In a game that saw a 19-point deficit erased, a 4-point play and an extra period of action, Park Hill senior Kendrick Bell had a chance to be the hero when he went to the charity stripe with one second left against the Park Hill South boys’ basketball team (13-9) on Feb. 10.
The Trojan senior lifted Park Hill (14-8) to a victory after he missed the first shot and made the second one after the game was tied at 62. Park Hill South sophomore Zahir Ragsdale caught the ensuing inbound pass deep in the back court and threw a one-handed heave from three-quarters court.
While the shot had the distance, the ball hit the backboard but was left of the cylinder, and the Trojans held on to win 63-62. This was the second matchup of the season between the rivals and the game lived up to the hype.
Park Hill dominated the opening 16 minutes, heading into the locker room with a 35-18 advantage. Marqueas and Kendrick Bell scored all 17 of the Trojans’ first quarter points and combined for 27 points in the first two quarters.
Park Hill senior Marqueas Bell (#55) and junior Gavin Schaag (#5) celebrate after Bell knocks down a triple in overtime of the Trojans 63-62 win over Park Hill South.
Park Hill took its biggest lead of the game when Marqueas Bell had a transition layup in the opening minutes of the third quarter, making the score 39-20. Park Hill South made a massive 21-7 run to close out the frame, led by senior Cahmai Crosby.
The Panthers scored seven straight points after going down by 19 and Crosby scored 14 points in the frame – which included three triples to give him 23 points up to that point – and he capped it off with a buzzer beater 3-pointer from the top of the key. Park Hill led 46-41 entering the fourth quarter.
For the first time in the contest, Park Hill South tied the game when Damon Stacker had a steal and a fast break layup midway through the fourth quarter. Kendrick Bell responded with an and-one layup to put the Trojans back up 52-49.
Park Hill continued to stay ahead in the closing minutes and with less than 30 seconds left, was up 57-53. The Panthers had the ball, and called a timeout, and after multiple passes around the perimeter and precious time running off the clock, Ragsdale caught the ball in the right corner.
Ragsdale pump faked and Marqueas Bell left his feet to try and block the shot, so the Panther took a dribble to the left and got a clean look. The shot went in, and Ragsdale was fouled by a different Trojan on the play, so he made a free throw to convert the 4-point play and tie the game with 15.8 seconds left.
On the ensuing Park Hill possession, Marqueas Bell drove into the paint and Ragsdale got his hand on the ball, forcing a jump ball with 5.6 seconds left to let the Panthers retake possession. The home team called a timeout with the ball under Park Hill’s basket to draw up one last play.
Jaylen Lockhart took the inbound pass and quickly dribbled up the middle of the court and dished the ball to Stacker right past half court with about two seconds left. Stacker took a deep shot from the left side of the court and his shot was no good as the game went into overtime tied at 57.
The Panthers took their first lead of the night when Ragsdale made a shot from behind the arc in the opening minute of overtime. Marqueas Bell responded with a 3-pointer from the top of the key on the ensuing possession and was fouled on the play but couldn’t shoot the free throw.
After tying the game at 60, the senior was called for a technical foul – which was his second of the night – and he was disqualified from the game, so Cameron Jones shot the free throw. The Park Hill sophomore missed the attempt and then Crosby went zero-for-two on the other side of the court when he shot the technical free throws for Park Hill South.
Kendrick Bell put Park Hill back on top with a pair of free throws; then Stacker had a steal and layup to tie the contest at 62 with under two minutes to play. Both teams had one more possession prior to Kendrick Bell drawing a foul with one second left to give the Trojans the win.
This was a revamped rivalry as it was the first time since 2016 that Park Hill and Park Hill South played each other twice in the regular season. The schools are both in the same division of the Kansas City Suburban Conference for the first time since that year and this was the first time since 2010 that the Trojans beat the Panthers twice in the same season.