West Platte’s boys and North Platte’s girls claimed tournament trophies Saturday night in Lawson. The top-ranked West Platte Bluejays kept their record clean by knocking off their hosts and KCI rivals 62-57 in the boys title game of the Lawson Tournament last Saturday, while the Lady Panthers cruised to a 61-48 victory over Hamilton in the girls championship game. West Platte moved to 12-0 with the win, the second straight year the Jays have won the Lawson tourney. “We played with a lot of intensity and did a better job on defense as a team,” West Platte coach Zane Tanner said. “One big concern was that we were up 12 with about four minutes to go and we didn’t handle the aggressive pressure or the clock very well.” West Platte had a 56-47 lead heading into the final quarter and stretched it to double digits before a Lawson late-game run made the final few minutes tense. Senior Adam Roe, the tournament MVP, scored 28 points to lead the Jays, while Bryce Cashman added 17 points. Tanner said Colton Goodlet came up big in the first half when he scored 12 of his 14 points. “Colton played very well, probably his best game of the season,” Tanner said. “He scored 12 in the first half, which was big to keep us going offensively. He was doing all the little things that we need him to do.” West Platte got to the title game by defeating Hamilton 70-51 in the first round behind 23 points from Roe and 16 from Cashman. The Jays topped Trenton in the semifinals as Roe lit up the net with 31 points. The Jays pulled away in the fourth quarter, outscoring Trenton 26-13. West Platte was scheduled to play at Pleasant Ridge and Savannah on Jan. 20 and 21, respectively. They will travel to Lathrop Friday night and play in the North Platte Invitational next week. The North Platte girls rolled past cross-county rival west Platte 64-34 in the opening round behind 18 points from Maddie Roberts and nine points from Courtney Kipping. Erin Manville chipped in with six steals. The Lady Panthers edged Trenton 49-46 in the semifinals as Kipping hit a three-pointer at the buzzer for the win. “We played well versus a very good Trenton team,” North Platte coach Karl Matt said. “It was our first close game in a long time so it was good to gain the experience of winning a tight ball game.” Chelsi Sams led the way with 18 points, while Kipping scored 15. In Saturday’s title game win over Hamilton, North Platte took control with a 17-point third quarter and built the lead to double digits in the final stanza. Sams had 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Roberts, who was named tourney MVP, scored 14 points. Manville added 13 points and six steals. Trailed 14-12 after one, trailed 26-25 at half, led 43-36 after three. “We played an outstanding second half to break open a tight game,” Matt said. “We had balanced scoring as different players stepped up to lead us at different points in the game. We seem to really be coming into our own right now as the girls are playing well together and finding ways to win even when people handle our pressure defense.” North Platte was scheduled to play at Mound City Jan. 21 and will return home for Hamilton on Friday and the North Platte Invitational next week.

The Platte County Citizen