Five Takeaways: Lee’s Summit North vs Park Hill
Park Hill took control of this game right out of the gates, but they wouldn’t maintain that control for as long as they would have hoped. They had an early 12-2 lead, but the Lee’s Summit North Broncos would answer back and tie the game at 12 a piece when the first quarter buzzer went off. The scoring really picked up after that and the Broncos were a big reason why. Their defense and fast paced offense made this game very fun to watch. Lee’s Summit North never looked back as they were able to push an early 2nd quarter lead to 20 points in the second half. The Broncos won the game 84-72 and were lead by their Big Man and Guard combo Elijah Farr and Javaunte Hawkins. Both players led both teams with 24 a piece. The Park Hill Trojans were led by guard Willy Majok who netted 19 points.
Broncos Heating up
The Lee’s Summit North Broncos have now won 5 of 6 and are now adding to that “Big 3”. Mikel Henderson has really asserted himself as dynamic point guard and is really doing a great job scoring the ball. When Henderson scores the ball, the Broncos will more than likely win the game. This also opens up so much more, as he is able to drive and dish to big man Elijah Farr or dish it out to a shooter like Logan Jenkins or Javaunte Hawkins. Mikel Henderson finished in double figures with 17 points and shot 6-6 from the line. Logan Jenkins is one of the key factors as this Bronco team starts to make a push down the stretch. If Jenkins is hitting, it really helps the Bronco’s chance when it comes to winning. Jenkins knocked down 4-7 from deep and finished with 15 points. The Javaunte Hawkins and Elijah Farr duo has really emerged as one of the better big/little combos around. The pick and roll is looking fabulous between the two and nearly unstoppable. Hawkins is knock down shooter, but can also get to the basket and finishes with ease. Farr has looked amazing this past month and doesn’t seem to be looking back. He can step it outside and knock it down from long range, but where is really excels is when he is posting up in the paint. Whether it’s off a drive and dish or a pass off a pick and roll. Farr is way too talented and flat out better than anyone else, and he has really shown it. Hawkins finished with 24 points hitting 10-10 from the line, but also 6 dimes. Elijah Farr took a little while to get going, but it looked easy once he got it going. He scored 22 of his 24 in the second half. He also finished with 5 boards.
Park Hill is dangerous
Park Hill was on a little role for quite a while winning 7 straight games, but have recently been unable to close which has caused them to drop some close ones. They definitely had some chances in this game, but the Broncos were a little tough to stay with on the offensive end. Ronnie Bell has to be one of the if not the most entertaining player in the area. This kid can pretty much do it all. He’s a pretty solid on ball defender, he’s an amazing athlete, and he can score with the best of them. Bell finished with 17 points this game which wasn’t his best, but he hit some huge 3’s and had a sweet slam early on that really grabbed some momentum for his team. The Park Hill team will go as Ronnie goes. Willy Majok is another big key for this team. He’s not the most flashy player, but he is very smart and knows the game of basketball really well. If left open, he has plenty of confidence and shoots the ball very well. He also handles it well and showed on Tuesday that he is capable of slicing up the defense and getting to the bucket for great looks or dishing it to one of his bigs for a good look. One of those bigs happens to be Cecil Lee. Lee isn’t the biggest guy, but more of a slender big standing at 6’6″. He is very athletic and likes to throw the ball down with authority. He is also huge for this Trojan defense because he is able to affect shots even if he doesn’t get a hand on them. Lee battled some foul trouble throughout the game with left him on the bench far longer than he wanted. Majok finished with 19 points while Lee finished with 9 points.
Lee’s Summit North doing the little things right
We’ve already talked about some of the guys the Broncos really rely on, but not many are able to pick out the little things and the role players that really keep this team going. The Broncos are very patient on the defensive end, and they play with their hands up causing a lot of deflections leading to steals. They do struggle on the rebounding side, but if they shoot like Tuesday night, it won’t hurt them too bad, plus they try and make up for it by forcing turnovers. Christian Carter is a big reason why the Broncos have been so successful lately. Carter doesn’t light up the score board most of the time, but he is one of the quickest players on the court and it shows on the defensive end. He jumps passes and takes risks. Those risks usually lead to big time steals and transition buckets. Jack Gatti is another player who doesn’t get a lot of praise, but he is quite reliable. He’s a solid player who can handle the ball and doesn’t turn it over hardly at all. He also is big down the stretch if needed. He’s cold blooded from the free throw line.
Park Hill will need others to step up
The Trojans aren’t loaded with amazing basketball players all over the court, but they do have the talent and are knowledgable enough to compete with every team. This should come at no surprise since they have beat some really good teams this year, but they have also struggled with teams they should beat. There are a few others for this Trojan team that will need to step up and be more consistent as this season goes on. Junior Haden Wallace is one of those guys. He had a pretty solid game and a really good second half for this Trojans team, but he hasn’t been able to do that one a game to game basis. He’s a hustle player who plays pretty aggressive on the defensive side of the ball. Once he gains enough confidence and looks to score more, he will be huge. He did finish the game with 12 points. 10 of those 12 came in the second half. Junior Ryan Graves is another player who the Trojans will look to step up. If it’s not this year, it will be next year. Graves is a very patient player who could be a little more aggressive on both sides of the ball. He’s getting a ton of varsity action this year which should help him in the future.
Looking at the Suburban Gold Conference
The Suburban Gold Conference has been crazy this year and it doesn’t look to be slowing down. Lee’s Summit picked up their first conference loss Tuesday night in a close one with Ray Pec. Lee’s Summit West has just two losses while Park Hill and Lee’s Summit North now share 4-4 conference records. Ray Pec is now 3-4, Blue Springs South is 2-5, and Blue Springs rounds out the conference at 1-6. The crazy thing is, any of these teams can pick up a win on any night in this conference. Both Blue Springs team have beat Lee’s Summit North while the Broncos have beat both Lee’s Summit teams this season. Needless to say, we are a long way from finding out who will be the top dog in the conference when the season comes to an end. It’s looking more and more like the top 3 spots might be occupied by the Lee’s Summit teams, but anything can happen.