The 2025 KCI Boys Basketball Tournament provided a preview of the upcoming winter schedule, with West Platte and North Platte earning top-three finishes in the eight-team field.
The two inter-county rivals met for a spot in the semifinal round on Dec. 11 at Plattsburg High School after opening-night victories. Top-seeded North Platte glided past Lathrop 87-52 before No. 5-seeded West Platte took out No. 4 Penney with a 65-60 win on Dec. 9.
North Platte’s Hunter Palmer battles for the ball against West Platte’s Jaxon Davis and Alex Kinslow.
With both advancing to face each other in the semifinal contest, the game was tightly contested until West Platte got the edge over North Platte late on to pull away with a 64-56 victory.
The Blue Jays took an early timeout after falling behind 6-0 inside the opening two minutes of the contest, a decision that paid dividends for West Platte. The Blue Jays went on a 13-2 run out of the timeout with sophomore Reed Elms hitting a 3-pointer to give them a 10-8 lead, which was eventually extended to 18-11 by the end of the first quarter.
“Get some energy in the building,” West Platte head coach Tyler Funk about his early timeout. “It felt dead. We came out flat and they just needed a jolt.”
North Platte regained some momentum in the second quarter, tying the game at 22-22 after Brenden Matt forced a turnover at midcourt that was finished off by junior Jase Smith. Once again, West Platte limited their opposition’s run and reestablished their footing, regaining a five-point advantage before it was reduced to 32-29 at halftime.
While the Panthers weren’t able to grab a second-quarter lead, they did find themselves in front 44-42 in the third quarter when a pair of offensive rebounds gave the Panthers back-to-back points on second chances. North Platte’s lead stretched out to 46-43 before Elms hit a buzzer-beater to get West Platte back within a point going into the fourth quarter.
West Platte senior Drake Montez drives against North Platte junior Brecken Cartwright.
The fourth quarter was one controlled by the Blue Jays, who outscored the Panthers 17-8 in the final frame. West Platte even stretched their lead into double-digits in the fourth, eventually securing a 64-56 victory with senior Drake Montez leading all scorers with 26 points.
“He’s the epitome of what it means to be a Blue Jay,” Funk said. “He might not be the biggest, the tallest or the strongest, but he’s got the heart and the will to do it.”
Funk was most proud of Montez’s trust in his teammates down the final stretch after the senior guard was tightly guarded. Mark Sanders knocked down a pair of triples, ending the night with 14 points with four 3-pointers, while Elms also hit one in the final quarter.
“The biggest thing was us executing down the stretch,” Funk said. “Moving the ball and trusting our teammates; not trying to do too much.”
With a chance to win a first KCI Tournament title since 2013, West Platte returned for the championship game on Dec. 13 against No. 2-seeded Mid-Buchanan. In the end, the game did not pan out how they had hoped, settling for a runner-up finish in the tournament.
West Platte fell behind 22-7 in the first quarter and 37-18 at halftime. The Blue Jays were never able to get their offense going, as they fell by a final score of 73-32 for their first defeat of the season.
North Platte found a bounce-back victory earlier in the day, placing third in the tournament after defeating East Buchanan 69-54. The Panthers now sit at 5-1 on the season.