Having a chance to win the Liberty North Tournament for the third consecutive season, the Park Hill boys’ basketball team (2-2) ran into a red-hot Nixa (2-0) squad that shot lights out on Dec. 9.
Park Hill senior Marqueas Bell helped lead the Trojans to the Liberty North Championship with a pair of wins over St. Joseph’s Central and Basehor-Linwood.
Taking on Nixa in the championship, Park Hill saw its largest margin of the short season, but fought back until the final buzzer. The Eagles led by 26 points at the break, but the Trojans’ late run made the score 77-75 when the game came to a close.
Desire Tonye-Nyemick – who has been shooting at an efficient 73.9 percent rate from the field through the opening four games – led the Trojans with 23 points, six rebounds, two blocks and one steal in the game. Ty Schreck had a season-high 12 points, Marqueas Bell scored 15 points and Kendrick Bell ended with 11 points.
To reach the championship, the Trojans opened up with their first two wins of the season against Basehor Linwood (2-2) on Dec. 6 and St. Joseph’s Central (2-3) on Dec. 8. Park Hill started with a 64-58 win when it shot 48.8 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from deep.
Kendrick Bell led the way with a double-double – with the help of five trips to the free-throw line and making 80 percent of his attempts – when he finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and two steals. Gavin Schaag and Ty Schreck both shot two of four from deep to score 12 points, while Marqueas Bell had 11 points.
In the matchup with the Indians, Marqueas Bell poured out 26 points and Schaag scored 12 points. Cameron Jones had his best statistical game in the early season, finishing with 10 points, three rebounds and two steals.
Next up for The Trojans is a home game against Liberty North (3-1) on Dec. 16. After that, Park Hill will play in the William Jewell Holiday Tournament from Dec. 26 to Dec. 30.