When the ref blew the whistle and tossed the ball up in the air for tip-off at North Platte High School at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 7, history was in the making.
In a rare, highly anticipated matchup between a No. 1 seed and No. 8 seed, was a father and a son coaching against each other. Bryce Kemper has been coaching Mid-Buchanan for the last 15 seasons, while his descendent Bradyn Kemper is in his first year holding the reins of the North Platte boys’ basketball team.
Mid-Buchanan head coach Bryce Kemper, above right, and North Platte head coach Braydn Kemper, above left, are father and son and had to coach against each other for the first time ever in the opening round of the KCI Tournament on Dec. 7 when the Dragons defeated the Panthers, 69-34.
In the opening round of the KCI Tournament, the top-seeded Dragons and bottom-seeded Panthers were set to face each other. Although they have stepped on the same hardwood floor for countless basketball games when they were representing the same team over the years, this time was different as they were opponents for the first time ever.
“Before the game, it was a little odd – do we talk to each other, do we not, do we just act like enemies - but other than that, it was good,” North Platte head coach Braydn Kemper said. “Once the game started, it just felt like another game.”
North Platte’s first year head coach was on the Mid-Buchanan coaching staff each of the last two years when he was one of his father’s assistants. His connection with the Dragons wasn’t only through blood – he had built a special bond with many of the Mid-Buchanan players he was coaching against.
“It’s nice because I know a little about their games, but it stinks because I do love them dearly. It was one of those weird things where once I was in their corner and now I’m in another corner,” Braydn Kemper said.
This is a matchup that will happen often in the foreseeable future with both teams being in the same conference and geographical area. North Platte and Mid-Buchanan were scheduled to play for the first time in the regular season on Dec. 17, but this was an early gift to the Kemper family with the holiday season approaching.
“It’s fun; I think he is going to be a good coach and they got a good one, and of course I’m biased, but it’s going to be some fun basketball in the KCI in the next few years,” Mid-Buchanan head coach Bryce Kemper said. “You hate to play these games, but it is part of it. He knew I wasn’t going to go easy on him and he wasn’t going to either.”
While the coaches live under the same roof, there wasn’t much of a conversation between them in terms of game planning ahead of time. The Kempers didn’t ignore the fact that they have a special bond – sharing a few smiles at one another during the contest – but they were focused on their own teams as the game progressed.
“The beginning of the game, yeah it was heavy on my mind, but then you get locked in as the game goes on. Right before half, he was yelling out a play that we have run in the past, so we kind of joked about that,” Bryce Kemper said.
Like some of the other games to begin the short season thus far, North Platte started off slow when Mid-Buchanan scored eight unanswered points in the first 90 seconds. After calling a timeout to regroup, the Panthers matched the Dragons for the remaining of the opening period – with both teams scoring 10 points each – and Mid-Buchanan led 19-10.
“We came out a little scared, I think. Once we got used to the pressure, we settled down and started making a run of our own, then our point guard got into foul trouble and when we took him out, it got out of control,” Braydn Kemper said.
After Panther senior point guard Landon Bartlett got into foul trouble in the second quarter, North Platte struggled to take care of the basketball and Mid-Buchanan closed out the half on a 16-2 run to take a 37-20 lead at the break. The Dragons continued to bring the pressure in the third quarter – extending their lead to 61-30 entering the final frame – and the Panthers eventually fell 69-34.