The West Platte boys’ basketball team (7-3) has had a rough go in the New Year, losing its first two games of 2023.
The Blue Jays ended the 2022 calendar year with an impressive 7-1 record with their sole loss being in the KCI Championship Game to an undefeated Plattsburg squad (13-0). West Platte hosted a Class 5 opponent when Hogan Prep Charter (10-2) came to town on Jan. 4.
West Platte senior Charlie Kinslow (#1) draws contact in the game as he shot 18 free throws Hogan Prep Charter on Jan. 4.
The Rams were coming off a rare loss and had a big bounce-back game against the Blue Jays, coming out on top by a score of 64-40. West Platte’s offense had struggles on the night, shooting 29.2 percent from the field, 23.5 percent from deep and 58.1 percent from the charity stripe.
Charlie Kinslow led the way for the Blue Jays when he scored 11 of his team-high 18 points from the free throw line, to go along with five assists and one steal. Xavier Reynolds made two of his five 3-point attempts – while the rest of the team shot two-of-12 from deep – to finish with eight points.
Next up for West Platte was Mid-Buchanan (7-5), who the Blue Jays narrowly defeated 45-43 in the KCI Conference Semifinals back on Dec. 8. The KCI Conference game had a similar score that the tournament game had, but a difference result as the Dragons won 42-41 on Jan. 6.
West Platte jumped out to an early lead and never trailed in the first three quarters, despite never leading by more than six points. Mid-Buchanan went ahead in a back-and-forth in the fourth quarter and with 14 seconds left, West Platte had the ball trailing by one point.
West Platte freshman Drake Montez had a chance to be the hero, but his 3-point shot went off the front of the rim. Kinslow came up with the ball and tried to get a putback attempt before the buzzer, but he wasn’t able to.
Mid-Buchanan has been one of West Platte’s toughest opponents for nearly a decade as the Dragons currently hold a 15-3 record against the Blue Jays since February of 2014. Since Tyler Funk has taken over as coach for West Platte, Mid-Buchanan has won four of the five matchups with the previous four games being within four points.
West Platte will be in the Lawson Invitational Tournament this week, as its first game was scheduled on Jan. 10. The tournament will end on Jan. 14 and then the Blue Jays will host Lawson (5-9) on Jan. 20 before playing in the North Platte Tournament the following week.