Park Hill junior Marqueas Bell, above, scored 31 points against Lee’s Summit North on Feb. 8.
With the season coming down to the wire, the Trojans split a pair of conference games to bring their Kansas City Suburban Conference Gold Division record to 7-4.
After taking down Lee’s Summit North (2-12) 76-64 on Feb. 8, the Park Hill boys’ basketball team (13-8) fell to a talented Liberty (20-2) 79-55 on Feb. 11. In the first of the back-to-back conference matchups, Park Hill jumped out to an early double-digit lead to cruise to a 12-point victory.
After leading Lee’s Summit North 21-9 at the end of the first quarter, the Trojans increased their lead to 19 points at the break. Marqueas Bell crossed the 30-point barrier for just the second time this season when the junior made seven of his 13 shots from behind the arc to finish with 31 points.
Luke Renton also shot well from downtown, knocking down three of his six attempts, and ended with 12 points. Kendrick Bell and Ty Schreck added 11 points apiece and combined for seven steals.
Park Hill’s matchup with Liberty was the opposite of the Lee’s Summit North game, as the Blue Jays took a lead early and led by double digits in the opening half to eventually pull out the win. Liberty shot 42 percent from downtown, while the Trojans only made 29 percent of their attempts from deep.
Gavin Schaag made four of Park Hill’s eight 3-pointers as the sophomore made four of his eight attempts and led the Trojans with 16 points. Marqueas Bell was a rebound shy of a double-double, finishing the contest with 14 points and nine boards.
Schreck had an efficient night, converting on five of his seven field goal attempts – including two of three from downtown – and ended with 12 points and two steals. Park Hill will be back at it when the Trojans host Grandview (6-8) on Feb. 17.