From the moment the official tossed the ball up in the air for tip-off to the sound of the final buzzer, the West Platte boys’ basketball team (8-3) was in complete control of South Holt (4-4) on Jan. 7.
West Platte junior Xavier Reynolds, above, knocked down three shots from downtown to give him 13 points in his first start of the season on Jan. 7.
The Blue Jays – who were coming off a tough 40-37 overtime loss to Mid-Buchanan on Jan. 6 – stepped on their home court for a game for the first time in the 2022 calendar year and dominated the Knights. West Platte bounced back from its first regular season conference loss of the season and defeated South Holt 58-18.
“I told them that the only quarter that we statistically lose this season is the first, so I wanted to make sure we came out and set the tone early,” West Platte head coach Tyler Funk said. “With a quick turnaround with just one day’s rest, it shows a lot of these guys being focused and like I told them – earlier in the year I don’t think this would have happened, so they did a good job.”
Mason Montez had a strong first half – scoring 10 of his 16 points in the opening frame – to help West Platte take a 19-5 lead heading into the second quarter. The Blue Jays defense didn’t allow the Knights to make a basket in the second period with South Holt’s only two points coming at the free throw line with 1:01 remaining and West Platte led 33-7 at the break.
“Defense was my favorite thing when I played so it’s exciting for me because they are starting to learn and buy into that. Before it was like we have to play defense but now the mindset is that we get to play defense, and I think that is the big difference that we’ve made,” Fulk said.
The Blue Jays were without Trent Taylor so Xavier Reynolds entered the starting lineup and knocked down three shots from behind the arc, giving him 13 points on the night. West Platte was able to extend its bench – with nine total Blue Jays getting on the scoreboard – to cruise to the 40-point victory.
“Those guys getting a chance to play is good and to give our starters and other guys who play a lot a little bit of rest. It’s been a long week and we have a big tournament next week so it’s good to get those guys in,” Fulk said.
The Blue Jays will head into the 28th Annual Lawson Invitational Tournament as the No. 2 seed. West Platte opened the tournament with a contest against Cristo Rey (3-2) on Jan. 11.