Derek Zimmerman-Guyer
Special to the Citizen

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With less than six minutes left in the Class 5 District 16 championship game, Staley senior Byron Alexander emphatically ended things early with a two-for-one special — a bucket in the paint and a foul.

After Friday’s rubber match featuring two fully healthy teams in Staley and Park Hill South, a new district champion emerged in the gym of Oak Park High School.

Alexander’s three-point play against the defending district champs put second-seeded Staley up by 13 points, icing a soon-to-be 51-35 victory for the Falcons over the favorite Panthers.

After Alexander’s highlight play, he could feel the momentum shift throughout the gym.

“I feel like after that, it really did set the tone,” Alexander said. “We were coming at them aggressively, and coming at them with our heart. That’s really what separated us tonight, because we actually finished the game. We finished our free throws and just finished off strong.”

Staley shot 16-of-19 from the free throw line while the Class 5 No. 7-ranked Park Hill South only shot 2-of-6. Given that the Falcons won by 15 points, these 16 from the line made all the difference. Alexander scored 11 points, nine of them being in the second half. Fellow senior Kuyu Gazo led the Falcons with 13.

DEREK ZIMMERMAN-GUYER/Special to the Citizen
Park Hill South’s Dylan Brougham (left) and Garrett Lee (right) guard Staley senior Byron Alexander during the Class 5 District 16 championship game on Friday, March 6 at Oak Park High School in Kansas City.

The Falcons, ranked No. 9 in Class 5, won the first meeting 55-44 on Jan. 15 but couldn’t repeat a month later. As if a potential district wasn’t motivational enough, Alexander and Staley felt obligated to return the favor after a 51-42 away loss on Park Hill’s courtwarming night.

“It was just a lot going against us,” Alexander said. “We didn’t have a crowd, so we lost that one — it was a tough one. I felt like we needed to come back and get them, because we needed to get our revenge back.”

When the Falcons lost their second meeting with the Panthers, they were missing senior DJ Pitia, who was initially a starter before his injury. Once that happened, Gazo moved into the starting lineup and hasn’t left since.

Despite winning by 15, Staley trailed Park Hill South by one, 17-16, at halftime. Staley coach Chris Neff believed this was due to Alexander’s mere two points in the first quarter and his team’s lack of aggression. However, Neff knew the right words would help the Falcons come out with a new attitude.

Neff must’ve said something inspiring, as the Falcons outscored the Panthers 13-6 in the third quarter. A 22-12 in the fourth led to Staley bringing home its first district plaque in over a decade.

Park Hill South finished the season with a 20-7 record.

The team got a balanced offensive attack, but didn’t have a single player in double figures. Garrett Lee led the team with eight points, while Jake Powers and Messias Dockery each had seven points.

Park Hill South 67, St. Joseph Central 49

The Panthers beat their divisional rival Indians for the third time this season, the latest coming in the semifinals.

The top-seeded Panthers built a double-digit lead by halftime, 30-20, behind 10 points from Dylan Brougham and eight by Jake Powers.

Park Hill South tallied 19 points in the third, getting nine more from Powers, who had a game-high 21 points.

Four of the six players that scored for the Panthers finished in double figures. Brougham had 16, while Connor Robertson and Messias Dockery had 10 each.

AJ Redman had 19 points for Central.

Staley 69, Park Hill 38

The Falcons reached the finals by beating the Trojans on Tuesday, March 3, in a semifinal game.

The matchup was the seventh time since 2011 the two have met but marked only the second time in that span that Staley had beaten the Trojans.

Park Hill finished the season 6-20 record, ending a streak of six straight years of at least a .500 record of better.

Staley jumped ahead 17-8 after the first quarter behind six points from Jamal Davis and took a 36-18 lead into the break. Byron Alexander, a Northwest Missouri State signee, scored eight of his 14 points in the quarter for the Falcons.

Staley all but locked up the win by scoring 22 points — and allowing eight — in the third quarter. Kyan Evans hit a trio of 3-pointers in the quarter, while Alexander and Kendrick Stone also had three baskets each.

Park Hill, which ended the season with five straight losses, outscored Staley 12-11 in the fourth quarter.

Christian Bradford scored 10 to pace the offense for Park Hill. Evans led all scorers with 19 points.