Marqueas Bell has started the New Year by pouring out 78 points in the opening two games for the Park Hill boys’ basketball team (7-5), most recently in a 74-60 triumph over rival Park Hill South (8-3) on Jan. 6.
Entering the night, the Panthers had won five of the previous seven matchups dating back to 2019, but the Trojans’ home crowd helped them control the game. Marqueas Bell scored the opening bucket 30 seconds in, but Park Hill South junior Colby Kiedrowski sunk a shot from the left corner to put the Panthers up 3-2 at the 6:45 mark.
Park Hill senior Marqueas Bell (#55) poured out 33 points in the 74-60 win over Park Hill South on Jan. 6
That road team’s lead was short-lived – lasting only 37 seconds – before Kendrick Bell knocked down the first of five Park Hill 3-pointers in the opening frame. Marqueas Bell made a shot from right wing with 32 seconds remaining and sunk two free throws with less than a second left to give him 15 points.
The Park Hill senior outscored the opposing team entirely in the first quarter as the Trojans were up 25-12. Park Hill South senior Cahmai Crosby scored six of the Panthers’ first eight points of the second quarter to bring the game within single digits with 5:24 on the clock.
The Trojans’ lead was pushed back to 11 with right under one minute left when Marqueas Bell swished a midrange jump shot from the right baseline. Cameron Jones gave the Trojans their biggest lead of the game when he took a pass from Ty Schreck and made a shot from downtown right ahead of the halftime buzzer.
Park Hill led 36-22 at the break and set the tone in the second half when Desire Tonye-Nyemeck had a fast break slam dunk for the opening third quarter field goal. Park Hill South trailed by double digits for the entirety of the third quarter as a floater by Marqueas Bell ahead of the buzzer made the score 53-41.
Kendrick Bell had 10 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, including an explanation point slam dunk in transition after Jones had a block on the other end with 35 seconds left. While that bucket pushed the margin to 71-58, the Panthers were briefly within reaching distance in the final few minutes.
Crosby shot seven-of-eight from the charity stripe – in addition to a layup – and Brayden Parra made a shot from downtown to cut the deficit to 63-55 with 2:24 to play. Ultimately, the Panthers didn’t make enough shots down the stretch and the Trojans made their free throws to pull out the 14-point victory.
Marqueas Bell shot 11-of-16 from the field and four-of seven from deep to finish with 33 points, eight rebounds, two steals and one block. Crosby finished with a team high 23 points and four assists for Park Hill South, while Kiedrowski had 14 points and Parra shot four-of-five from behind the arc to end with 12 points.
Entering the contest, Park Hill was coming off an 80-75 shoot-out defeat to Liberty (4-6) on Jan. 3. Marqueas Bell had a monster game, erupting for a career-high 45 points and going 19-for-28 from the field – including three shots from downtown – along with a season-high four steals.
Park Hill South entered the night fresh off a 65-50 win over Lee’s Summit (3-6) on Jan. 3. Kiedrowski shot five-of-six from the charity stripe and made his only attempt from deep to finish with a team-high 16 points, while Crosby had his first double-double of the season when he had 14 points and 10 rebounds.