Park Hill South senior Colby Kiedrowski (#1) scored 15 points in the Panthers’ 50-43 loss to North Kansas City on Jan. 30.
PARKVILLE – Only 11 days removed from losing to North Kansas City (16-5) by 26 points in the Hornets’ boys’ basketball tournament, Park Hill South (7-14) nearly pulled off the upset against the same opponent at home on Jan. 30.
Entering the day with an unfavorable January record of 2-7, Park Hill South was within five points of snapping its 5-game losing skid in the final minutes. North Kansas City has had a polar opposite start to the New Year, winning its eighth game out of 10 tries, 50-43.
The Hornets buzzed to an 8-0 advantage out of the gate and while it appeared they might sting the Panthers by a lopsided score, Colby Kiedrowski had other plans. The 5’9 senior went on a 7-2 run by himself and finished with nine points in the first quarter.
Keegan Feder sank a triple on a skip pass from Carson Bjorn after he had an offensive rebound, and the Hornets’ lead was cut down to 13-10 by the time the second period began. The Panthers added eight second chance points in the frame but were outscored 4-0 in the final 43 seconds of the half and trailed 29-23.
On the opening possession of the second half, Michael Good knocked down a shot on a set play from the left corner, but Park Hill South went scoreless for the next 9:02 of play. Kiedrowski drove in, had a spin move and converted a tough reverse layup with 5:45 left in regulation to end the scoring drought.
Trailing 41-28 shortly after that bucket, Kiedrowski had back-to-back assists on a pair of shots from behind the arc by Feder and Good. Feder added a bucket in the fastbreak with 2:20 left and North Kansas City called a timeout as its lead was cut down to 41-36.
The Panthers got the ball back and had a chance to get the game to one possession but had a tough break on a wild sequence. Kiedrowski drove in and ran out-of-bounds after he dished the ball back to Bjorn who swung it back to the senior when he re-established in-bounds, but that was whistled as a violation and a turnover.
Kiedrowski would have had an open look in the left corner – a shot that he makes at a 43.2 percent rate – but instead the Hornets got the ball back and retook momentum with a layup on the other side. Bjorn made a 3-pointer with 21.3 seconds left and Feder added another one with 9.7 seconds left, but the Panthers couldn’t bring it back to one score.
Kiedrowski ended the night with 15 points. Feder had 11 points and Good had nine points.
Lee’s Summit West (16-4) handed Park Hill South its seventh straight loss – the most consecutive defeats in a row that the program has seen in more than 15 years – 72-44 on Feb. 2. Bjorn scored a career-best 12 points on four made shots from behind the arc and Good added 11 points.
Park Hill South will have four more regular season games ahead of the competitive Class 6 District 8 Tournament. The Panthers will head to Park Hill (10-10) to take on the rival Trojans on Feb. 9.