With Steph Curry-like effort, three seniors power Park Hill South at Holiday Classic

It is a Steph Curry world and the three senior guards at Park Hill South were living it Friday afternoon in the Panthers’ 69-53 victory over Raytown in the William Jewell High School Holiday Classic.

“Once we get it going, it is a lot of fun,” said Panthers guard Lamel Robinson, who finished with a game-high 24 points. “It picks up our energy and as a team, we start playing better, and we feed off each other.”

Like Curry, who proves regularly in the NBA that a small man can thrive in a big-man’s game, Robinson, Desi Williams and Dawson Owen, all listed under 6 feet, controlled the action in the Patterson Division semifinal game at Larry Holley Court.

“We have three guards who have played varsity since their freshman or sophomore year. They do a lot that I don’t have to worry about like calling timeouts or finding the open guy,” said Park Hill South boys basketball coach Daniel Parra. “They know the game plan. We have full trust in them.”

Parra will be counting on them in the Patterson Division title game when Park Hill South, 5-2, takes on Blue Springs South, 6-3, at 7:15 p.m. Saturday.

In the first half against Raytown, Robinson and Williams constantly pushed the ball up court and it paid off in the second half when they extended a 21-19 lead to a 33-25 halftime advantage.

“Before the game we talked about playing as tough as them,” said Williams, who finished with 13 points. “We wanted to break down their zone and play like we play every game. We came out with leadership and our team filled in very well.”

The three players were almost automatic from the field in the first two quarters. As a group, they went 11 for 15 from the field for 27 points. Robinson had 15 of the points. Both Williams and Owen made their only three-point attempt in the first half and Robinson was three for five from behind the arc.

Williams and Robinson showed in the second half that they like having a big man around to feed the ball to in the paint. One reason the Panthers were able to build a double-digit lead in the third quarter was the passes by Williams and Robinson to 6-8 junior forward Dylan Brougham.

“I think it is very important to get him the ball,” Williams said. “In the past years, we didn’t have that luxury like we have now. He plays a big role in this. He came to play today. All our teammates came to play and we got the W.”

Late in the third quarter, Williams tossed a nice pass to Brougham, who converted the layup that increased Park Hill South’s lead to 45-33. A few minutes later, Robinson found Brougham underneath and again he scored, pushing the lead to 52-35 at the end of the third quarter.

“Desi, Lamel and Dawson really trust him to finish,” Parra said. “To Dylan’s credit, he does a lot of the dirty work. He will block a shot here and there and get rebounds so Dylan needs to be rewarded.”

Blue Springs South 68, Liberty 60: Every time Liberty made a run, Blue Springs South had somebody step up and make a key basket. Sometimes it was junior Kayden Hooks, who finished with 17 points. Other times it was senior Caleb Israelite, who scored 18.

“I thought we played well,” Blue Springs South coach Josh Smith. “I told the guys in the locker room that I was really pleased the way we finished the game. We were strong with the ball. We knocked down free throws when we needed to. It was a solid job closing it out against an awfully good Liberty team.”

Another player who stood out for the Jaguars was sophomore Jaylon McDaniel, a 6-foot-6 forward, who is already garnering attention because of his body and skill-set. McDaniel used his physical strength in the post and scored 20 points, going 10 for 15 from the field.

“He has played very well for us,” Smith said. “The thing that impresses me the most about Jaylon is he is not a me-guy at all. He is unselfish. He reads things when guys are doubling him. He has been very impressive and mature for a kid who is still pretty young.”

Cardinal Division semifinals

Center 66, Liberty North 61: In a game of runs, Center had the perfect run stopper in sophomore forward Keyren Spiller. His 29-point outburst prevented Liberty North from making a comeback on Friday evening in a Cardinal Division semifinal game. Spiller went 10 for 14 from the field.

“His contributions were huge,” said Center coach LeDale Wooten. “He is a phenomenal kid, phenomenal character, phenomenal student-athlete. Everything he does in life carries over to the court.”

Center improved to 6-3 on the season.

After a first half that saw Spiller score 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field, Spiller came up with important baskets in the second half every time Liberty North started to cut into Center’s nine-point halftime lead.

A perfect example came at the start of the fourth quarter when Liberty North closed to 44-40 on a basket by junior Benny Kaplan. Spiller answered with a basket.

Spiller later knocked down another basket that gave Center a 50-40 lead.

The first half was a game of runs and because Center had the last one, the Yellowjackets went into halftime with a 31-22 lead.

The game started with Center scoring the first seven points. Liberty North responded by scoring the next 11 points. The Eagles finished the first quarter with an 18-13 lead.

Center started the second quarter like it began the first quarter. This time Center scored the first nine points for a 22-18 lead. The Yellowjackets continued to play well throughout the second quarter. They outscored Liberty North 18-4.

Rockhurst 58, North Kansas City 46: Rockhurst is a perfect 10-0 after a gritty victory over a pesky North Kansas City team that stayed within three to five points until the last few minutes. With 5 minutes, 23 seconds left in the fourth quarter, North Kansas City closed to one at 45-44 on two free throws by sophomore Athuai Ding. The Hornets had a chance to go ahead on their next possession. Rockhurst grabbed the rebound on the miss and senior Glen McClintock scored a layup on a fastbreak. The Hawklets maintained their lead the rest of the way. Rockhurst will play for the Cardinal Division title at 9 p.m. Saturday against Center.

Nelson Division semifinals

Grandview 56, Staley 47: Grandview held only a 28-25 lead at halftime and then exploded in the third quarter, outscoring Staley 21-5 for a 49-30 lead.

Instrumental in the run was senior guard Deandre Sorrells, who drilled a couple of three-pointers and also tossed a couple of alley-oop passes that seniors Kamto Eze and Jermaine Yarbrough turned into dunks. Sorrells finished with a team-high 15 points, Eze had 14 and freshman Taj Manning added 13.

Grandview, 9-1, will play Fort Osage, 7-2, for the Nelson Division title at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

Fort Osage 50, Raymore-Peculiar 44: Leading 28-24 at the start of the fourth quarter, Fort Osage built a 10-point cushion on a three-pointer by senior Josh Viana followed by a three-point play by senior Jared Larson that gave the Indians a 34-24 lead.

Ray-Pec spent the rest of the fourth quarter trying to make up that deficit. The Panthers closed to 46-44 on a running floater in the paint by freshman Iryn Allen with under a minute left.

Fort Osage answered with a layup from junior Miles Dunfield. And with 14 seconds remaining, Larson put the game away with two free throws.

Cardinal Division consolation

Park Hill 60, Kearney 54: Clinging to a two-point lead with 30 seconds left, Park Hill senior forward Nic Zeil made a strong post move and scored in the paint to put the game away. Zeil finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds in the win. Park Hill, 7-3, will play Lee’s Summit, 3-6, at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Cardinal Division fifth place game.

Lee’s Summit 69, Odessa 44: Senior guard Sam Lock went seven for 12 from the field and scored 19 points, helping the Tigers to the win. Also scoring in double figures for Lee’s Summit were freshman Max Whisner with 12 and junior Amari Kemp with 11.

This story was originally published December 28, 2018 at 4:00 PM.