Lamel Robinson has been in this situation before: the game on the line and the ball in his hands.
The Park Hill South senior delivered when it mattered on Saturday, Dec. 29, when the Panthers needed a 3-pointer to force overtime against Blue Springs South in the championship game of the Patterson Division in the William Jewell High School Holiday Classic.
Robinson got the ball on a set play — off a double screen — on an inbound pass from Desi Williams. Robinson drove down the court and made the shot at the buzzer, tying the game at 68.
Two years ago, Robinson had a similar play in a tournament against Columbia Rock Bridge. He made that trey to win it in a double overtime thriller.
Flash forward to this game, Robinson’s bucket forced overtime, but the Jaguars forced another overtime before winning in the second overtime session, 83-79, on Larry Holly Court at the Mabee Center.
Robinson hit seven 3-pointers in the victory, tallying a game-high 33 points and was named to the all-tournament team for the second year in a row.
However, the Nebraska-Omaha signee didn’t have a chance to add to his point total. He fouled out in the first overtime session.
Park Hill South (5-3) twice held leads of four points in overtime, the latest came after Desi Williams scored with 1 minutes, 39 seconds left to make it 74-70.
Devin Tomlinson hit a 3-pointer on the next possession for the Jaguars (7-3) to pull within one, but Williams’ free throw with 9.1 left gave the Panthers a 75-73 lead.
Blue Springs South’s Cade Berg was fouled with 3.4 seconds left and he made both free throws to force a second extra session.
Park Hill South struck first in the extra session on a bucket by Dylan Brougham, who was winner of the Gary Dickinson Hustle Award, the third straight year a Panther had won it.
Up 77-75, Blue Springs South got six straight free throws from Caleb Israelite to take the lead for good.
Williams scored his final points — 17 — on a layup with 5.1 left to make it 81-79, but the Panthers had to foul and Khayden Hooks made both to seal the win for the Jaguars.
The Panthers, at one point, were down by 15 points against the Jaguars –— a team they beat 86-58 on Dec. 11 on the road.
“We didn’t turn them over as much this game than last,” Park Hill South coach Dan Parra said. “They were very efficient on offense. Last game, we made them turn the ball over and we were in transition a lot.”
The Jaguars dominated the two middle quarters and held a 56-43 lead going into the fourth. A basket by Johnny George pushed the lead to 15 points moments into the final frame.
Park Hill South trailed by 15 with 4 minutes, 55 seconds left but rallied to force overtime.
The Panthers went on an 18-4 run over the next three minutes to pull within 66-65, keyed by a pair of 3s from Robinson.
With a chance to take the lead with 9.6 seconds left, Park Hill South missed a shot and Hooks was fouled. He hit both free throws for the Jaguars, making it 68-65. After another missed shot, Israelite was fouled and missed the free throw and Anthony Bell, who had 11 rebounds, hauled in the miss.
That set up Robinson’s fourth 3-pointer of the quarter, forcing overtime.
Brougham finished with 10 points to give Park Hill South three in double figures. The Panthers played without C.J. Lee due to a discipline issue according to Parra.
Blue Springs South had five with 11 or more, led by 21 from Israelite, the divisional MVP.
Lee’s Summit 61, Park Hill 50
A slow start for the Trojans were too much to overcome in a loss in the fifth-place game of the Cardinal Division on Saturday, Dec. 29.
The Tigers, a former divisional foe of the Trojans, took a 20-8 lead in the first quarter, going on a 10-0 run over the final two minutes.
The lead grew to 26-8 early in the second quarter, before Park Hill (7-3) regrouped. By halftime, Park Hill had pulled within 38-24.
“I didn’t have the guys ready to go (today), I got to do a better job,” Park Hill coach Chad Jones said. “They weren’t ready. We will do a better job in practice. I’ll go back and look at film and see what we can get better at before the next game.”
Despite the double-digit deficit, Park Hill outplayed the Tigers over the final two frames.
CODY THORN/Citizen photo
Park Hill’s Drew Townsend, left, goes up for a shot and draws contact from Lee’s Summit’s Landon Willis during a game on Saturday, Dec. 29 in a third-place game at the William Jewell High School Holiday Classic in Liberty.
Nic Zeil and Nyk Bryant got hot in the third quarter and by the end of the frame, the Trojans trailed 47-42.
Zeil scored in the first 30 seconds of the fourth and made it 47-44, but Sam Lock and Collin Kay had back-to-back baskets for the Tigers to make it 51-44.
Park Hill South never got within a possession from then on.
“It is frustrating, we get down a possession or two and then we relax and it (the deficit) goes right back up,” Jones said. “We got to do a better job of playing 32 minutes.”
Zeil was named to the all-tournament team for the Trojans, which were idle until Tuesday, Jan. 8.