PHS boys hold off another Park Hill battle

Last time the Park Hill and Park Hill South boys basketball teams met, it was Park Hill South which jumped out to an early lead and held off a frantic Park Hill comeback for a 51-47 Panther win. The roles would be similarly flipped last Thursday in the rematch as Park Hill (3-17) jumped out to a 18-13 lead over Park Hill South after Landry Shamet hit a three-pointer at buzzer to end the first quarter. Shamet would end the game with 20 points.

“The thing that makes Landry special is, first, he loves basketball and then he wants to win really bad,” Park Hill coach David Garrison said. “For him to step up in this game, It’s sign of good things to come from him.”

In front of a full crowd at Park Hill, the home team would maintain their lead, going into halftime with a 30-27 advantage. That’s when the Panthers would come alive though as Hudson Welty hit a three-pointer early in the third quarter to give Park Hill South their first lead. It would be a sign of things to come as Welty would end up scoring a game high 23 points and lead the Panthers to a 45-35 lead going into the fourth quarter.

“We had to get him the ball, he hit some threes. If we wanted an advantage in the paint, we had to do that. It was a great atmosphere,” Park Hill South coach Rick Zych said. “We were outplayed in the first half, but we really came out with some intensity in the second half. We really played well in the third quarter.”

Park Hill felt they made some bad decisions and lost their focus in the third quarter.

“We got out of sync in the third quarter, didn’t get off very good shots,” Garrison said. “If you give some teams easy buckets, it makes it difficult.”

Park Hill South would weather a Trojan comeback attempt, but it would fall short as the Panthers took the two teams’ second matchup 57-54. While they won’t be seeing each other the rest of the regular season, the two could potential meet in the district tournament in two weeks. Garrison said if that were to be the case, they would look to last year for inspiration when the Trojans ended Park Hill South’s season after previously losing to them twice in the regular season.

“Last year we played twice and lost twice by similar advantages, but were able to get a win in the district tournament,” Garrison said. “We’ve got kids who have seen that happen.”

Park Hill South (15-6) beat Truman on the road in conference play earlier in the week 63-53 and is looking towards the possibility of a top seed in the district tournament. While in good position, they believe there are still improvements to be made.

“Hopefully, we’ll be the number one seed,” Zych said. “We have to work on rebounding and taking care of the ball. We’ve got a long way to go, but we’re making some strides.”

On the other side, Park Hill (3-17) hopes to keep their focus and remind themselves of the possibilities district play can bring. In order for that to happen, it will take some more stability and consistency.

“We have stretchs were our decision making isn’t very good and have moments where we just breakdown and someone forgets their responsibility,” Garrison said. “We have two options for this season. When it doesn’t work out, we can make the choice to either pack it in or choose to build on it and carry it into districts.”

Liberty North dials Park Hill South's number - again

The Park Hill South boys basketball team has played high quality to start the first half of their season, compiling an 8-2 record. However, they have yet to find a winning combo to overcome the tenacity of the Liberty North Eagles who are responsible for the Panthers’ only two losses on the season, both of which have been for tournament titles. The most recent came over the weekend in the championship game of the Cardinal Division at the annual William Jewell Holiday Tournament in a match-up of two talented and physical teams where the Eagles got the best of the Panthers 44-36.

“We need to play games like this. They’re a good competitive team who is battle tested in the state tournament,” Park Hill South coach Rick Zych said. “We have good kids, but have a way to go and need to keep improving. We talk about what our goals are and one of them is to be better in February than we are right now.”

Park Hill South handedly took care of Ray-Pec in the first round of the tournament 52-29 before edging out Blue Springs in a highly competitive semifinal contest 49-44.

In a packed field house resembling a playoff atmosphere, both teams came out of the gate with poised offensive possessions. Liberty North would capitalize on a few key Park Hill South turnovers to earn a 12-5 lead after one quarter. Park Hill South narrowed the lead to a 20-16 score at halftime, but couldn’t get their shots to fall to create any momentum going in the second half going 8-for-28 from the field. Unable to take advantage of a team foul advantage in the fourth quarter, the Panthers struggled down the stretch from the free throw line going 5-for-12.

Down by 14 at one point in the fourth quarter, Park Hill South battled back to within six with under two minutes to play before Liberty North was able to secure the final victory.

Brinkley Jolly, who gave the Panthers trouble in the post all night, led the Eagles with 17 points and was named the Cardinal Division’s most valuable player. Park Hill South’s Anthony Woods, who led the team in scoring with eight points, made the All-Tournament team while Payton Meek was awarded the Hustle Award in the division.

“We’ve played two competitive games against them.” Zych said. “They’re a little more physical than we are right now. Their post player outplayed our posts. He hit some tough shots too, but I was proud of the way we competed.”

Zych says there were a lot of positives to take away from the tournament, but most is important is what lay ahead in the conference schedule, which will lay the groundwork for their ultimate goal, a district title.

“I think with three games on back to back to back days we learned a lot about ourselves and our personalities,” Zych said. “I was telling the guys that the season is a journey. I’ll trade some second place tournament trophies for a district championship.”

Park Hill South plays at Liberty on January 8^th before hosting Staley at home January 11^th.

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Park Hill’s early season struggled continued last week at the William Jewell Holiday Tournament. Drawing a tough match-up in the first round against Rockhurst on Wednesday, the Trojans fell behind early and found themselves in a 40-16 hole at halftime. It was a margin Park Hill would not be able to make up as they eventually fell 70-44. The next morning against Harrisonville, they would give up an early lead as well with the Wildcats taking a 23-16 lead into the locker room at halftime. This time, the Trojans would fire back with a 12-4 run in the opening minutes of the third quarter, gaining a brief 28-27 lead. Harrisonville would have the last say though as Matthew Pringle would rack up 26 points on the Trojans as they edge out a 55-48 win.

Park Hill falls to 2-8 on the year and will next see action January 8^th at Liberty North

Park Hill, South look to Jewell Tournament

The William Jewell Holiday Tournament features some of the best high school basketball action and teams from around the metro year to year. 2012 will be no different and will provide some steep competition for Park Hill and Park Hill South who will be a part of the 24 team field, competing in separate brackets.

Park Hill came into their opening round matchup against Rockhurst (4-2) Wednesday afternoon after a slow 2-6 start to the season, but went into the Christmas break with an impressive win over North Kansas City (59-37), which they hope will give them some positive momentum to take into the tournament.

The Trojans have looked to sophomores Landry Shamet and Devonte Thornton to lead them offensively in the early season. Thornton led Park Hill with 15 points in their win over North Kansas City last week. Both have strong growth potential in the coming years. While Thornton will scrap down low, Landry can be a threat from the outside as well as attack the basket.

“He’s a very heady basketball player, a good shooter, and very good at getting himself to the basketball,” Park Hill coach David Garrison said. “He jumps really well, which I think surprises some people. I think as he gets older and stronger, he’ll be a good player for us.”

Park Hill has seen some tough competition in the early season, which they believe will benefit them as they face the heart of their conference schedule starting in January.

“We’ve played some really good teams before Christmas,” Garrison said. “Blue Springs, Blue Springs South, Jefferson City. This (tournament) is going to be another tough test for us.”

Depending on the outcome of Wednesday night’s game, Park Hill will next face St. Pius X or Harrisonville. Other possible opponents in the Trojans final game could include Kearney, Raytown, Truman, or Liberty.

In addition to having the potential to shoot the ball really well at times, Garrison said another key factor is their defensive pressure away from the ball.

“We’re really trying to emphasize our off-the-ball pressure defensively. We’ve put forth a good effort, but sometimes we let the ball go by us. We’re doing better, but that will be critical for us,” Garrison said. “We’re a work in progress and I think as we keep doing that, when we get into conference play, we’ll be playing a lot better.”

Garrison said seniors Keaton Anchors, Austin Truvillion, and Ricky Trammell have all contributed in different roles and with more confidence they’ll become even better.

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Park Hill South goes into the William Jewell Tournament as a two-seed with their 6-1 record and will match-up against Ray-Pec (2-4) in the Cardinal Division’s first round at 6pm Thursday. With a win, the Panthers hope to play Blue Springs the next day for the right to a title game appearance.

Park Hill South’s most recent victory came in a close 63-54 win over Belton on the road before a one week break leading up to this week’s tournament.

Under the leadership of first year head coach Rick Zych and a number of experienced players, Park Hill South got off to a hot start in the first half of their season. Combining a sometimes devastating balance between their physical post presence and soft outside shooting touch, the Panthers have positioned themselves as a team to watch in this tournament as well as going forward the rest of the season.

Park Hill boys' hoops looking for their identity

The Park Hill boys basketball team saw its share of ups and downs as they went 1-1 in their opening week of play, but as they head into the highly competitive Blue Springs Tournament this week, they know there is a lot of upside to their potential if they’re able to be patient and learn from a tough December schedule.

“The thing about us is we’re trying to find our identity,” Park Hill coach David Garrison said. “We have some strengths and there are some things we’ve worked on with our guard play. Anytime you do something new, it’s going to take a while to grasp it. If we stay focused and we keep working hard, we’re going to improve tremendously, which I’m excited about.”

After trailing Kearney by just two at halftime of their season opener, the Trojans came out cold in the second half and weren’t able to get to the free throw line, leading to a 54-40 loss. Their home opener against Oak Park on Friday night had a slightly different tempo to it as Park Hill saw themselves fall behind in the first half of a closely contested matchup. Park Hill took a lead they would not relinquish in the third quarter on the way to a 61-52 win over the Northmen.

While the tone and atmosphere gave the feeling of a district playoff game, there was plenty to resemble an early season game with shaky fundamentals, decision-making, and a 15-36 performance from the free throw line.

“The back and forth was the February part, but our performance and how consistent we were, was definitely the November part,” Garrison said. “They outplayed us in the first half, we didn’t match them effort-wise or energy-wise. We needed a couple things to go our way in the second half to get a win.”

Sophomore guard Landry Shamet led the Trojans in scoring for the second straight game with 14 points.

Drawing Blue Springs South in the first round of the Blue Springs Tournament, the Trojans will face some steep competition over the next two weeks including a ‘Coaches vs. Cancer’ game at Liberty on December 11, a rematch with Blue Springs South at home on December 16, and North Kansas City on December 18.

“We’ll be playing some good teams, so by the time we get to Christmas we’ll have some pretty good experience,” Garrison said.

Winter Preview: Park Hill Boys Basketball

Park Hill boys basketball coach David Garrison only has two players returning with varsity experience from a team that went 7-19 last year, which ended on a high note with an unexpected run to the district title game. However, he does take comfort in knowing he’ll have a handful of seniors taking the next step up to lead his team who know what is expected of them.

“We’re young and have some older kids that don’t have varsity experience, but they’re kids who have been in the program,” Garrison said. “They know what we’re working on, it’s just up to them to go out, execute, and do it.”

After averaging eight points a game last season, senior point guard Keaton Anchors returns alongside junior guard Ricky Trammell as the only Trojans’ letter winners back for the 2012-2013 season. Garrison says he’ll look to Anchors to set the tone.

“Keaton started last year and improved as the season went on. You can tell he has the experience now,” Garrison said. “He’s going to be relied on to get the guys ready and provide some leadership.”

The Trojans could have up to 11 players seeing playing time this year. Seniors Erik Stratman, Devonte Thornton, and junior Kenny McConnell will present difficult matchups for opposing offenses with their athleticism. Seniors Seth Ell, Connor Samenus, and Austin Truvillion are in the mix as well to provide physical presence down-low. A handful of promising sophomores that will see playing time this year include Landry Shamet, Deionte Wilson, and Louis Reinmiller.

Garrison says the mix of raw potential and varying age levels will be something to watch as the season goes on.

“It’s going to be exciting to watch this team improve,” Garrison said. “When you’re inexperienced, you’re going to get better constantly every day. You can see it in practice.”

Garrison says the Trojans lack overwhelming size, so they will try to pick up the pace from time to time which could involve some four-guard sets. The key for Park Hill will be the development of their young shooters and the all-important fundamental of rebounding.

“We have to potential to be good shooters. We have some kids who can make shots, it’s just having the confidence once the game comes around to come through,” Garrison said. “The one thing we’ll have to do really well is doing a good job of rebounding since we aren’t that big.”

Park Hill will see early season action at the Blue Springs and William Jewell Tournaments in December.

Park Hill avoids trifecta sweep, but falls in district title game

The old saying ‘It’s hard to beat a team three times’ is commonly used to describe how difficult it is for a team to beat another they’re generally considered the favorite over after having already won two previous games. This was the case coming into last week’s district semifinal game between the Park Hill and Park Hill South boys basketball teams as Park Hill South, with an impressive 17-8 season, came into their district semifinal game against Park Hill with two wins against the Trojans already this season. On the other side of the court was Park Hill, coming into the game after a tough regular season which gave them with a 6-17 record. Having only lost by a combined eight points in their two previous losses to the Panthers, they were two outings in which the Trojans displayed an unmatched amount of fire and passion. The third and final meeting would be no different.

With elimination and the end of the season on the line, the two rivals battled back and forth nearly every minute of the game. The atmosphere had the passionate feel most matchups bring between these two teams, but with the added tension of its playoff implications.

Despite being an underdog, Park Hill took a 16-11 lead into the second quarter which was narrowed to a slim 29-28 going into halftime. Park Hill South would pull ahead by seven late in the second half, but a Park Hill comeback put this year’s Park Hill/Park Hill South finale in the books as a classic. Each basket meaning more and more as time ticked away in the second half, Park Hill’s Keaton Anchors secured a turnover with just seconds remaining in the game and took it in for a layup to put the Trojans up two. Marcus Cross would add another point from the free throw line. Park Hill South guard Anthony Woods, who had been in foul trouble early in the game, took an inbound pass from under the basket, but his three as time expired fell short giving Park Hill the upset and 56-53 district semifinal victory. Garrett Wooldridge led in scoring for Park Hill with 15 points in the victory, which set up a district title game matchup with St. Joe Central.

While the Trojans came out with the same passion they had against Park Hill South, the athleticism of St. Joe Central was tough for the Trojans to compete against. In fact, Park Hill pulled ahead of the Indians in the first quarter resulting in a 15-11 lead. The spark was short lived as St. Joe Central would win the next three quarters. Park Hill remained within striking distance, but couldn’t quite get close enough to regain the lead as the Indians gradually increased their lead each period on the way to a 68-51 victory over Park Hill. Connor Farmer led the Trojans in scoring with 18 points.

“We came out with a lot of enthusiasm,” Park Hill Coach David Garrison said. “In the second quarter things got tough and we had some turnovers which led to some baskets. That’s one thing we knew we couldn’t do.”

Park Hill ends the season with a second place district finish and 7-18 overall record. For Garrison, the Trojans’ tough schedule presented two options for a senior laden team.

“The main thing our kids did is they kept competing. That’s something we really appreciated,” Garrison said. “When you’re having a season you’re not really happy with, there are two things you can do. You can roll over or you can continue to fight and compete.”

Frantic finish on The Hill: Controversial technical foul call adds fuel to fire of Trojans-Panthers rivalry

A packed house was on hand last Friday at Park Hill South for not only the rivalry boys basketball game between the Panthers and Park Hill, but also the festivities that came with courtwarming weekend. Both schools’ fans came out in full and the game that played out between the two teams would not disappoint as the rising temperature in the gym matched the competition on the court.

Park Hill came into the game an underdog, but jumped out the gate to start the first quarter amassing a 9-2 lead at one point in the before Park Hill South narrowed the margin to a one point deficit at 17-16 going into halftime. While Park Hill came out clearly motivated, this was escalated by their quality start. Just one sign the games between these two teams rarely need inspirational speeches to get the players fired up.

 “This isn’t a game where I have to worry about them playing hard. There’s a lot of passion and enthusiasm that comes with this game,” Park Hill Coach David Garrison said.

The second half would see the same rugged and physical play as the first with Park Hill maintaining a slim lead throughout. Despite the early deficit and a third quarter Park Hill run which put the Trojans up by five going into the fourth quarter, Park Hill South was beginning to find a better rhythm and would provide the spectators with quite a finish.

“We finally found some chemistry and moved the ball when we needed it the most with that group we had out there to end the game,” Park Hill South Coach John Sedler said.

                                                                                          

When Park Hill South point guard Anthony Woods dribbled down the court with eight seconds remaining down 40-38, he took a similar shot in a similar situation that he had just two weeks ago against North Kansas City, one he made to win the game for the Panthers. Friday though, he was fouled behind the arch, giving Park Hill South’s leading scorer the opportunity at three free throws to potential tie and win the game. Woods would make his first two shots to tie the game at 40 a piece, before missing the third sending the game into overtime.

 “He’s improved his free throw shooting a lot. Anthony’s been getting more comfortable there,” Sedler said. “He finished 8 for 12 on the night.”

The first basket of overtime would account for Park Hill South’s first lead of the entire game and it wasn’t a lead they would give up. As the seconds ticked down, overtime seemed like it would end in similar fashion as regulation, but what was an intense rivalry game throughout ended on somewhat of a controversial note.

With six seconds remaining, Park Hill called timeout to inbound the ball under their own basketball down 48-45, but as Park Hill guard Zach Anderson walked off the court, he was called for a technical foul. Few people were aware of the call or what warranted it until play resumed with Park Hill South, not Park Hill, shooting two free throws and gaining possession. Park Hill South would make their free throws to seal the victory at 50-45. Neither coach saw nor could later confirm the reasoning behind the questionable call.

Park Hill South was led in scoring by Woods and his 22 points along with Robert Lane’s 17 points. The Panthers improved to 14-6 on the year after a win against Oak Park 40-37earlier last week. Park Hill was led by ten point performances by Anderson and Connor Farmer. The Trojans fall to 5-11 on the year, but believe the loss won’t prevent them from going into districts playing at their peak.

“This isn’t going to take the air out of us. Our record may not be where we want it to be, but we’re getting to where we want our goal to be which is to be playing our best at district time. Right now, we’re taking the steps to get there,” Garrison said.

Park Hill South has the rest of this week off while Park Hill hosts North Kansas City Friday.

Park Hill boys will reload with seniors

With the loss of eight seniors from a 16-11 team record and district runner-up finish in 2010-2011, returning only one starter would lead most people to believe the Park Hill Trojans should be going through more of a rebuilding season than one in which they would reload. Coach David Garrison, now in his fifth season, says it is very much the opposite as his team has another seven seniors to step up to the varsity level in 2011-2012.

Coming back as their most battle-tested player and a strong presence down low for the Trojans is senior Connor Farmer who stepped in as a starter mid-way through the season last year as a physical rebounder and post scorer.

“He had a good year for us last year. He’s definitely the one who’s been in the fire. He’s taken on a leadership role in wanting to step up and be a playmaker. At the same time, as a post player, there’s going to be times when two or three guys are sagging down on you and you have to find your teammates by being a good passer, kicking it out to an open guy and having confidence in them,” Garrison said.

Surrounding Farmer is what can be considered a mature team in terms of seniority, but somewhat inexperienced in regards to varsity playing time. This can be seen as a positive for the Trojans compared to a younger squad with the same description.

“We’re inexperienced, but I think we’re inexperienced with a lot of kids in their fourth year so they know what to expect,” Garrison said. “They are a very unselfish group so far, doing their best to help each other out. We don’t have a lot of experience, so they’re asking questions and are responsive to the coaching they’ve received.”

Another benefit of having a large senior class is the depth it comes with. Seniors Brent Collins and Marcus Cross will join Farmer down low while you could see a number of different faces in the backcourt including seniors Garrett Wooldridge, Zach Anderson, Santos Smiroldo, and John Harris. Others contributing to the rotation include juniors Darin Jones and Keaton Anchors along with sophomore Ricky Trammel.

“With our three posts starting, we’ve working a little on our four guard looks in case they get in foul trouble or face injuries. It gives everyone a little more flexibility to go out there and play, not worry about where they’re supposed to be and just react to the defense. We’ve got a couple different styles we can do that we feel good about,” Garrison said.

With two district competitors in Staley and Oak Park on the first week’s schedule followed by the Blue Springs Tournament, Park Hill will be facing top competition right out of the gate to begin the season.

“After those two weeks, we’ll know where we’re at and what we need to concentrate on, but we’ve got to play our best in February when it counts,” Garrison said. “We don’t ever put a number on where we need to be, we just want to make the best out of every day. If we do that our record and performance will reflect that.”

Park Hill South wins second straight title with defense, advances to sectionals

There were two similarities between the 2010 Class 5 District 16 boy’s basketball tournament and the 2011 tournament that crowned its champion last week. For Park Hill, it’s something they won’t look back on fondly as the Trojans came into both as a top seed (#2 in 2010, #1 in 2011), only needing wins against teams they had beaten earlier in the season to earn their first title since 1995. On the other hand, for Park Hill South it will be a testament of being in top form at the right time despite not being favored to advance as a lower seeded team (#4 in 2010, #3 in 2011).

The Class 5 District 16 tournament that concluded last Friday night was déjà vu all over again for the top seeded Park Hill Trojans and third seeded Park Hill South Panthers. In the 2010 district tournament, Park Hill was upset in the second round despite being the two seed to put a premature end to the Trojans’ season while Park Hill South, seeded fourth, ended up taking the district title plus more as they advanced all the way to the state semifinals. After coming away with a slim victory several weeks ago against the Panthers, Park Hill was thought to have the advantage going into the district title matchup between the two. But at the end of the night, it would be Park Hill South again taking home the district title leaving Park Hill empty handed for a second straight season.

Park Hill’s De’Aris Flint gave the Trojans their only first half lead with his breakaway layup for the games first basket, but Park Hill would be plagued by key turnovers caused by a tough Park Hill South defense throughout the game preventing the Trojans from gaining any substantial momentum. When Park Hill was able to get to the basket, South’s Adam Schemenauer was instrumental for the Panthers as he had several huge blocks early in the game. He also added offensively with 19 points on the night.

“He’s a great player and better athlete than he gets credit for,” Park Hill South coach Anthony Perry. “We ask him to be a game changer, that’s his job in making teams adjusting.”

With a 21-17 lead at halftime, Park Hill South briefly gave up the lead when Nathan Wilson hit a three pointer at the 2:30 mark in the third quarter, but carried a 31-29 advantage into the final quarter. It was in that fourth quarter when a relentless Panther defense finally took its toll on the Trojans. While Park Hill had managed to only be down by a small margin the majority of the game, scoring just five points in the fourth quarter allowed Park Hill South to extend their lead as the clock wound down with their ability to convert free throws. With the 48-34 victory, the Panthers advanced to a sectional round game against Liberty on Wednesday at the Independence Events Center.

Perry’s team has now won two district titles in as many years after suffering losses to district opponents during the regular season. He says the season is a process his team goes through that allows them to excel at the right time.

“It takes time for the kids to grasp it,” Perry said. “We take our lumps throughout the year, so at the end they know what we want as a coaching staff and we know what to expect.”

The trend will be tested again against Liberty as the Panthers held a 14 point lead in the fourth quarter earlier this year before relinquishing it in the face of a 65-60 loss.

“We were up by 14 in the fourth quarter,” Perry said of the Liberty game. “It’s huge because the simple fact is we know we can play with them. We have to do good things, execute and play well.”

A victory Wednesday evening will lead to a quarterfinals matchup Friday at 6 p.m. with the winner of the Ruskin/Lee’s Summit North game. South has not faced either team this season, but Perry believes there are two basic things that make his team a competitor and capable of advancing through the state playoffs.

“We’ve got three guys with a lot of experience, they know what it takes to be competitive when you get this far,” Perry said of his leading scorers’ past experience. “The biggest thing is that the kids believe in us. We’ve been blessed to have kids that don’t fight the system.”

Winter Roundup: Feb. 14-18

Park Hill Boys Basketball
The Park Hill boys basketball team was able to snap a four game lossing streak last Friday as they defeated Belton 73-56 in their final game of the regular season to improve to 15-10 on the year. With their top seed in the Class 5, District 16 tournament, the Trojans will face the winner of the Staley/Oak Park game in the semifinals of the tournament Thursday evening. A win would set up a title game against the Park Hill South/St. Joe Central winner on Saturday night at Oak Park High School.

Despite their fall from the top of the conference leader board over the last two weeks, Coach David Garrison hopes the victory on Friday night puts Park Hill on a new path towards winning a district title. A strong class of seniors will be the Trojans' key any title run and a disappointing semifinal loss to Oak Park last season will play into their minds as a source of motivation. Park Hill defeated Oak Park, Staley, and Park Hill South earlier in the season while the Trojans split their series with St. Joe Central. One thing Garrison knows is that with the teams in the district it will be very competitive.

"It's going to be a tough district, everyone has a chance to win it," Garrison said. "It's going to come down to whoever can get hot and execute in the 4th quarter of the game."

Park Hill guard Chris Nsenki scored his 1,252nd point of his career on Friday night. Currently, he is the third highest scorer in school history and only one of four players to have scored over 1,000 points.

Park Hill South Boys Basketball
As of press time, Park Hill South's district semifinal game against St. Joe Central was undetermined. The third seed Panthers have not faced the second seeded Indians this season. Coming into this week, the Panthers had won three of the previous four games. The defending district champs are 15-8 on the season after winning both of their final two games last week against Belton (78-47) and Winnetonka.

“The win gives us a share of the conference title with Raytown South,” Park Hill South Coach Anthony Perry said. “We finished up 8-2 in conference.”

“Our district should be very competitive with a number of teams having a chance to win it,” Perry said. “The players are very excited about the conference title and are looking forward to competing in districts.”

Park Hill South Girls Swim/Dive
The Park Hill South girls swim and dive team came home with a tenth place finish at the state swim meet last weekend. Their strength all year, the Panthers did particularly well in the relays with second and third place finishes from their 200-yard freestyle and 200-yard medley. The two relays are made up of Lyndsay Ryan, Rachael Norfleet, Mary Cate Reinert and Mariah Bryant in the medley along with Ryan and Bryant with Olivia McLain and Miranda Henderson in the freestyle. Park Hill South tied in team points with Blue Springs, the second best finish for a team from the Kansas City metropolitan area behind Notre Dame de Sion's sixth place finish.

Winter Weekly Recap: Feb. 7 - Feb. 12

Park Hill Boys Basketball
The Park Hill boys basketball team came into last week in the driver's seat of their suburban conference title hopes, but three games later they come into this week out of contention and on a three game lossing streak. A close loss on the road against St. Joe Central 60-58 was followed by a home loss against Ruskin 70-59. It was their hope that they could close out the week on Senior Night with a win against Lee's Summit West. Park Hill came out slow as they fell behind 14-4 going into the second quarter. A contentious crowd and high emotions led the Trojans to a series of turnovers and fouls in the second and third quarter falling down by as much as 23 points. While the Trojans were able to cut the lead in the fourth quarter, the Titan clock management on offense eventually created some easy baskets against a frustrated defense to extend the lead to a final score of 67-46. Top scorers Chris Nsenki and De'Aris Flint were held to just 12 points a piece on the night. Park Hill is now 14-9 and will conclude the season at Belton Friday night before the district tournament begins next week at Oak Park.

Park Hill South Boys Basketball
After a victory against Raytown earlier in the week, the Park Hill South boys were hoping to make it a sweep of the district when they went against Raytown South last Friday night. It wasn't meant to be as the Cardinals gradually expanded their lead throughout the game to eventually win 68-57. Adam Schemenauer scored 19 while Christian Hildebrandt added 15 points. The Panthers are now 13-8 on the season with a regular season finale scheduled Friday night at home against Winnetonka for Senior Night.

Park Hill South Girls Basketball
A 57-48 win over Belton earlier in the week didn't create any momentum for the Lady Panthers against Kearney later in the week. While South only trailed 13-8 at the start of the second quarter. They were shutout in the second quarter and held to a single point in the third before matching the Bulldogs' 15 points in the fourth quarter of what ended up being a 48-24 loss. Brandi Weymuth led in scoring with six points. South is now 8-13 and will conclude the regular season at Raytown before heading into the district tournament next week.

Park Hill Girls Basketball
The Park Hill girls had a tough week last week after two losses to Oak Park and St. Joe Central. A close 37-31 loss where Kyleesha Weston led with nine points must have motivated the Lady Trojans to come out strong against St. Joe Central. Park Hill got in front of the Indians early as they took a four point lead into halftime against a talened Central team before a 180 degree turn in the second half left the Trojans again on the wrong side of a 45-31 score. Park Hill went scoreless in the third quarter. Weston led with 11 points. The Trojans are now 8-13 and will play Ruskin on Thursday for Senior Night.
"Senior night will be fun and a very rewarding experience for the kids," first year coach Aaron Neeser said. "They have bought into me and what I am trying to do with the program from day one. I appreciate their leadership and energy that they have brought to this team. I wish them well in the future."

Park Hill/Park Hill South Swim & Dive
State swim meet this weekend at the St. Peters Rec Complex in St. Peters, Missouri.

Trojans think their moment is now: Strong group of Park Hill seniors hope to blaze posteseason trail

Three and a half years ago Park Hill boys head basketball coach David Garrison took over a program that had not had a winning season in over five years. Looking to build a successful program, he turned most of his attention to the then varsity squad. Meanwhile, there was the optimistic comfort of seeing a freshmen team simply dominate at the lower levels that gave him hope there would be something special one day. A single loss to Lee’s Summit West in the postseason tournament was the only blemish on the young Trojans’ record that year.

Those Trojans are now seniors and have been part of a transformative change for the Park Hill program in recent years. It comes full circle Friday night as eight seniors play their final home game against the same Lee’s Summit West Titans who dealt them their only defeat three years ago, capping off a three game stretch over four days.

Following their freshmen year, the Class of 2011 played a role in gaining Park Hill its first winning varsity season in half a decade as sophomores. They took a huge leap forward last year as juniors, assuming four of the five starting roles, by racking up 19 regular season wins including an undefeated conference title, their first since 2002. As seniors, they’ve put together a 14-6 season so far while still undefeated in conference. Friday night’s game could clinch them a share of their second straight conference title and put them momentum for their ultimate goal: a district title and run through the Missouri Class 4 playoffs.

“Sky’s the limit. Our goal last year was to get to the Independence Event Center (quarterfinals), and we haven’t even mentioned that this year, because we know we want to go to Columbia (state),” Nathan Wilson said.

Wilson, Chris Nsenki, De’Aris Flint, Anthony Walters, Burt Taylor, Luke Bossert, and Travis Perry make up a group of seven that have played together throughout their high school years and even beyond as some competed both with and against each other throughout their youth. The eighth senior, transfer point guard Tre Durham, was welcomed with open arms this season, fitting in almost immediately.

“The thing about these seniors is that aside from Tre, you’ve got a group of kids who’ve been around each other forever, they’re like a family. They know each other’s quarks,” Garrison said. “It’s nice to get a guy like Tre who has just gelled right away.”

“He distributes and he doesn’t mind,” Wilson said. “We needed someone who can push the tempo and he can do all that.”

“I wish he would’ve been here last year. He’s kind of a missing piece,” Flint added.

Speaking of history, Flint and Wilson themselves have been best friends since middle school. The two recently committed to play football next fall at Northwest Missouri State.

“He’s the quarterback and I’m a receiver, we’ve got to be friends of some kind. We’re best friends and enemies at the same time,” Flint joked about the competitive nature they have between them.

On the court, Nsenki has been their top scorer for the better part of two years as he recently surpassed 1,000 points for his career. On any given night he can be a game changer. His knowledge of the game has allowed him to open up opportunities for his teammates, but one thing that can be said of this year’s Trojan squad is each player knows their general roll. While Durham, Walters, and Taylor provide a consistent presence at the point guard position and tenacious defense at the top of the key, Wilson and Flint provide an agile, but strong mid-post game threat to Nsenki’s scoring. Junior Connor Farmer at 6’6” contributes as Park Hill’s go to pure post player.

“We like to hang our hat on defense, we brag about steals and charges,” Wilson said.

“We know who the scorers are, Chris is going to get his points, but we come out and see who can get the most stats on defense,” Flint added.

While on the court is certainly important, Garrison pointed out that the entire class has contributed to this year’s success including Bossert and Perry who haven’t seen as much playing time due not only to the Trojans’ larger than average senior class, but also the depth of the team overall.

“I can’t say enough good things about them. They’re ultimate team players. During games, they’re like coaches, always looking for things that we need to do better. When they get an opportunity to play they make the most of it,” Garrison said.

The past several years will culminate in the next couple weeks into what the Trojans hope are their finest moments.

“That last week of February we’ll put all the chips on the table and see what happens,” Garrison said. “We’ve built the program on defense and blocking out. We just have to remind ourselves of what has helped us win games.”

While their coach is focused on the mental and strategic approach to the season’s final stretch, the players know exactly what they want and speak candidly about it.

“He (Garrison) knows where we want to go. We talked about it, because we think we can go all the way,” Flint said.

Winter Weekly Recap: Jan. 24-29

Park Hill Girls Basketball
The Lady Trojans fell in a close game against North Kansas City late last week as they lost 46-44. Kyleesha Weston had a stellar performance as she scored almost half of the Trojans' points with 20 along with freshman Dominique Broadus's 10 points. With a 6-8 record, they are competing in the North Kansas City Tournament this week.

Park Hill South Girls Basketball
The Park Hill South Lady Panthers went through a week of give and take last week as they suffered a heavy 56-36 loss to Raytown earlier in the week, but came back in a big way by beating Ruskin 56-16. Stephanie Griffith led South in their loss to Raytown with 15 points while Tori Kerr scored 10 points in their victory over Ruskin. At 7-9, they are playing in the North Kansas City Tournament this week.

Park Hill/Park Hill South Boys Basketball
Leading up to last Friday's rivalry game, Park Hill South won an impressive 47-32 victory over Oak Park. The Park Hill boys weren't as lucky, as they fell just short of beating Liberty 48-47 after giving up a lead late in the game.

Park Hill South Wrestling
The lower weight classes of the Park Hill South wrestling team outlasted the heavier classes of the Lee's Summit West Titans last week as South took a hard fought 40-36 victory. With pins from Alex Fortuna (112), Bret Rounkles (119), Jimmy Carpenter (125), and Alex Weatherly (130), Nick Gillespie's pin in the 171 weight class carried the Panthers over the edge in a dual where Lee's Summit West's otherwise heavier wrestlers were racking up points for the Titans. They will compete in the Lee's Summit North Invite this weekend.

Head coach Dan Dunkin says this year the injuries have created even more opportunities for different athletes to wrestle on the varsity level including freshman George Barth and junior Nick Gillespie who have been able to step into varsity roles as needed. Usually at the JV-level, Cody Hodges picked up four varsity victories last weekend at the Liberty Invitational on his way to a sixth place finish. Fortuna placed third (103), Weatherly second (130), Chase Gray third (171), DJ Dewit fifth (145), and Bret Rounkles fifth (119).

Clash for a cause: Park Hill, Park Hill South primed for rivalry game that will raise money for the American Cancer Society

The Park Hill and Park Hill South boys basketball teams will face off on Friday night after coming off just barely missing out on tournament titles in the Basehor-Linwood and North Kansas City Tournaments this past weekend. Their second place finishes leave an unfulfilled gap of accomplishment for what will already be a contentious rivalry game between two of the hottest teams in the metro this season. Not only will the game itself be a matchup of two solid squads, but it will also bring together two fan bases for a worthy case as they raise money for the American Cancer Society.

“It’s a great chance for people to contribute along with our hoops club having a raffle,” Garrison said of the opportunities available to donate. “It’s the first year we’ve done it. The Great Kansas City Basketball Association has made it a goal to raise money for the American Cancer Association.”

"Friday’s game should be a fun night," Siouth head coach Anthony Perry said. "Park Hill is playing good basketball and it should be a competitive game.  Last year we had a game against Staley to raise funds for cancer and it was a great event for a great cause.  So I called David and asked him if he’d be interested in doing the same thing for our game and he agreed.  Everyone knows someone who has dealt with cancer and I’m excited about having the opportunity to help."

Park Hill (12-5, 4-1) and Park Hill South (12-6, 6-1) are two teams with considerable talent and experience. One key area to watch will be South’s Christian Hildebrandt and Park Hill’s De’Aris Flint, two of the most athletic players on the court. Hildebrandt’s three point capabilities make him a threat against what will otherwise be a physical and agile matchup between the two forwards. Another pair to watch will be Park Hill’s Anthony Walters and South’s Rocky Benson. The two point guards have displayed strong ball handling skills thus far along with the ability to be aggressive to the basket. Additionally, expect to see Benson handling defensive duties against Park Hill’s top-scorer Nsenki from time to time.

“It’s going to be a great game. They’re well coached and have got a good group back from last year and a good group of newcomers filling in,” Garrison said of Park Hill South’s squad.

The Trojans and Panthers featured similar paths to their respective tournament championship game appearances last weekend. Park Hill forced overtime in their semi-final game against Maryville before finally pulling out the victory 57-55 to advance to the title game against host school Basehor-Linwood. The home school crowd put the Trojans in a hostile environment, one in which they might not encounter all season with the nature of small-town Kansas basketball. A foul infested game, Park Hill simply was unable to rebound effectively and convert free throws to overcome Basehor-Linwood’s relentlessness. On top of that, the Bobcats were able to hold leading scorer Chris Nsenki to just 12 points. Despite not performing in several key areas, the Trojans were able to only be down by as much as 13 points in the second half before eventually falling 53-45 after cutting the lead to just three late in the game. De’Aris Flint led the Trojans with 13 points.

“I think we lost rebounds 11-2 in the fourth quarter and that’s when you have to do your best,” Coach David Garrison said. “When one part is off, you can’t have another off. We have to play through things, whether that is the crowd or a call. We can’t let that affect us when we’re playing against the hometown team. We can’t let things beyond our control affect our game.”

Garrison said the opportunity to play in Kansas against teams they’re not familiar with was a good thing.

“I think it’s a good break between the beginning of the conference season and the end,” Garrison said. “It’s a good chance to play teams you usually don’t see and is a nice change of pace.”

For Park Hill South, it wasn’t the semifinal game, but the title game that required overtime against Truman. In what appeared to be a tight game throughout, Park Hill South faced a 26-25 halftime deficit before regaining the lead going into the fourth quarter by just a point at 40-39. Over time was forced in the fourth, but the give and take experienced the entire game ended in the Patriots’ favor with a close 55-54 Truman victory. Christian Hildebrandt has 23 points along with Adam Schemenauer’s 14.

Winter Weekly Recap: Jan. 10-15

Park Hill Boys Basketball
The day off of school due to snow affected Lee's Summit West more last Tuesday as they hosted Park Hill in a suburban conference battle. Park Hill trailed by a score of 28-20 before mounting a 21-5 third quarter leading them to a key 62-49 victory. Connor Farmer has emerged as a scoring presence for the Trojans as he posted 17 points along with Chris Nsenki's 17. De'Aris Flint added 12. To close the week, Park Hill had a chance to knock off a talented Truman team, but were unable to gain any momentum as the Patriots outscored the Trojans in each quarter for a 60-5 win. At 11-4, Park Hill will be in a conference battle with Truman and Lee's Summit West down the stretch as their second meetings could make a difference in who claims the title. Park Hill will compete in the Basehor-Linwood Tournament this week followed by what is sure to be a great matchup at Liberty on Tuesday and rival Park Hill South on Friday.

Park Hill South Boys Basketball
After two tough losses the prior week, the Park Hill South Panthers came back strong last week as they scratched out a nail-biting victory against conference opponent Raytown South 50-49. Christian Hildebrandt scored 16 along with Adam Schemenauer's 13. Outmatched in almost every aspect, the Belton Pirates received a tough task in traveling to South last Friday night. Although, close in the beginning the Panthers held Belton to just 19 points the entire game. Hildebrandt scored 24 points in an impressive performance that outscored the entire Pirate roster. The Panthers are now 10-5 and are playing in the North Kansas City tournament this week before facing off against Oak Park Tuesday and Park Hill next Friday night.

Park Hill Girls Basketball
The Lady Trojans only game last week as a rough one as they suffered a defeat at home against Lee's Summit West 63-38. Facing a tough Titan team, the Trojans fell to a 36-13 halftime deficit after West outscored the Trojans 23-7 in the second quarter. Park Hill's top average scorers, Kyleesha Weston and Helena Hudson, weren't able to break double digits with nine and eight points, respectively. The Trojans were able to turnout a better second half, going toe to toe with Titans in the third and fourth quarters, b the damage was done. Park Hill is participating in the Basehor-Linwood Tournament this week. They are now 5-6.

Park Hill South Girls Basketball
The Park Hill South Girls lost a close one last Thursday night against Fort Osage 34-30. Taking a 12-11 halftime lead, the Panthers extended their lead to six going into the final quarter, but Fort Osage's 14 points compared to South's four in the fourth quarter hurt the Panthers most. Stephanie Griffith led South with seven points along with Courtney Shelton and Mallory Ross's five points.

Park Hill Wrestling
After some frustrating dual losses early in the season, the Park Hill wrestling team bounced back in a huge way last weekend as they brought home the Capital City Wrestling Title from Jefferson City. Competing in a field of 11 teams from across the state, Park Hill racked up 238.5 team points and won four of the five championship matches they wrestled in. First place medals were awarded to Michael Olsen (112), Bricker Dixon (125), Russel Coleman (130), and Preston Crouse (145). John Erneste lost a hard fought dual in overtime at 103 for a second place finish. They compete in the Winnetonka Tournament this weekend.

Winter Weekly Recap: Jan. 3-8

Park Hill Boys Basketball
The Park Hill boys added two victories to their total last week to improve to 9-3. The two Suburban Middle Six victories against North Kansas City and St. Joe Central make the Trojans 3-0 as they head into an important three week stretch featuring a heavy conference schedule and the Basehor Linwood Tournament. En route to an 85-73 victory early in the week against North Kansas City, the two teams went into the fourth quarter tied at 66 before earning the final margin in a 19-7 final period for the Trojans. Chris Nsenki scored 31 along with Anthony Walter's 17, De'Aris Flint's 13, and Connor Farmer's 10 points. Park Hill was firing on all cyclinders Friday night against St. Joe Central as Coach David Garrison said it was one of the best performances his team has turned out all year as they defeated the Indians 77-60. The Trojans got out to a 36-22 halftime score before eventually extending it to as much as 22 in the third. Nsenki led in scoring again with 21 points along with Walter's 19 and Flint's 18. Park Hill benefitted from a tough defense that defended the paint fairly aggressively.

"It was really two things, our perimeter defense did real well at keeping the ball out of the paint, but then when it did get to the point we were working our tail off defending it," Garrison said.

With the loss of senior Brady Kreitzer for the season, Garrison says there are two players that he'll look to fill the void with Connor Farmer and Tre Durham.

"Between those two guys, just depending on the kind of matchups looks like, they'll be the guys that need to step in and play," Garrison said. "He's (Farmer) gonna sit on the block for us, he's going to rebound and score at the basket while Tre's a ball handle and will play the point for us, which takes pressure off Anthony (Walters), so he can score for us more."

With anywhere from 7-9 players that could start for the Trojans, depth has not been a problem. Garrison tries to use his players in situations that allow them to be most effective.

"It's a chess match, sometimes we try combinations that don't work, but other times its great. One thing we know with the people we have here, they're going to battle and not take any plays off," he said.

Park Hill Girls Basketball
After a 40-12 win over Liberty North earlier in the week, the Lady Trojans hoped to gain their first conference win against Truman last Friday night. A 23-11 halftime deficit put the Trojans behind in the first half, but they closed the margin in the third to narrow the lead to just 32-25. After playing a man defense in the first half, the second half was when Truman threw a zone at Park Hill. Although reacting to the defense and running their sets fairly under control, they weren't able to penetrate the basket enough to score as much as they would have liked.

"We didn't have the confidence to step up and make a shot," coach Aaron Neeser said. "We gave up the same number of buckets, they just got to the line more."

An intense fourth quarter cut the lead to as close as four, but the Patriots pulled away for a 42-30 victory. The Trojans are now 5-5 with a game against Lee's Summit West Thursday evening.

"I think what I'm most satisfied about is that they really care about each other. Usually when you have a new coach, you have a transition period where you struggle a little bit, but they're really buying into what we're doing. I like how hard we compete, we just have to get better at the little things," Neeser said.

Park Hill South Girls Basketball
The Lady Panthers improved to 4-6 on the season with a win on Thursday night against Belton 56-44. South outscored Belton in three of the four quarters before widening the margin with an 18-10 final quarter. They'll travel to Fort Osage on Friday night.

Park Hill South Boys Basketball
The Park Hill South Panthers hit a rough patch this week with two tough opponents in the likes of Liberty and Raytown who both dealt them close losses. The Wednesday night effort at Liberty left the Panthers with a 65-60 defeat. Traveling to Raytown on Friday evening, the Panthers found themselves with a 10-point fourth quarter deficit, but battled back before falling 66-63. Christian Hildebrandt led in scoring with 20 points along with Adam Schemenauer's 19. South is now 8-5 with a home game against Belton to conclude the week on Friday night.

Park Hill and Park Hill South Swim/Dive
Park Hill South ran away with their own invitational this past weekend at the Park Hill Aquatic Center as they racked up 298 points in the 15 team field of competition. Park Hill finished fifth with 105 points.

Top performers for the Panthers were first place finishes from the 200 yard medley relay team of Lyndsay Ryan, Rachael Norfleet, Mary Cate Reinert, and Mariah Bryant, Bryant in the 50 yard free, Hannah Bortnick in the one meter dive, the 200 yard free relay team of Shannon Brouk, Olivia McLain, Miranda Henderson, and Bryant. South will attend the Center Invitational over the weekend.

Top performances from Park Hill came from Brynn Guardado with first place in the 200 yard free and third in the 100 yard free, and Eleanor Parrott with third in the one meter dive. Park Hill has a meet at Raytown Wednesday evening and another next week at St. Joe Central.

Park Hill grad contributes to Auburn's trip to National Championship game

While many kids back from college have time to enjoy at least one more week of winter break, there is one Platte County native that will be experiencing the thrill of a lifetime next week. During the 2009-2010 school year, we brought you coverage of then Park Hill athlete Steven Clark on the football field and basketball court. An All-State and nationally ranked punter for the Trojan football team, The Citizen was the only source to cover his recruitment and official signing with Auburn University early last year. After a 12-0 record capped off with an SEC Championship in December, the Auburn Tigers will face the Oregon Ducks in the BCS National Championship in Glendale, Arizona on January 10th.

Clark, a 6-5, 232 pound freshman, was thrown into the fire early this season as questions arose to whether he could perform better than the more experienced punter in front of him at the time. In the heart of their conference schedule, Clark saw action in five games from October to November. He booted nine punts averaging 34.9 yards/punt, which don't reflect the height that Clark has notariety for. Five of those punts ended in fair catches and two were downed inside the 20-yard line, two key stats punters are judged by. Probably his most successful game came against LSU when he punted three times for 112 yards in a 24-17 victory for the Tigers. In recent weeks, seniority has ruled as Auburn has decided to re-assign starting duties to senior Ryan Shoemaker, who has slightly improved. While coaches have been quoted saying Shoemaker is inconsistent, they also agree that for Clark to perform well enough to maintain the starting role over the senior would be tough for a freshman, but that he is young and has time to improve.

Glancing through both teams' rosters, you'll have to look closely to find anyone from the midwest being represented in the game. Auburn's Clark is the only player from Missouri while Oregon has one player from Kansas. So while you watch Auburn's Heisman Trophy Winner, Cam Newton, possibly lead the Tigers to a National Championship next week which they are currently favored to do, Park Hill alums and residents of Platte County can be proud that one of their own is a part of it all. Stay tuned next week for more of the Citizen's coverage of Clark's journey to the National Championship.

William Jewell Roundup: Dec. 27-31

Park Hill Boys Basketball
The Trojans were one quarter away from playing for the Patterson Division title last week at the Bank Midwest William Jewell Classic. They took a one point lead of 42-41 over Liberty into the fourth quarter of what was pretty much a neck and neck game throughout. Liberty swung a three-point advantage in the fourth into a 59-57 victory over Park Hill. The Trojans' leading scorer was Chris Nsenki with 24 followed by Brady Kreitzer's 12. Park Hill battled Rockhurst in the third place game, but fell for the second time this year in a 65-61 loss. Park Hill gave up 22 points in the fourth quarter to give up a seven-point lead they had coming into the last quarter. Nsenki had 20 points along with Flint's 14 and Kreitzer's 10 points. The Trojans are now 7-3 on the season with a game at Oak Park Wednesday and St. Joe Central on Friday at home.

Park Hill South Boys Basketball
Park Hill South was much in the same boat as Park Hill when they fell just short of a title game appearance in the Cardinal Division when O'Hara tipped in a last second shot to edge the Panthers by a score of 47-46. Christian Hildebrandt and Rocky Benson led South with 16 and 13 points, respectively. After an exciting overtime victory over Blue Springs South earlier in the year, the Panthers experienced a rare lack of offense in their third place game as they fell 45-32. Hildebrandt was the only player in double digits for South with 13 points. South is now 8-3 on the year with roads games against Liberty and Raytown this week.

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.”

Preview: Trojans basketball will defend conference title, look to overcome district upset

The Park Hill boys basketball program broke out in a strong way last season when they went 19-7 including an undefeated 10-0 conference record which gave them their first conference title since 2002. Riding an unbeaten streak into district play, the Trojans’ hopes of a district championship were cut short as they were upset in the semifinals by Oak Park. Returning a strong nucleus of that team, the Trojans will reload for another fast-paced season and compete in a difficult conference and again look for a chance at the district crown.

"We gear ourselves to be playing our best going at the end of the season,” Coach David Garrison said. “It’s always a motivator (last year), but it’s a new season. There will be a lot of things that could work out differently.”

A senior class of nine will lead Park Hill including returning all-conference starters Chris Nsenki, DeAris Flint, and Brady Kreitzer accounting for a collective average of 35 points and 13 rebounds a game. Letter winners with experience include Burt Taylor, Nate Wilson, and Anthony Walters.

“The strength of our team is our senior class, people who have been in varsity basketball games, people that know our expectations and how our program works,” Coach David Garrison said.

By way of Tennessee, Tre Durham, will be an impact player for Park Hill along with junior Connor Farmer. One void the Trojans will need to fill is the loss of second team all-state center Justin Leathers who averaged 19 points and nine rebounds last season.

“That’s going to be tough to overcome. We’re not going to be able to put one person out there and tell them to do that, but collectively we can make up for that,” Garrison said.

With a conference consisting of strong teams like Truman, Lee’s Summit West, and North Kansas City, the tough schedule will provide some obstacles for the Trojans as there won’t be many easy games on the schedule once they reach the heart of league play.

“If you’re not mentally prepared, not physically prepared, you’re not going to be competitive,” Garrison said. “I think it’s going to be good for us because when you get to the end of the season and it’s do or die, then those difficult games should help us.”

One thing Garrison is not worried about is depth. With so many athletes available, it will mean that much more each player be able to fulfill their role when the time comes.

“Keys for us will be our ability to defend and the chemistry that our team builds throughout the season,” Garrison said. “We have multiple players who will be able to contribute, so the sooner we come together as a team the better we will be.”