The Park Hill boys basketball team took home a third-place plaque from the 46th annual William Jewell Holiday Classic on Dec. 30, overcoming a 21-point deficit in the first half to win 64-57 in overtime of their tournament finale in the Holley Division against Pembroke Hill.
The first quarter was a complete catastrophe for Park Hill, who immediately found themselves in a 7-0 hole in the opening three minutes. Jonah Were managed to put Park Hill on the board out of a timeout, but that only motivated Pembroke Hill to pour on more.
“Everything was self-inflicted,” Park Hill head coach Cooper Bayiha said. “From the energy standpoint, from the focus standpoint, everything was self-inflicted.”
Pembroke Hill grew its lead to 14 points before points from Mekhi Robbins-Yearby and Donovan Fonville cut the deficit down to 11. Having already hit three triples in the opening frame, Pembroke Hill added two more to extend its lead to 24-7 after the first quarter.
A sixth triple of the afternoon from the Red Raiders put Park Hill behind by 20 to start the second quarter. Right when Park Hill got back within 13, Pembroke Hill re-established its dominance with an 8-0 run to take a 35-14 lead with 3:50 left in the second quarter.
“There’s no such thing as a 20-plus-point play,” Bayiha said. “But there is such a thing as grinding one play after the other.”
Park Hill did just that, though grinding each play still took time for the results to truly pay off. Bayiha emphasized the importance of speeding up Pembroke Hill’s offense and playing tighter defense, even if that meant conceding more fouls.
Javon Washington flies through the air for a dunk against Pembroke Hill on Dec. 30.
Park Hill found some rhythm out of a timeout late in the first half as a bucket from Dante Dixon was followed by a Javon Washington dunk and a 3-pointer from Isaiah Caston. Suddenly, the insurmountable deficit had turned into a more manageable 15-point deficit as the Trojans headed into halftime trailing 36-21.
Just like the second quarter, Pembroke Hill hit another triple to make it 39-21, but the Trojans sprang back to life after that. Scores from Caston and Washington got them within 11 before Rylan Ferrin and Fonville cut the lead to single digits, only for a late surge from Pembroke Hill to take a 44-31 lead going to the final frame of regulation.
The Trojans responded well in the fourth with the help of Bayiha’s energetic coaching, cutting the deficit point by point. In his first season with the program, Bayiha has emphasized developing his team’s character as well as developing them as players, with so many players logging regular varsity minutes for the first time.
Park Hill head coach Cooper Bayiha instructs his team during the Trojans’ come-from-behind victory against Pembroke Hill on Dec. 30.
“I try to make sure they don’t perceive my passion as anger,” Bayiha said. “I can be pretty upbeat, pretty passionate, and that’s because I believe in them. Not just as basketball players, but also as young men. The journey is not just being good basketball players, but what are the things we are building on, from a character standpoint, that we carry in every facet of life?”
Bayiha proved a much-needed spark in energy, which carried over to the bench. Among the major cast of contributors who fed off the momentum shift was Washington, who went 6 of 8 from the field with 14 points, only elevating the energy levels with big play after big play.
“He motivated us,” Washington said. “He doesn’t say anything bad. He motivated us, and the bench, too. That just transferred to the game.”
Eventually, free throws from Dixon and another Washington dunk made it a two-possession game less than halfway through the fourth. Park Hill continued its momentum to take its first lead of the day at 47-46 with three minutes remaining, but a Pembroke Hill revival concluded Park Hill’s 12-2 run.
Park Hill suddenly found themselves trailing by two scores once again, only for Caston to bring it within one score and Fonville to tie it inside the final minute. Knotted up at 51-51, the Trojans had a chance to win it with the final shot, giving the ball to Fonville, who drove with contact but missed as the game went to overtime.
The overtime period was thoroughly controlled by Park Hill, who jumped out to a 58-51 lead before a Red Raider 3-pointer ended Park Hill’s 11-0 run. Pembroke Hill managed to cut the deficit down to 60-57 in the final 30 seconds with another triple, but Park Hill used free throws and offensive rebounding to close out the 64-57 victory.
Park Hill was full of praise for a talented Pembroke Hill team that hit 11 triples, led by Callahan Sprott’s 29-point performance. Mounting the comeback the Trojans did was an important morale-booster after dropping the semifinal less than 24 hours previously, losing 66-46 to Battle on Dec. 29.
“We feel like we could have won yesterday,” Washington said. “We fell short, so we were like ‘we have to win this.’ We made that a point for winning today.”
Washington was among the three Trojan scorers in double-digits, with Fonville ending the day with 17 points and 9 rebounds, and Caston tallying 13 points. Park Hill dominated the paint, outscoring Pembroke Hill 32-12, and also doubled up on points off turnovers 28-14.
Donovan Fonville scored 17 points in the third-place game to secure his spot on the all-tournament team.
Fonville was the only player to reach double-digit points in all three games, earning a spot on the Holley Division All-Tournament Team.
Park Hill opens its conference schedule on Friday, Jan. 9, when it hosts Park Hill South to open conference play. The Trojans know this part of the season is feast or famine against quality opposition.
“We play in arguably the toughest conference in the city,” Bayiha said. “So every game is a must-win, but it’s all about building good habits so we can be playing out best basketball in districts.”