Park boys fall in section quarterfinals

By John Molene
Posted 3/16/23

Park head coach Mike Weah had a simple explanation as to why Rosemount defeated visiting Park in boys' basketball Tuesday evening.

“They put the ball in the hole,” said Weah. …

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Park boys fall in section quarterfinals

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Park head coach Mike Weah had a simple explanation as to why Rosemount defeated visiting Park in boys' basketball Tuesday evening.

“They put the ball in the hole,” said Weah. “Their shots went in and our didn’t.”

And indeed, that was pretty much the game in a nutshell. The host Irish held Park to a season low 34 points in a 49-34 victory that sent the Irish to the Section 3AAA semifinals and sent the Wolfpack home for the season.

Park managed just 12 points in the first and trailed 22-12 at the break. This despite getting off to a fairly good start and an early 8-4 lead.

But Park went from being up four with 11 minutes to play in the first half to being down by 10 at halftime. The Wolfpack played much better offensively in the second half, but never could quite make up for that early deficit.

“It's hard to say, we missed a lot of shots,” said Park senior guard OT Omot when asked what Rosemount did better than Park. “I think they just took the punches better than we did. It took a lot for us to respond and we kind of dug ourselves a hole there in the first half. It’s a game of runs and they had their run at the right time.”

Park ends the season with a 9-17 record.

Rosemount advances with a 11-16 mark.

“(I told them) how proud I was of them, especially the seniors,” said Weah. “They were the most competitive group that I feel like we've ever had. You look at that record you're not going to think that. But eight games by one possession, and 10 games by single digits. When coaches talk about how you want your players to compete every single possession. I think that they did exactly that this year and I couldn't be more proud of them.”

In other Section 3AAAA quarterfinals, top-seeded Eastview (20-7) ripped Hastings (7-20) 103-40, second-seeded Eagan (15-12) downed seventh-seeded Apple Valley (4-23) 56-42 and third-seeded Bloomington Jefferson (14-12) edged Burnsville (9-17) 58-55.

In Friday’s semifinal games, tenth-ranked Eastview edged fourth-seeded Rosemount 42-41, while Eagan got past Bloomington Jefferson 64-61. Eastview (21-7) and Eagan (16-12) will play for the section title and a trip to the Class AAAA state tournament Thursday.

Park’s three leading scorers on the season, Omot, David Ola-Kazim and AJ Kennedy combined for just 17 points against the Irish. Normally those three combine for about 38 points a game.

With offense misfiring, the Wolfpack tried to out-defense the Irish, and that worked at times. But every time Park threatened in the second half, one of the Irish found a way to score a basket.

Rosemount led 30-21 with 13 minutes remaining, but the Wolfpack made several runs at the Irish lead in the second half. Park’s fierce ball-hawking defense and a more up-tempo game let the Wolfpack close to 36-27 with 9:28 left and to 38-30 with 6:49 to play. But each time the Wolfpack cut a bit into the Irish, Rosemount responded with a clutch basket. Park’s last best hope to cut further into the lead probably went away when a potential three-point play by sophomore guard Miskir Esayas was wiped away by a controversial official’s call.

With offense misfiring, the Wolfpack tried to out-defense the Irish, and that worked at times. But every time Park threatened in the second half, one of the Irish found a way to score a basket. Park made a game of it in the second half, however, and were a few breaks from getting all the way back in it.

“I think it was just kind of us knowing that you know it may be coming down to the final minutes,” Omot said. “A lot of the people, you know, we've been in this program for four years we're despite you know and we want to continue the season just as much as anybody else did, so we're really fighting out there.”

The Wolfpack will graduate three seniors off this team, all key players, in Omot, Ola-Kazeem and Henry Schlutter.

“The people I got to meet,” said Ola-Kazim when asked what the highlight of his basketball career was. “All the people I got to meet, all the bonds that I made with my coaches and my teammates and not just the feeling. I’m obviously going to miss it, but it was a pleasure and I cherish it when I had it.”

Asked what he’ll remember most, Schluetter said: “Definitely watching us develop throughout our careers. Because I've known these guys for since probably six or eight (years), most of them. And to watch us develop up through middle school then high school was really good to watch.”

In addition to the three seniors, Park will be losing the services of four-year manager Riley Rampca.

“These boys have really become family to me, coaches too,” said Rampca. “They’re like all big brothers and it's got to be the relationships that I developed with all of them.”

On the other hand, Park coach Weah will have a plethora of players retuning, including a host of experienced guards in AJ Kennedy, Miskir Esayas, Tayvion Stewart, Anthony Giadyu, Kaden Callis and forward Dom Batts.

“It’s really tough losing those guys (the three seniors), especially in that they all brought something special to the table,” said Weah. “They all brought some excitement in a different way to the community. They’ve been with us through the bad times, the good times and the OK times. You know this group of seniors has been here since I’ve been here.

“I hope that these underclassmen see the hard work and the dedication that you have to have, the mentality you have to have to be able to compete every game especially in our conference, especially in our section,” Weah added.