BASEHOR BUZZ-KILL

The Platte County boys basketball team got buzzed Monday in more ways than one. Not only did the Pirates run into a buzz-saw in hot-shooting Blue Valley in the first round of the Basehor-Linwood (Kan.) Invitational, but the ensuing lopsided loss was a buzz-kill for the Black and Orange. Platte County entered the game having won four out of its last six games and was feeling pretty good about itself, especially offensively. The Pirates won their final two games of the Kearney Invitational last week and scored a combined 159 points in doing so. Platte County’s 91 points against Cameron marked the most points scored by the Pirates in many years. But all that came crashing down Monday in Basehor as Blue Valley came out of the locker room hot and never cooled off en route to a 62-28 victory. The loss dropped Platte County to 5-9 on the season. “We certainly didn’t show it tonight, but our team has been playing much better after the break,” Platte County coach Rick Hodge said. “Coming into tonight, we had been playing together more. We didn’t play well in this game, but on the other hand Blue Valley played very well.” No kidding. Blue Valley senior Alex Peterson hit a three-pointer 18 seconds into the game, which set the tone for the night. The Tigers went on to make 12 three-pointers in the game – they only made 11 two-point baskets. Platte County began the game in a 2-3 zone defense, which Blue Valley had no trouble with. The Tigers were content in the first five minutes to pound the ball inside to 6-feet, 6-inch junior Dakota Quinn, who ripped off eight straight points during a Blue Valley 14-0 first-quarter run. When Platte County’s defense turned its attention to him, the Tigers made them pay with the long ball – Peterson hit two more treys in the first half and senior Jalen Fulce added two more for a 41-17 halftime lead for Blue Valley. The second half was more of the same – the Tigers hit five more threes and Platte County struggled to mount much of an attack. Junior Topher Kilkenny provided a bit of a spark with five second-half points on his way to a team-high 11 points. Senior center Jesse Eggers added five points and junior Blake Stewart came off the bench for four points. The Pirates were scheduled to play St. Joseph Benton in the consolation bracket today (Jan. 22). Platte County beat Benton 72-66 earlier in the season. Last week, Platte County lost to Savannah 59-47 in the opening round of the Kearney Invitational before winning its final two games and taking fifth place. Sam Zimmerman, who led Platte County with 16 points in the Savannah loss, came back with 19 points against Cameron, leading the Pirates to a 91-44 win. Offensive highlights in the game were plenty: Eggers had 16 points, Josh Eastman 13, Topher Kilkenny 12, and Jake Eastman 11. Overall, the Pirates made nine three-pointers and hit 18-of-20 free throw attempts. John Houpe dished out eight assists. “As poorly as we shot it in the first game of the tournament, we shot just as well in the second,” Hodge said. “What a huge difference versus the two zone defenses when you are able to knock down shots.” Platte County backed that performance up with a 68-67 win over North Kansas City in the consolation bracket title game. Eggers led the way with 22 points, while Jason Upton scored 12, Zimmerman 11 and Jake Eastman 10. “Northtown forced a lot of turnovers early with their press,” Hodge said. “When we handled the pressure, we got a lot of easy baskets.  It was a game that went down to the wire and I was proud of the kids for finding a way to get the win and for winning two games last week in a good tournament.”