Park Hill scorer picks the right moment

With no classes this week, the Park Hill boys only had to focus on one thing Monday night, starting off the William Jewell Classic with a victory against William Chrisman. The number two seeded Trojans were up against a Bears squad that from first appearance was less athletic and clearly outsized. Still, Park Hill only held a modest lead of 20-12 after the first quarter of play. But there was more to the score than a simple eight point lead; the Trojans had begun what would result in the gradual wearing down of the Bears defense.

After an all-conference season last year, senior guard Chris Nsenki doesn’t sneak up on teams like he used to. Now, he’s a target usually assigned to the opposing team’s best defender. The story of that first quarter and much of the first half was Park Hill’s ability to outplay their opponent despite their most recognized player being over-guarded. Assuming the role of distributor, Nsenki used the target on him to the team’s advantage by dishing the ball to his teammates.

“The thing about Chris is that he’s such a heady basketball player. When he puts himself in a position to draw the attention of the defense, he’s very good at getting his teammates the basketball,” Coach David Garrison said.

Forwards De’Aris Flint and Brady Kreitzer used their clear height advantage over William Chrisman and aggressive post play to put up points close to the basket, 17 and 19 respectively, on the night. The only thing between that combo and a rout was a scrappy and active Bears defense along with a couple timely three-pointers. Flint’s dunk shortly before halftime gave Park Hill its first double digit lead at 36-25.

The bend, but don’t break defense of William Chrisman eventually broke in the third quarter as Nsenki’s patience paid off when he was able to post 12 points from inside and out, providing an example of what his coach means when he says Nsenki can take over a game. Park Hill’s 16-2 run in the latter part of the third quarter put them up 62-38 on the way to a 79-53 first-round victory. At 8-1, they’ll play Liberty at 9pm Wednesday night followed by either a third place game on Thursday at 2:30pm or a championship game appearance at 9pm.

Nsenki’s outside scoring threat and composed play with an athletic presence inside from Kreitzer and Flint could make the Trojans a difficult team to beat as they head into 2011.

“Brady and De’Aris are both returning starters,” Garrison said. “They have a lot of confidence and are handling their roles as senior leaders real well.”

Although the Trojans are defending conference champions, the new conference setup provides stronger challenges this year with the likes of Lee’s Summit West, Truman, and St. Joe Central.

“We’ve got two weeks in the heart of our conference schedule coming up at the first of January, which will be difficult,” Garrison said. “We just can’t become complacent, there’s two months before districts.”