The Park Hill South boys basketball team trailed from start to finish of a 58-50 on home court during a conference defeat against North Kansas City on Feb. 10, but several Panther runs nearly erased double-digit deficits to provide a scare to the Hornets.
A sluggish opening and closing quarter forced Park Hill South to play catch-up all night long, a game they never managed to complete. The Panthers provided more pressure in the middle two frames, but enough damage was done to hold off the comeback efforts.
Northtown took an early lead they would never let up, starting the contest on a 12-2 run. South and taking a 16-6 lead into the second quarter. Alex Gabrick and Aaron Phillips cut the deficit down to two scores, but a strong end to the half for the Hornets stung the Panthers to make it 16-6 after the first quarter.
The visitors extended their lead to 11 points in the second quarter before the Panthers’ offense finally discovered a spark. Joe Luken scored nine points in the second frame to help cut the deficit down to 22-19 with 2:40 left in the second, but North Kansas City got to the free-throw line twice to extend their lead to 29-21 entering halftime.
Northtown came out strong in the second half with a pair of quick scores as Park Hill South called a timeout trailing by 13 just 37 seconds into the third quarter. That timeout allowed the Panthers to recuperate and get some momentum, eventually drawing within a bucket thanks to back-to-back scores from Phillips inside the final minute as the Panthers’ deficit was slashed to 44-42 going to the fourth.
The Hornets grabbed momentum back by slowing up Park Hill South’s offense in the fourth and never looked back. The Panthers’ offense went on a scoring drought that lasted nearly five minutes to start the fourth quarter, a drought that proved pivotal to allow the Hornets to kill the game off.
An offensive putback from Ronnie Grant ended South’s scoring drought to cut the deficit to 51-44, but the offensive struggles continued late into the contest. Another score from Grant in the final 30 seconds was followed by free throws from Carson Bjorn as the Panthers kept the deficit within single digits to accept a 58-50 defeat.
Joe Luken led the Panthers with 11 points in a conference defeat on home court against North Kansas City.
Park Hill South was led by Luken’s 11-point effort, tying a career high for the senior. The Panthers didn’t produce how they would have liked in the paint as Carson Bjorn and Jackson Wheeler combined for just 17 points and six rebounds.
South had another tough night on Feb. 11 with a 56-24 non-conference defeat to Olathe North. They earned a bounce-back victory on the road on Feb. 13, when they cruised to a 60-28 victory against St. Joseph Central.
Now at 13-9 on the season, the Panthers’ focus turns to a visit to Liberty on Feb. 17 before their regular-season home finale on Feb. 20 as they try to complete the season sweep of Park Hill for the first time in over a decade.