By Dennis Sharkey / Citizen Staff
After getting walloped in the KCI Conference Tournament semifinals versus the eventual champion, the West Platte Blue Jays responded by beating rival North Platte 48-41 to claim the third-place trophy on Saturday, Dec. 14, at East-Buchanan High School.
“I think it was up and down, honestly,” West Platte Head Coach Tyler Funk told the Platte County Citizen after the game. “I challenged the guys in practice about bringing energy and effort, being a good teammate, and doing all of the little intangibles, and I think they responded in a big way today, and I think that was the difference.”
The Blue Jays came into the game on the heels of a 72-21 loss to host East-Buch in the semifinal round that was played on Thursday, Dec. 12. The Jays reached the semifinal round by beating Lawson 59-56 in overtime. Funk said his team still has a lot of things to work on, but the way they responded made him proud.
North Platte’s Brenden Matt drives to put up a shot in the KCI third place game.
“After you get beat by 50 (points), you got to pick yourself up off of the mat,” Funk said. “I don’t think they’ve ever been a part of that before where they’ve been beaten that bad, and they responded well.”
North Platte took control of the game early behind some hot shooting from junior guard Brenden Matt, who had seven of his team-leading 15 points in the first quarter. On the other end, West Platte had trouble with the Panthers’ defense, and they weren’t able to convert open shots and layups. Funk said he liked the way his team played defensively overall in the first quarter, but they were able to buckle down in the second quarter and hold the Panthers to only two points in the period.
“We started getting out into transition and making some shots, which always helps, too,” Funk said.
West Platte guard Drake Montez spotted up for an open shot.
North Platte had a 13-4 lead after one period thanks to an 11-0 run, which continued into the second period, but the run ended with a basket by junior guard Drake Montez. The Jays went on an 11-3 run to close out the period, but the Panthers still led 16-14.
West Platte’s guards went to work in the third quarter, with junior Jonah McGivern tying the game twice after Matt answered his first bucket. Montez gave the Jays the lead with a bucket and a foul for an and-one opportunity he converted to give West Platte a 21-18 lead. North Platte senior Dylan Armstrong answered to pull the Panthers to within a point, but Montez answered with a long ball to give West Platte a two-possession lead.
North Platte’s Westin Snook drives to put up a shot in the KCI third place game.
Both teams battled back and forth, but the Jays seemed to grab some momentum at the end of the third period when senior Kane Cogan rejected a shot in the lane, which led to points for the Blue Jays on the other end.
The Panthers gathered themselves and were able to battle back, and the game was tied at 38-38 with about four minutes left after North Platte senior forward Westin Snook sunk a pair of free throws.
The Jays guards would close the game out with some pressure defense and some clutch-made shots down the stretch. Funk said he depends on his two guards, Montez and McGivern, to take care of the ball and close out games.
West Platte’s Kane Cogan went high to block North Platte’s Hunter Palmer’s shot in the lane.
“I told them it’s a tough balance running the clock out and making them pay for bringing pressure, and we finally started doing that at the end and got a couple of layups to extend our lead,” Funk said.
The third-place trophy was big, but Funk said it was also big to beat a rival who had their number in matchups last season.
“A lot of these kids have grown up together, played little league sports together, they know each other, and it’s very heated, and they want to beat each other, and that’s what makes it fun,” Funk said. “They got us a lot last year, I think, three or four times. The kids were hungry.”
The Panthers will quickly get a chance to get things even with a KCI Conference matchup at home this Friday with the Blue Jays.
