers. The two took 31 of the team’s 44 shots and made 12 of the 13 field goals in the game. The rest of the team went one for 13 from the field.

Wichita East also finished with a 42-26 rebound advantage with a 27-15 mark on the defensive boards.

“It came down to second chance points, and we gave them way too many of those,” Roberts said. “We couldn’t convert on offense and were sometimes a little sluggish. There were too many turnovers. We lost that game.”

Roberts still has one more season to chase a state title, but the Chesty Lions will take a hit when they lose six seniors — including three starters.

“I love these guys so much,” Roberts said. “They are my brothers, and it really sucks that it is over.”

This story was originally published March 14, 2015 at 8:58 PM with the headline "Lawrence Lions are runners-up in class 6A basketball."