NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Ryan Welty reached the 1,000-point mark for his career in a 75-69 win against Truman on Saturday, Jan. 23 at North Kansas City High School, leading the Panthers to a third-place finish in the Northtown Classic.Welty finished with 17 points and sat at 1,006 for his career following the win. He reached the mark with a 3-pointer in the third quarter, one of two for the versatile senior who helped lead Park Hill South to the Class 5 state title game last year.
The third in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark, Welty is already second all time behind Ivo Baltic's 1,675.
“It’s really cool,” Welty said. “It’s humbling for me. I’ve been putting in work over the years, and it’s finally paying off. It’s cool to see that.”
Jacob Kline, a junior, led Park Hill South with a season-high 23 points, including two 3s of his own. His second broke a 62-all tie with five minutes to go. The Panthers were also 22-for-26 on free throws — 11-of-12 for Kline and 6-of-6 for freshman guard Desi Williams. Park Hill south used a huge second quarter (26 points) to overcome an early deficit.
Kline scored 11 in the fourth quarter, including going 8-of-8 from the free-throw line in the final minute. Park Hill South junior forward Daniel Miller scored a career-high 15 points in the win, making a start for injured junior Ja’Shar Turner, who sat out with a concussion. Panthers standout freshman Lamel Robinson also missed game due to a sprained ankle.
“It’s very unexpected,” Park Hill South coach Dan Parra said. “(Miller) has been practicing really well. He was kind of dominating (junior varsity). Our assistants all said, ‘Let’s give him a shot.’ With Ja’Shar out, we gave him a shot, and he did really well tonight.”
Raymore-Peculiar 33, Park Hill South 31
Park Hill South’s offense never materialized in a semifinal Thursday, Jan. 21 in North Kansas City, Mo., a loss that dropped Park Hill South into the third-place game. Raymore-Peculiar won last year’s matchup between the two in the championship game.
Park Hill South led 17-13 at halftime behind nine of Welty’s team-high 14 points. He didn’t score again until adding his second 3-pointer and two free throws in the fourth quarter. Williams added nine points — seven in the second half.
Park Hill South 67, Oak Park 61
Welty hit six 3s and scored a game-high 26 points in the first round Wednesday, Jan. 20 in North Kansas City, Mo. The Panthers didn’t have another double-digit scorer, but Williams added a pair of 3s and finished with eight points.
Bobcat Invitational
Basehor-Linwood 69, Park Hill 37
Twelve 3-pointers for the hosts ambushed Park Hill in the third-place game Saturday, Jan. 23 in Basehor, Kan.
The Bobcats scored 25, 27 and 29 points in the first three quarters to create a running clock. Overall, 12 of their 29 field goals were 3-pointers, and they also went 19-for-23 on free throws in the runaway win. Dru Smith led Park Hill with 12 points.
Park Hill 68, Ottawa (Kan.) 53
Tanner Zeil and Tanner Morrison did the majority of the scoring for the Trojans in a first round win Wednesday, Jan. 20 in Basehor, Kan.
In the second and third quarters, the Park Hill duo combined for 23 points, including five of the Trojans’ nine 3-pointers. They outscored Ottawa 44-27 during those two quarters to turn a 15-10 deficit into a double-digit lead.
Zeil scored 12 of his 16 in those two quarters, while Morrison hit three of his five 3s on the way to a team-high 17 points. Smith added 12 points for Park Hill, including eight in the middle two quarters.
Pembroke Hill 72, Platte County 56
Keith Spencer scored a career-high 15 points off the bench, but the Pirates ended up 0-3 in the tournament after placing seventh at the Bulldog Classic last week.
Pembroke Hill pulled away with three double-digit scorers Saturday, Jan. 23 at Basehor, Kan. Grant Carver added 12 points for Platte County, which trailed 22-13 after the first quarter and 31-23 at halftime.
Ottawa 64, Platte County 57
The Pirates hung close in their consolation bracket opener but couldn’t overcome a slow third quarter Thursday, Jan. 21 in Basehor, Kan.
Ottawa held Platte County to just six points in those 8 minutes, and Carver’s team-high 16 points weren’t enough. The Pirates ended up with seven 3-pointers, including two for Jerod Thomas (six points).
Basehor-Linwood 73, Platte County 45
The Pirates were down 35-20 at halftime to the hosts and didn’t recover Wednesday, Jan. 20 in the opening round. Carver scored 10 points to go with six rebounds — both team-highs — and Kobe Cummings added nine for Platte County.