LIBERTY, Mo. — Josh Prososki was quite the understudy in recent years.
While he didn’t get much playing time behind the guard tandem of Lamel Robinson and Desi Williams in recent years at Park Hill South, the senior took notes.
Now, with those two graduated, the 5-foot-9 guard is becoming a focal point of the new-look Panthers and it was evident with a career-high 25 points in a 71-60 victory over Raytown in the third-place game of the Patterson Division at the William Jewell Holiday Classic.
Prososki hit four 3-pointers and caught fire in the second half to help the Panthers rally from a halftime deficit to clip the Blue Jays on Holley Court.
“Last few games have been a struggle and slow and comparing to last year, those guys had a never-ending motor and that is what I took from them,” said Prososki, who had four 3-pointers in all three games of the tournament, said of playing with Williams and Robinson. “Third place isn’t pristine. It is about getting momentum and moving down the stretch. We got a big couple of games coming up.
“This is the first game we really felt like we were competing. We weren’t going through the motions. We were fighting for each other and fighting as a team. That was huge for us.”
CODY THORN/Citizen photo
Park Hill South’s Josh Prososki, right, goes up for a shot against Raytown during a game on Monday, Dec. 30 at the William Jewell Holiday Classic in Liberty.
Raytown jumped out to an 18-9 lead after the first quarter but Park Hill South slowly started to come back. Connor Robertson’s basket with 2 minutes, 21 seconds left in the second quarter tied the game at 24.
Raytown answered with a pair of baskets to regain the lead but a final-second shot by Garrett Lee made it 29-27 at the break.
Prososki drained a 3-pointer 20 seconds into the third to give the Panthers (8-2) the lead. After Raytown (7-4) got a bucket to take a one-point lead, Messias Dockery hit a 3-pointer to give Park Hill South the lead back.
The Panthers got yet another three, another from Prososki, to extend the lead. Robertson made a 3 with less than 2 minutes to play in the quarter to make it 43-39. Robertson also had four 3s in the victory.
Going into the fourth, Park Hill South led 50-44.
“That has been our nature, once we get the lead we want to hang on,” Park Hill South coach Dan Parra said. “We have good guards that handle the ball. Knock on wood, we shoot free throws really. Once we got the lead we felt comfortable if we can get enough stops. The problem was we weren’t stopping anyone. In the first half we were scoring, they were scoring. We just got stops in the third quarter.”
Raytown got the first two baskets of the fourth and cut the deficit down to a basket but back-to-back points from Dockery and Prososki quickly pushed the advantage to 59-49.
The Blue Jays pulled within four (61-57) with less than a minute and half to go but Park Hill South went 9-for-9 from the free-throw line to seal the win.
Prososki and Dockery made all of the shots from the charity stripe in the final 2 minutes, while Dockery made a basket and a plus-one shot with 29 seconds left. Dockery finished with 14 points.
Robertson had 12 points, while Jake Powers added 10 for Park Hill South.
“Those guys are program guys that have been in there going against Lamel and Desi,” Parra said. “They have learned a few things. They have been waiting. Josh has been hungry for this opportunity for a long time. He is one that probably plays sophomore and junior year if he doesn’t have an all-state guy in front him. That is a tribute to him. He busts his ass every day.”
The Panthers played without starting center Dylan Brougham for the second straight game. He sprained his ankle in the first game of the tournament.
The Panthers were 18-for-19 at the free-throw line, while Raytown was 7-for-9.
North Kansas City 63, Park Hill South 48
The Panthers lost to five-player Hornets in a semifinal on Friday, Dec. 28.
North Kansas City played all five starters the entire 32 minutes and they withstood the rigors to hold off Park Hill South.
D’Anthony Pennington scored 30 points, one of three Hornets in double figures. Malik Johnson had 15 and Athuai Ding added 12.
Park Hill South trailed 20-8 after the opening 8 minutes and then 38-18 at the break and never recovered.
Park Hill South had three players score in double figures, led by Jake Powers’ double-double with 14 points and 17 rebounds. Josh Prososki had 12 and Messias Dockery scored 11.
Park Hill South 67, Kearney 50
The Panthers opened up the tournament with a victory over the Bulldogs on Friday, Dec. 27.
Kearney stormed out to a 15-9 lead but Park Hill South tallied 20 points in the second to take a one-point lead, 29-28, at halftime. Then, an 18-8 scoring advantage in the third helped the Panthers pull away.
Josh Prososki scored 16 points, hitting four 3-pointers, and dishing out four assists, a team-high shared with Messias Dockery. Jake Powers added 13 points.