Seeking a revenge win in its rivalry with Park Hill South, Park Hill made it look just that easy for nearly a half on Friday night.

In the end, it wasn't.

The Trojans, which enjoyed a 20-point lead in the first half at Park Hill South, saw the Panthers eventually come back to take an improbable lead in the fourth quarter.

But Park Hill regrouped for a 66-61 win over its rivals. The Trojans had lost to South ,78-76 in overtime in the Liberty North Invitational in December, and also have another matchup on February 12.

"We're real proud of how our team responded to the South run in the fourth quarter," said Park Hill head coach Chad Jones. "They showed a lot of toughness to regain the lead."

Park Hill built a seemingly insurmountable 36-16 lead with under three minutes left before half. But the Panthers pieced together an 8-0 run before the break to trail, 36-24 at intermission.

"Our defense was a big key in the first half and set the tone for the game," Jones stated.

South kept clawing back, while Park Hill appeared woozy on the ropes. Freshman Dawson Owen hit a three-pointer on the left wing in front of the South bench to pull the Panthers within 48-47 with 7:08 left in the game.

After a Connor Lee block, Ryan Welty finished a drive with an 8-foot pullup to take a 49-48 lead with 6:04 remaining. Welty finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds, but didn't score thereafter.

"It's hard to say we held a player with nearly 20 points in check, but we did that with Welty tonight," Jones said.

After a Chester Graves free throw, Dru Smith followed with a reverse layup on the baseline to give Park Hill a 51-49 edge with 5:10 left. But Lee, who came off the South bench for 10 points, hit two free throws to tie the game again.

Park Hill hit a bucket before South answered with a Jacob Kline three-pointer from the right wing for a 54-53 lead with 3:58 left.

But South wouldn't lead again.

Smith found Peyton Laferla on the block for a bucket, then followed with a free throw for a 56-54 edge. Smith then found Tanner Zeil for a layup and a 58-54 margin. A South turnover led to two more Laferla charity tosses and Park Hill pulled away at 60-54.

South got to 62-59 after a Desi Williams conventional three-point play  with :58 left, but free throws from Laferla, Smith and two from Zeil sealed the win. Zeil finished with 16 points in the contest.