The greatest two-year stretch in the history of Platte County boys’ basketball came to an end in heartbreaking fashion when the Pirates were defeated in the Class 5 District 8 Championship Game on March 3.
The five seniors who paved their way into the history books at Platte County didn’t finish their careers the way they had hoped as William Chrisman (21-7) poured out 12 made shots from downtown and won 78-49. After two straight 20-win seasons – that marked 44 total wins, opposed to a mere 11 losses – Platte County had offensive struggles in the packed gymnasium at Winnetonka High School.
“We have to give William Chrisman a lot of credit, they came out and shot the ball well and we picked a bad night to not shoot the ball well,” Platte County head basketball coach Rick Hodge said. “Once they got separation and kind of got rolling, it was tough for us to stop.”
The Bears never trailed in the contest, taking control early with multiple offensive rebounds in the opening minutes, and the Pirates only made two total shots in the first eight minutes. After trailing 13-4, Chandavian Bradley made a pair of shots from downtown and brought the game within two points right over five minutes to go in the first half.
After Bradley added another bucket later in the frame with an offensive rebound putback to give him 10 points, the junior big man suffered a left ankle injury on the ensuing defensive possession with 2:52 on the clock. Bradley didn’t return and the lack of the junior’s presence was pivotal for Platte County.
“Chandavian was playing well. He hit a couple shots from the perimeter and was also getting more on the inside and he was working his tail off on the defensive end as well,” Hodge said.
From that point on, the Bears outscored the Pirates eight to two and were up 30-17 at the break. After an Isaac Havemeier layup to start the second half, William Chrisman scored nine of the next 11 points and eventually got its lead up to 19 after a buzzer beating 3-pointer to end the third quarter.
“They have more size than we did, and they were more physical than us. We’ve played those types of teams before in the season and when that happens, we rely on speed, on quickness and perimeter shooting and we struggled in those areas,” Hodge said.
Platte County’s offense started clicking in the fourth quarter – making five of its nine total 3-pointers in the period – but the Bears matched the buckets on the other side. Jace Trimble sank a pair of treys in the frame to end with eight points, while Jarett Mueller also made a shot from deep in the quarter to end with a team-high 14 points.
“When we were trailing, we had to extend up and pressure and they handled the pressure very well; it seemed like when they needed a bucket, they got a bucket. They shot well from the perimeter tonight, they had the lead and the double-digit lead, so we had to extend pressure and they made us pay for that,” Hodge said.
The Bears entered the district championship with only one game all year with more than nine made 3-pointers and they shot 33 percent from downtown in the regular season. Nonetheless, William Chrisman caught fire from deep to help it end the Pirates’ magical season.
After losing to William Chrisman in the Class 5 District 8 Championship, the seniors from the Platte County boys’ basketball team walked off the court for one last time in the aftermath of a heartbreaking 78-49 defeat at Winnetonka High School on March 3.
Platte County won more games in the last two seasons than the previous four years combined, while also winning the conference. Five Pirates – Mueller, Trimble, Havemeier, Bradley and Brody Fulk – all averaged at least nine points when the team shot 48.3 percent from the field and scored 69 points a game.
“We’re very happy with this team and with everything they accomplished; they put in a lot of hours and time with this program. The seniors mean a lot to me, they’ve accomplished a lot in the last two years and obviously you don’t want it to end at districts, but it wasn’t our night tonight,” Hodge said.
Mueller was the Pirates’ leading scorer in his senior season when the guard made 78 total shots from behind the perimeter and made 81.8 percent of his free throws. Havemeier was the most efficient Pirate every night with impressive shooting as the senior made nearly half of his 3-point attempts and shot 64 percent from the field, while averaging 9.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.
Trimble scored 12.2 points per game throughout the year and was able to knock down 37 total 3-pointers. Fulk scored 9.2 points, grabbed 5.3 rebounds and dished out 4.8 assists, while Eli Nelson was also a key contributor in his senior campaign.
The Pirates’ most experienced returner next year will be Bradley who was their starting big man and averaged 12.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and two steals. Platte County will also be returning some key players off the bench with Judah Vignery – who made 22 total 3-pointers this year on 40 percent shooting - Parker Amos and Boston Wahlert.