On paper, Park Tudor seemed to have little chance of beating a talented Lawrence North team on Tuesday night. Park Tudor led for most of the game until the Wildcats took over in the fourth quarter thanks to the play of Mike Saunders Jr. and Ra Kpedi.

Lawrence North tried to run an alley-oop against Park Tudor’s zone on the first play of the game. It was off the mark and Park Tudor escaped without any harm. That summed up much of the night for Lawrence North. They were unable to take care of the ball early on and failed to get good shots against the zone defense.

The Wildcats took the lead, 8-6, around two-minute mark of the first quarter. That was the last time they led until the fourth quarter. Lawrence North wasn’t able to get the ball into the teeth of the zone cleanly. Park Tudor had its own offensive troubles or the Panthers could have pulled away. Park Tudor did open up a nine-point lead in the second quarter. That was erased by Lawrence North’s increased pressure.

For the first three quarters, junior Kevin Easley was the only consistent option on the offensive end.  Easley had 11 of the first 25 points for LN. He was able to seal inside of the zone to get the ball. He didn’t shoot a great percentage (just 5-14 for the game) or he could have done some damage.

Sophomore Isiah Moore was aggressive to start the second half for Park Tudor. He helped Park Tudor build a seven-point lead in the third quarter. First-year Park Tudor coach Michael Shelton needs Moore to be assertive on the offensive end. The Panthers looked the best on Tuesday night when Moore was attacking and looking for his shot.

Mike Saunders Jr., a freshman, started for Lawrence North in its first game of the year. He was relatively quiet on the offensive end for the first three quarters. The 2020 point guard took over for a stint in the final period. He scored on three drives for a personal 6-0 run that took LN from down 31-30 to up 36-31. They were all similar situations where Saunders attacked an out of position defense and finished at the basket. The Wildcats never looked back from there.

One of the reasons why Lawrence North controlled most of the fourth quarter was Ra Kpedi. He had seven rebounds in the final quarter with three of them coming on the offensive end. Kpedi had an offensive rebound on a missed free throw that he dunked back in. It seemed like Park Tudor never had a chance to win the game after that play.

Lawrence North won going away 47-35. The Wildcats outscored the Panthers 19-4 in the fourth quarter.

LN – Kevin Easley 13 points (5-14 FG, 1-2 3FG, 2-5 FT), 9 rebounds, 2 blocks; Antwaan Cushingberry 8 points (3-8 FG, 0-4 3FG, 2-4 FT), 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 turnovers; Ra Kpedi 12 points, 12 rebounds; Dexter Shouse 3 points (1-4 FG), Mike Saunders 7 points (3-7 FG, 0-3 3FG, 1-2 FT), 4 rebounds; Jared Hankins 2 points, 2 steals; Bryce Roark-Glenn 2 points

PT – Isiah Moore 12 points (3-8 FG, 1-3 3FG, 5-5 FT), 1 assists, 3 turnovers; Kobe Webster 7 points (1-10 FG, 1-8 3FG, 4-4 FT), 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnovers; Isaiah Rice 6 points; Brent Brimmage 7 points, 4 rebounds; Kyle Hart 3 points