By james art 
Photo from: David gave birth/Journal-Vorld
Junior Eddie Roman Cape heads to the basket at a loss of 64-54 to Olate East on Saturday, January 25, 2025 in the high school in Topeka.
Topeka-Lorns ended the 64th Topeca Invitation Tournament Fourth of the eight teams after lions lost 64-54 Saturday to Olate East in the game in third place.
The lions finished 1-2 in the tournament, and the coach Nick Wood saw many positives in the three-day tournament and a lot of growth. The lions have five weeks before the post -season starts with the tournament of the floor.
“It was a great experience for us,” Wood said. “I felt we were playing on Wichita southeast for 32 minutes. Yesterday we played a difficult team at Highland Park and competed like crazy. Today there were segments of the game where we were really good and there were segments where we were not good enough. “
Wood said that in the future, the team should shrink the time when the team is not playing well enough and added that the game against Olate East has shown that the team still has a “long way”.
The lions started the game by attacking the rim. The first quarter mainly included points in paint and free throws, although freshman Joey Dulie hit a 3-indicator at the end of a quarter. The lions almost finished the involved quarter, but the last second council gave the Hawks 17-15 lead.
Dooley continued to shine as there were in the first two games of the tournament. The 6-foot-2 striker made some of all for the lions, and the coaching staff is pleased with his development.
“We continue to tell him,” Give yourself some grace, “Wood said. “What he does at this level is remarkable. He learns what it takes to compete at this level of night and what the physicality at this level is. We are excited about his future. “
Lawrence fought at both ends in the second quarter. The Hawk started at 7-2 run, but the lions returned to the game with 3S by Avery Johnson and Aden Ramirez. These were the end points of the half for the lions, while Hawks finished at 10-0, which gave them an 11-point lead in half.
This Ola East proved to be the main one. Lawrence replied well and answered almost every result of Olate East, but the lions could not compensate for any base and struggled to reduce the lead in the second half. Both teams scored 13 in the third quarter, and the lions surpassed Hawks 18-17 in the fourth.
The second half included some of the most minutes that a few lions played throughout the season. From Freshman Truth Pope to Junior Jaxon Becker, the game gives more players a chance to learn their roles.
“Our boys figure out how to get there and succeed, especially in a tournament like the one where you have three matches in three days,” Wood said. “These guys get more experience. We are excited about continuing to develop our depth. “
Junior guard Eddie Roman Cape began to get offended in the fourth. He scored 10 of the 18 points of the team, including 8 straight for the lions. In the end, the lions were in a loss of 64-54, which put them in fourth place in the tournament.
Lions will host Sumner Academy on Tuesday at 7:00 pm