KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two of the best football players in the Kansas City metro area put on quite a scoring display on the hardwood Friday night at Park Hill High School.
Missouri-bound Daniel Parker Jr. posted 33 points for Blue Springs, while Park Hill’s Ronnie Bell, who will play wide receiver for Michigan, tallied 31 points.
Parker may have outscored Bell, but it was Bell that vaulted Park Hill to a 67-62 victory thanks to late free throws in a Suburban Conference Division Gold contest.
“A couple of really nice basketball players will go play football at a really high level and you saw why tonight,” Park Hill coach Chad Jones said. “Parker put on a show … what a monster. We were trying everything, even the kitchen sink, trying to stop him.”
CODY THORN/Citizen photo
Park Hill guard Ronnie Bell, left, shoots a jumper while Blue Springs defender Daniel Parker Jr. (24) attempts to block it during a game Friday, Feb. 9, at Park Hill High School in Kansas City, Mo. Park Hill won 67-62.
Blue Springs trailed by 12 at one point in the fourth quarter but found a way to hang around thanks to Parker’s hot night — which was a key given the absence of R.J. Lawrence, who was out with a leg injury.
Parker’s 30th point of the game came on a 3-pointer that pulled Blue Springs within 62-56 with 1:00 left.
The Wildcats got exactly what they wanted next. They fouled a Trojan, who went to the line and missed both. Park Hill got the offensive rebound and Bell got the ball and promptly made two free throws.
“We were within two possessions,” Blue Springs coach Adam Jones said. “Who knows what would’ve happened but we gave ourselves a chance. We were down by two possessions and I still had a timeout. We were doing a good job of fouling the right kid.
“We had some opportunities. Offensive rebounds and free throws are killer.”
In the final 54 seconds, Bell was the only Trojan that went to the line and the one-time Missouri State basketball commit hit 6 of 8 free throws to seal the win.
Prior to that stretch, the Trojans struggled to convert on the free-throw opportunity, shooting 50 percent.
“We were missing free throws,” Jones said. “We could’ve put it away and let everyone go home early. Hopefully we learn from it and figure out how to clean up that mess and have a cleaner game next time.”
In between Bell’s conversions, Parker hit fifth and final 3-pointer and Jay’Von McKinney’s bucket with 8.4 seconds left was the final points on the night for Blue Springs.
“It is always fun going against Daniel on the field or on the court,” said Bell, the Simone Award winner this year. “It is impressive. That is a d-line/o-line keeping a basketball team in a game. That is impressive stuff. Daniel was all kinds of hot.”
The loss was the third straight for the Wildcats (7-14, 1-8), while the Trojans (13-9, 5-4) snapped a three-game skid that came from the Lee’s Summit schools.
Blue Springs started out on fire and led 12-2 early in the first but back-to-back 3-pointers – one by Bell and one by Willy Majok – gave Park Hill a 19-18 lead after the first quarter.
“I don’t think we were very focused early,” Jones said. “We assumed one of their better players was not playing and we’d walk through. Shoot, we were in a dog fight.”
The Wildcats tied the game at 21 early in the second quarter on a 3-pointer by Parker. The largest lead for the Trojans in the frame was five points, but the Wildcats kept rally behind the hot shooting of Parker – who hit a trey with 11 seconds left that made it 32-29 at the break.
Blue Springs scored the first two baskets in the third quarter from Cooper Willich and Braylon Culler that gave the Wildcats their first lead since the first quarter.
Park Hill went on a 10-0 run after that to regain the lead and hold an advantage they would never relinquish.
A 3-pointer by Stefan Black II stopped the run and pulled Blue Springs within 42-36, but the Wildcats had gone 4-plus minutes without any points.
A basket Ryan Graves gave Park Hill a 44-36 lead going into the fourth.
Lee’s Summit North 84, Park Hill 72
Giving up 27 points in two different quarters became too much for the Trojans to overcome in a loss to the Broncos on Tuesday, Feb. 6 in Lee’s Summit, Mo.
The game was tied at 12 after the first quarter before Lee’s Summit North tallied 27 points in the second quarter to take an 11-point lead at halftime.
The Trojans trailed by 16 entering the fourth when they busted out for 29 point. Willy Majok scored 13 of his team-high 19 points in that quarter.
Two other players scored in double figures for Park Hill – Ronnie Bell with 15 and Haden Wallace with 12.
Lee’s Summit North had four players in double figures, led by 24 from Jauvante Hawkins. Elijah Farr had 22, while Mikel Henderson and Logan Jenkins scored 17 each.
This completed a sweep of Park Hill by the three Lee’s Summit schools in consecutive games.
Lee’s Summit West 55, Park Hill 48
In a rematch of the championship game of the C.W. Stessman Tournament, the Titans got a bit of revenge.
Lee’s Summit West trailed at halftime but outscored the Trojans in the second half on a game on Tuesday, Jan. 30, at Park Hill High School.
Ronnie Bell and Nic Zeil combined for 15 of Park Hill’s 17 points in the first quarter to give the Trojans a lead over the then No. 5-ranked Titans.
Park Hill led 28-24 at the break.
Lee’s Summit West took over the lead in the third quarter behind R.J. Johnson’s eight points, which matched the Trojans’ output. The Titans led 38-36 going into the fourth.
Johnson added 10 points in the fourth to highlight the 17-point frame that lifted the Titans to the victory. Johnson finished with a game-high 24, while Creighton signee Christian Bishop had 12.
Park Hill held Oklahoma State signee Yor Anei to eight points overall and only two in the second half.
The Trojans had only four players score and two were in double figures. Bell had 23 and Zeil chipped in with 14. The Trojans played without guard Willy Majok in this contest.