Trojans fall in district play after successful regular season

It comes around every year and you’re almost sure to hear it in some form or another. “Anything can happen in districts.” That simple phrase can mean a wide range of things, positive or negative. Unfortunately, for the Park Hill Trojans, this year it wasn’t used in the way they had hoped.

After attaining a 19-6 record in the regular season, going undefeated on the way to their first conference championship in eight years, and grabbing a first round bye in the district tournament, the Trojans were eyeing an opportunity at a district championship to add to their resume. It was an opportunity that wouldn’t come to fruition as they were upset in their first district game by Oak Park 47-45.

Coming into the season, Oak Park was described as young and inexperienced. It showed the first time they played the Trojans back in December as they were handedly defeated 56-34. But by the time the conference rematch came around just three weeks ago, the Northmen were a different team. Although Park Hill defeated Oak Park on their home court 51-48, the victory seemed unsatisfying to the Trojans at the time.

A talented and athletic Park Hill team was favored coming into the semifinal game last Wednesday, but Oak Park forced Park Hill to play their style early by holding the Trojans to just seven points in the first quarter. Park Hill was able to narrow their deficit to 20-19 at halftime, but Coach David Garrison’s team struggled to get into a rhythm offensively in addition to having an uncharacteristic poor shooting night (31% from the floor). Justin Leathers led the team in scoring with 18 and Chris Nsenki followed with 12 points, both below their season averages.

“Oak Park did a good job of controlling the tempo, and we had a hard time getting our shots to fall,” Garrison said.

The Trojans tried to stage a comeback in the fourth quarter, but outscoring the Northmen by three in the final quarter wasn’t enough as Oak Park, not Park Hill, advanced to the district title game.

“The game Wednesday was very similar to our game against them at the beginning of February, only we couldn’t get the win this time,” Garrison said. “Anytime you play a conference opponent three times, it is going to be difficult.”

Although the loss is plenty of motivation for a team that returns a significant amount of experience next year including four starters, this year’s seniors provided a foundation for what Garrison hopes is continued success.

“After the game I let them know how proud I was of how they handled all the adversity this season. They took the program forward, and that is something they can take pride in. Their commitment and leadership was outstanding,” Garrison said of his seniors.