OAK PARK – The fourth quarter of the win-or-go-home postseason matchup between Park Hill (13-14) and Liberty (16-11) took 30 minutes and the 17-point comeback attempt came up short in the packed Oak Park Gymnasium on Feb. 29.
Park Hill junior guard Cameron Jones goes up for a dunk attempt in the first half of the Trojans loss to Liberty in the Class 6 District 8 Tournament on Feb. 29.
In the first round of the Class 6 District 8 Boys’ Basketball Tournament, Liberty pushed the lead to 50-33 a mere 90 seconds into the final frame. Park Hill went down swinging, before getting knocked out with a 72-60 loss.
Cameron Jones had nine of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, starting with a deep shot from the left wing to ignite the Trojans’ offense. Gavin Schaag was responsible for the next seven points for his team.
The senior made a free throw then found Desire Tonye-Nyemeck under the basket moments later after missing his second shot from the charity stripe. Schaag banked in a shot on the next possession.
Liberty only made three field goals in the last eight minutes, having 10 trips to the charity stripe, and only missing three of the 20 shots. That slowed the game down but didn’t affect the electric offense that Park Hill has.
After Isaiah Caston made a pair of free throws to make it a 10-point game with 3:55 to go, Schaag and Jones took over. The duo scored the next 12 points for the Trojans, which included a step-back three by Schaag and a dunk by Jones.
Tonye-Nyemeck converted on a reverse layup with 37 seconds left, making the score 67-60 but the clock continued to run until the Blue Jays called a timeout with 24.4 seconds to avoid a violation. In the final 20 seconds, Jones made a layup that was waved off with a travel violation and the Trojans missed three shots from behind the arc.
In that timeframe, Liberty made three more free throws on the other end to close out the contest. Park Hill put its reserves in with 7.7 seconds left and the remaining starters that hadn’t fouled out got a standing ovation in their departure.
The Trojans were only able to lead once, 1-0 in the first quarter. The Blue Jays hit a pair of shots from deep in each of the first two periods that saw an 8-2 run and a 13-4 run by the eventual winner.
Schaag, Jones and Tonye-Nyemeck were the only Trojans to score in a first half that they trailed 31-19. The game got close in the third quarter thanks to five straight points by Akoi Akoi.
Schaag came alive as well with back-to-back buckets to make the score 37-33 with 3:15 on the clock, but 30 seconds later the senior was kicked in the back of the head and left until the start of the fourth quarter. In his absence – which was felt by a 9-0 Liberty run – there was an unfortunate sequence for Park Hill with right over a minute remaining.
Tonye-Nyemeck was called for a shooting foul and a technical foul on the same play, resulting in six made free throws by the Blue Jays. There were four free throws for that violation, then Hagan West was called for a shooting foul on the ensuing possession and Liberty went into the final eight minutes up 48-33.
Schaag ended with a season-high 25 points, shooting 6-of-8 from inside the arc and forcing two steals. Tonye-Nyemeck wrapped up his career with 12 points, six rebounds and three steals.
Schaag, Akoi and Tonye-Nyemeck started their last game for Park Hill, along with senior reserve teammates West and Legend Freelon. Caston and Jones will return as starters, along with sophomore Donovan Fonville who has seen the starting lineup this season.
Schaag will be the best scorer that needs to be replaced, having poured out 497 points and 90 made 3-pointers as an upperclassman alone. Tonye-Nyemeck was fourth in the Kansas City Suburban Conference Silver Division with a field goal percentage of 52.5 and bumped his points per game up to 10.2 after scoring just shy of six points a game last season.