Greenwood Rallies Past Park Hill, 68-62

A battle of two of the top teams in Missouri lived up to the hype at Park Hill.

In a Martin Luther King Jr Day matinee, Greenwood rallied from an 11-point second half deficit to beat Park Hill, 68-62, on Monday afternoon.

Aminu Mohammed, the 6-foot-5 senior guard for the Bluejays, led Greenwood back from a deficit as large as 50-39 in the third quarter. Mohammad, a top 20 recruit nationally in the 2021 class committed to Georgetown, fired in a cool 37 points for Greenwood.

Park Hill, which sustained its first loss of the year and ranked No. 3 in the 810 Varsity Top 25 in the KC Metro area, led most of the second quarter around 8-10 points, with a 42-33 halftime edge. The Trojans got out in transition often, and drilled six three-pointers before intermission.

Senior guard Nik Bryant converted a baseline drive and was fouled, hitting the free throw for a 48-39 lead midway through the third period. Bryant, who scored a team-high 19 points, followed with an up-and-under along the baseline to boost the Park Hill lead to 50-39.

Then Mohammed went to work. The senior drove to the hoop and was fouled, hitting both free throws, followed by a 22-foot three-pointer to pull to 50-44 with 2:32 left in the period.

After Anthony Hall hit a floater following his own miss for Park Hill, Mohammed hit another bucket, following that with a dunk on the next possession. Suddenly the lead was down to 52-48 with 55 seconds in the third period.

The Trojans opened the fourth quarter with two buckets to get the lead back to 57-51. But then Park Hill picked a bad time to get cold from the floor.

Mohammed drove, spun in the lane for a behind-the-back pass to 6-foot-7 Kaden Stuckey for a layup. Stuckey, also a Division I recruit, followed with a 16-footer and a turnaround in the lane to knot the game at 57-57 with 3:56 left.

GHS guard Tommy Pinegar, who had been frigid from outside, canned a long three-pointer from the left wing for a 60-57 lead, the first for the Bluejays since the opening stanza. Another Mohammed free throw concluded a 10-0 surge by the Jays.

Marqueas Bell hit Park Hill’s lone three in the second half, from the right wing with 1:27 left to pull the Trojans to 61-60. Mohammad followed with a layup for a 63-30 lead with 1:24 left. After a timeout, Park Hill committed a turnover by its own bench. Greenwood hits its free throws late – including four by Pinegar - to keep hold of the win.

Park Hill (8-1) pulled away after an early 17-17 tie, behind a trio of three’s from Bell in the second period. Ty Schreck hit two three’s as well in the half, as the Trojans held its nine-point lead at half.