LIBERTY, Mo. — Park Hill ran into a buzzsaw of a team in Grandview Christian in the third-place game of the William Jewell Holiday Classic on Monday, Jan. 30.

The Trojans battled closely in the first quarter but eventually couldn’t keep pace with the private school in an 80-62 loss on Holley Court.

Park Hill (3-7) held an early lead against the Eagles, a non-MSHSAA school, 10-8, but Grandview closed on a 15-0 run and led 26-11.

The deficit grew to 20 points (33-13) just 1 ½ minutes into the second quarter.

“We are struggling to guard people,” Park Hill coach Chad Jones said. “I got to do a better job in practice to teach these kids to guard.”

The Eagles held a 40-23 lead at halftime and then scored 27 points in the third quarter to expand the lead even further.

The lopsided loss gave Jones a chance to play all 12 players on the roster. Andy Ashley played a game-high 22 minutes and got credit for his ‘energy’ he brought while playing point guard.

Christian Bradford scored a team-high 16 points, while Drew Townsend added 10.

The Trojans shot 44 percent from the field, but the Eagles hit 63 percent from the field and 66 percent from the 3-point line (10-for-15). Josue Grullon hit five 3s and finished with a game-high 27.

CODY THORN/Citizen photo
Park Hill’s Nyk Bryant (25) goes up for a layup against Grandview Christian during a game on Monday, Dec. 30 at the William Jewell Holiday Classic in Liberty.

Three other players, Peyton Downey, Mario Cheatem and Cannen Hill, all had 10.

Park Hill hit only 3 of its 16 3-point attempts.

The Trojans returned to action on Tuesday, Jan. 7 hosting Park Hill South — results were unavailable by press time — in one of their final non-conference games of the year. The exception is the Liberty Tournament and a game with Lincoln College Prep next month.

“We have no nights off,” Jones said. “We got to figure out a way to play better. We got enough talent to get it done. It is always good to play over Christmas break in front of college coaches and see different teams. We are young and we are learning. We will continue to learn and our staff will figure it out.”

Liberty 62, Park Hill 53

After getting back in the win column the game prior, the Trojans came up short making it two wins in a row with a loss in the semifinals against the top-seeded Blue Jays on Saturday, Dec. 28.

The teams each had a quarter scoring 17 points in the first half, but Liberty (8-1) took a 30-27 lead into the locker room after two quarters.

Liberty, the No. 8 ranked team in Class 5, scored 20 points in the third quarter.

Grant Stubbs scored a game-high 22 for Liberty, while adding eight rebounds. Jermaine Booker scored 19, while Kellen Goodwin scored 10.

Three players scored in double figures for the Trojans, led by 13 from Anthony Hall. Andy Ashley and Nyk Bryant had 10 points each.