Nnagbo Leads Park To Dominant Win Over OP

For the Park High School basketball team, it was all about feeding the big man on Saturday evening.

Ebuka Nnagbo scored 22 points and led the Pioneers to a 75-48 win over Orchard Park in the final game of the AdPro Public vs. Private Challenge at St. Mary’s High School.

“Tonight he was definitely the dominating big man,” Park coach Rich Jacob said. “He’s very unselfish, very patient; that helps us. But I think we need to get him the ball even more and get him the ball in position to score.”

Nnagbo, a 6-foot-7 senior from Nigeria, scored 16 points in the first half – including the final eight of the second quarter to give his team a 39-19 lead at halftime. He also added 13 rebounds and had a pair of crowd-pleasing dunks.

“I just try to do my thing,” he said modestly.

The win moved Park to 3-0 on the season with all three wins coming by at least 14 points. The sharp-shooting Quakers tried to hang with the Pioneers but a 14-3 run to end the first quarter put things in their control.

“We know they’re a very good shooting team and they came out doing just that,” Jacob said. “We tried to get them on the run and I thought later in the first and into the second, we were able to defend those shooters a little better.”

Hutchins added 16 points, Keonjay Carter scored 12 and Caleb Hutchins 10 for the Pioneers. After Christmas, Park heads south to play in the King Cotton Classic in Pine Bluff, Ark. before beginning Monsignor Martin Athletic Association play in January.

“We’re playing really well,” Nnagbo said. “If we keep working, I think we can bring back that championship.”

Nate Wereski led Orchard Park (3-3) with 18 points and had four of his team’s seven 3-pointers.