Park Hill puts themselves on the map

Park Hill’s Boys Basketball hasn’t had too many games where they’ve made statement in recent years. Going up against some of the top teams in the metro hasn’t produced the results coach David Garrison and his Trojans would have liked in the past. That’s all changed this season and was taken to the next level last Saturday in Park Hill’s inaugural appearance in the William Jewell Holiday Classic as they defeated Grandview, defending state runner-up, by a score of 70-59.

It was evident from the tip that Grandview would use their speed and size to play the Trojans full-court the entire game. Nothing came easy for Park Hill, but a composed and methodical breakdown of the Bulldog press allowed them to get some quality opportunities in the half-court. Even with a controlled offense, Park Hill found themselves down throughout the first half including a 16-10 deficit at the end of the first quarter.

“We weren’t moving very well,” Garrison said of their first half. “It took us awhile to get our legs underneath us.”

Grandview’s 6’7” power forward, Quentel Denson, was a big threat down low for the Trojans and when combining it with their fast style of play could have led to a detrimental scoring streak at any time, but the Trojans held steady with physical defense and went into halftime only down 33-25.

“We knew from watching him in the Hy-Vee Shootout what problems he could cause us,” Garrison said of Denson.

Coming out of the second half, the Chris Nsenki Show came alive as he racked up four consecutive three-pointers for Park Hill. A defense led by De’Aris Flint and Anthony Walters then rattled the Bulldogs allowing Park Hill to take a 45-43 lead late in the third quarter. The Trojans didn’t look back and squashed any potential momentum Grandview was looking to gain by playing fundamental defense.

One key to the Trojans sustaining their lead was their tenacity towards defensive rebounds and pulling the ball in on second and third chances that Grandview wasn’t able to. Park Hill took advantage of the energy as Justin Leathers converted a series of free throws and Brady Kreitzer finished consecutive lay-ins to extend the lead to 64-54 before finally pulling out the victory by a final score of 70-59. Four of Park Hill’s starters finished in scoring double-digits with Nsenki’s 18, Leathers’ 17, Kreitzer’s 16, and Walters’ 11 points.

Garrison talked about the significance of the victory, especially when playing in the tournament for the first time and the added exposure that comes with it.

“It’s new for our program, being in this tournament,” Garrison said. “This is their first time in this setting so to be playing in front of this many different people is something out of our element and it was a big win for us.”

As we went to deadline on Tuesday night, Park Hill (5-1) was playing O’Hara (7-1) in the semifinal round at William Jewell.