SHAWNEE – Coming off three losses in its last four games since the season opener, the Park Hill South boys’ basketball team (3-3) spouted out 77 points to get back to .500 in the 810 Varsity Showcase 32 on Dec. 16.
From 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., there were seven games that took place at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School – all of which were hosted by 810 Varsity. The second game of the day was Park Hill South against Blue Valley West (2-1).
Colby Kiedrowski set the tone of the 77-70 win with a made 3-pointer from the right wing on the opening possession. Kiedrowski had his most efficient shooting night of the season, converting on 7-of-9 from the field, 1-of-2 from deep and 8-of-10 from the charity stripe.
Kiedrowski helped lead the Panthers to a 22-16 advantage after eight minutes and a 37-23 margin after 16 minutes. Park Hill South stayed on top the rest of the way, but Blue Valley West brought it back within single digits in the fourth quarter – after entering the final period behind 57-45.
The last frame started off as a defensive battle with the scoreboard reading 65-57 in the Panthers’ favor with 2:42 remaining until both offenses scored at least 10 points down the stretch. The game never was closer than six points in the closing minutes and Park Hill South was able to put it away with free throws.
Kiedrowski was one of four Panthers who scored in double figures, leading the way with 23 points and five assists. Keegan Feder had a career-high 17 points – tying a career-best five made triples – to go with five rebounds and one steal.
Damon Stacker shot 2-of-3 from behind the arc to tally up 15 points, while snagging three boards, dishing out three assists and forcing three steals. Michael Good ended with 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.
It was a nice bounce back win for Park Hill South as it was coming off two straight losses. After a 10-day break from the Republic Tournament – which ended with a 76-69 loss to Rolla (6-1) on Dec. 2 – the Panthers traveled to St. Joseph and came up short 55-41 to Benton (4-2) on Dec. 12.
Kiedrowski and Stacker made up for more than half of their team’s points, combining for 28, on a night Park Hill South struggled to score, and shot 31.3 percent from the field. The Panthers will open Kansas City Suburban Conference Silver Division play with a road matchup against Lee’s Summit North (5-3) on Dec. 19.