The Park Hill boys’ basketball team (12-8) was on the verge of erasing a 19-point halftime deficit against a top-3 school in all of Class 6, but the game slipped away in the closing minutes on Feb. 3.
Park Hill senior Marqueas Bell had a game-high 18 points in the 71-63 loss to Oak Park on Feb. 3.
Coming off a comfortable 70-41 victory over Fort Osage (7-13) on Jan. 31, Park Hill matched up with an Oak Park (20-1) squad that entered the night with 13 straight wins and ranked as the No. 3 team in the state. The Trojans fell behind 48-29 at the break, but cut the deficit down to 58-48 at the end of the third quarter.
Park Hill took advantage of its four trips to the charity stripe in the fourth quarter, shooting seven-of-eight from the line in the opening 3:30. Along with a step-back shot from behind the arc by Kendrick Bell in the opening minutes, the score was brought to 61-58 with 4:30 to play.
Oak Park split a pair of free throws and Marqueas Bell scored a layup to bring the game within two points with right over four minutes left. Desire Tonye-Nyemeck made a potential game-tying layup with 3:21 left, but he was called for a questionable charge, and the basket was waived off.
Subsequently, Park Hill was called for a technical foul and Oak Park added three points to the score on the ensuing possession. The Trojans struggled in the next five possessions – missing three shots and having two turnovers – and failed to put the ball back in the basket again until Gavin Schaag hit a triple in the right corner with 43 seconds left, making the score 69-63.
The Trojans didn’t score again for the rest of the night, and they lost 71-63. This was the second time in Park Hill’s previous three games that it played tight against one of the best teams in the state as the Trojans also put up a fight against Staley (19-2) – who is the No. 1 team in Class 6 – and fell 63-51 on Jan. 27.
While Park Hill fell behind by 19 points at halftime against Oak Park, the first quarter was close with three ties and five lead changes. Marqueas Bell had 12 points in the first quarter when the Northmen led 20-15.
Schaag tied the game at 20 with his first of four made shots from deep with 6:55 left in the half, but Oak Park responded with a 12-3 run. After Park Hill called a timeout down 32-23 midway through the frame, Tonye-Nyemeck had a poster-esque slam dunk.
Schaag added another shot from deep but the Northmen scored 10 of the last 11 points of the half to take a 48-29 advantage at the break. The junior guard finished with 17 points, only trailing Marqueas Bell who had 18 points.
Park Hill will look to bounce back in a rivalry game at Park Hill South (13-7) on Feb. 10. The Trojans defeated the Panthers 74-60 earlier this season on Jan. 6.