A memorable season for the North Platte boys basketball team officially became historic on March 3, when the Panthers strolled to their first-ever win in the MSHSAA State Tournament.
North Platte defeated South Harrison 78-61 in the Class 3 State Sectional matchup in St. Joseph Christian’s brand-new gym, advancing to the state quarterfinals for the first time in team history. It was the Panthers’ inaugural post-district win, previously losing their only other playoff appearance in 2011.
It was a shaky start for North Platte as they were forced to burn an early timeout and trailed 9-3 out of the gates. After an emotional district championship win several days prior, it took the Panthers some time to get back into the flow of executing their game plan. Once they got readjusted, they were unstoppable.
“We’ve got to get back to playing our style,” North Platte head coach Braydn Kemper said. “Work our offense, be patient and take care of business that way. I was kind of more upset with our defensive effort; I didn’t think our defensive effort was great to start with.”
The scoring tandem of Brenden Matt and Jase Smith could not miss as Matt hit a triple to give the Panthers an 11-9 lead. The 3-ball continued to reign as Smith hit from deep on three consecutive drives up the court as the Panthers commanded a 21-11 lead after the first quarter, ending the first frame on an 18-2 run.
North Platte continued its offensive surge for much of the second quarter, continuing their run to 32-2 as the Panthers suddenly led 35-11 midway through the third quarter. While Smith and Matt led the scoring, it was North Platte’s aggressiveness on the boards that helped them earn extra possessions.
“We really prioritize crashing,” Kemper said. “We go five out, we go four out. We’ve got to get some bodies in the paint, and especially when we shoot threes, there’s going to be some long rebounds. You get that rebound, go up with it right away. It kind of incentivizes them to get that board and then go score.”
The Panthers out-rebounded South Harrison 42-27 on the night, with 19 coming on the offensive side. Smith and Matt were immense in scoring and rebounding, also joined by Isaac Wright, who finished the contest with 10 points and 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double this season.
For Smith, his exhaustive energy is something his team relies on. He had no other choice but to do everything in his power to will his team to victory.
“It’s either I do that or it’s the end of our season,” he said. “Every single play, you’ve got to be at your hardest. If I can get a board, then I’m going to get a board every single time. That’s just going to be how we win games; got to get the board every single time.”
The Panthers hit 11 triples from deep, with Smith and Matt combining for nine of them and shooting over 47% from beyond the arc.
South Harrison’s offense eventually supplied some resistance in the second quarter as they managed to stop the bleeding, though North Platte still held a comfortable 45-26 lead at halftime.
“We played pretty good for a while, and then kind of survived,” Kemper said. “Didn’t necessarily play our best at all times, but we played really good. That was a good team that we won against. Our team loved the chance to compete in a fun environment here at St. Joe Christian.”
While Matt turned in a 25-point, 7-rebound performance, Smith was even more electric with 28 points and 8 rebounds. Smith shot 64% from the field with five 3-pointers and five offensive rebounds.
“He’s gotten so much better than since his sophomore and freshman year,” Kemper said of Smith. “The big thing is he can score in different ways. He used to be a shooter; now he can drive. He got hot and he really lit a fire on us offensively, and it was tough to stop.”
North Platte maintained its foothold in the contest throughout the second half as scores from Wright, Smith, Matt and Hunter Palmer gave the Panthers a 61-40 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Panthers eventually closed out a 78-61 win as freshman Carter Kreifels stamped down a final exclamation point for the Panthers with a triple.
“We knew we were going to win from the start,” Smith said. “We just had to play our basketball. At the start we were nervous, timid, then we started playing our basketball and we got everything after that.”
The Panthers use each day as an opportunity to get better. They are still emphasizing that as they continue dancing through the best season in program history.