Entering this week, the Park Hill South Panthers control their own destiny after earning a pivotal Suburban Red victory over the weekend.

Behind Lamel Robinson and Desi Williams, the Panthers defeated St. Joseph Central 58-45 on Saturday, Feb. 9 in St. Joseph. With the win, PHS is all alone atop the Suburban Red standings.

Park Hill South (16-5, 7-1) finally made the trip to Central (10-9) for the much-anticipated contest after three postponements. The two squads once again tangled in league action on Tuesday night, but the result was unavailable before press time.

KRISTEN CARVER/News-Press Now
Park Hill South’s Anthony Bell goes up for a layup against St. Joseph Central on Saturday, Feb. 9 in St. Joseph.

Senior guard Lamel Robinson, who finished with 16 points, lit up the board with 12 points in the first half, helping the Panthers to an early lead. Thanks to solid defense, the Panthers went on to lead 33-15 at halftime.

“We made it really hard for (Central) to score in the first half. We got a big lead and kind of hung onto it until the end,” Panthers head coach Dan Parra said.

Landon Pasley led Central with 21 points, while AJ Redman added 10 points.

The Panthers, who had won four straight ahead, are at Truman at 7 p.m. on Friday in another divisional contest.

Park Hill South 56, Staley 54

The Panthers turned to an unusual subject with the game on the line in a thrilling road victory on Friday, Feb. 8 at Staley High School in Kansas City.

Dawson Owen, a senior shooting guard, drained a 3-pointer from the corner with less than 10 seconds left to give Park Hill South a 56-54 Suburban Red victory over Stanley.

With Nebraska-Omaha-bound Robinson fouled out, Parra said he originally drew up a play for senior guard Desi Williams, but the shot was blocked out of bounds.

Then, Parra drew up a play for Owen, who lifted the Panthers to victory. He finished with 14 points and four treys.

Park Hill South was in command early, as it led 21-4 after the first quarter before a 32-14 halftime advantage. Staley chipped way in the second half with a strong third quarter, out-scoring the Panthers 26-10 to cut the lead to 42-40. The two sides played even in the fourth quarter (14-14) with Park Hill South earning the edge late thanks to Owen’s 3.

Robinson poured in 30 points, making three deep balls and converting 11-for-12 from the free throw line. He scored eight points, six from the charity stripe, in the fourth before fouling out.

Byron Alexander scored 28 points to lead Staley.

Park Hill South 58, Liberty 49

The Panthers began their four-game winning streak with a conference victory over Liberty.

Robinson scored a game-high 25 points and Park Hill South pulled away late for the win, out-scoring Liberty 17-9 in the fourth quarter. The Panthers led 41-40 after the third quarter.

The Panthers, who completed the season sweep of Liberty, led 15-14 after the first quarter and 28-26 at halftime.

Anthony Bell added 11 points for Park Hill South. Grant Stubbs scored 20 points to lead Liberty.