Thom Hanrahan
Special to the Citizen
WESTON, Mo. — If coffee is for closers, Phillip Pattison’s senior night performance deserves a weekend binge at Starbucks.
The West Platte senior knocked down six free throws and grabbed the game-securing rebound in the final minute of the Bluejays’ 65-59 win over North Platte on Friday, Feb. 14, at West Platte High School.
“It was a rivalry game and a great atmosphere,” Bluejays coach Ryan Nichols said. “Pretty fitting that a senior (Pattison) had the ball in his hands to finish the game.”
With 1 minute, 34 seconds left to play the rivalry game was very much in doubt
The Panthers pulled within four points after a plus-one from senior Andrew Hernandez. Then Pattison got to work.
Determined to secure a win on his senior night, Pattison drew a foul with 1:15 remaining and nailed both charity shots to boost the lead back to six.
Hernandez, however, had an answer for most of Pattison’s points down the stretch and kept the game swinging between a six- and four-point West Platte advantage.
THOM HANRAHAN/Special to the Citizen
West Platte’s Miles DeMayo (23) dribbles around the defense of North Platte’s Ty French during a game on Friday, Feb. 14 in Weston.
It stood at four with 17 seconds to play, when Pattison found a driving lane and drew a foul inside to send him back to the line.
He hit both shots and Hernandez came back with a Panthers layup at the other end.
After a timeout, the Bluejays got the ball inbounds to Pattison and North Platte had no choice but to foul with 8 seconds left.
Again Pattison stepped to the line and again he was perfect for the game’s last points.
A quick shot by the Panthers caromed into Pattison’s hands and the celebration began.
“I just kept telling them we were going to win the game,” Nichols said. “I really believed that. I wanted them to keep battling.
“(Pattison’s) done that all year long and for several years. We wanted the ball in his hands and felt confident with him at the line.”
Pattison shoots 50 to 70 free throws a day, and he knew the stakes. His confidence didn’t waver.
Over that last 1:15, he was 6-for-6 from the line and secured the final rebound on a night where the Bluejays had trouble on the boards.
All eight of his fourth quarter points came at the charity stripe.
Pattison led West Platte with 19 and was followed by Sloane Portman’s 14 as the Bluejays reaching double figures.
“I practice free throws all the time,” Pattison said. “I just wanted to win for my teammates and my coach because they work hard every day.
“I knew we had won and it was unbelievable.”
Unsurprisingly, Hernandez paced all scorers with 20, including 18 in the final frame as the cross-county seniors went toe-to-toe down the stretch.
Joining Hernandez in double figures for the Panthers was fellow senior Caine Huffman, who notched all 12 of his points from 3-point range. All but one put North Platte in the lead at the time.
After such an emotional win, Pattison said there is still work to be done.
The Bluejays finish up with road contests at Hamilton and Lawson before the tip off of the Class 2, District 16 tournament.
The Panthers finish off their regular season with a home meeting with Mid-Buchanan and a road game with Wellington-Napoleon.
“We just gotta win these last two conference games and then look at North Andrew as possibly our first district game and hopefully top them off,” Pattison said.
OTHER GAMES
Plattsburg 61, West Platte 36
The Bluejays got off to a slow start offensively by scoring only 11 points in the first half and lost a KCI Conference game on Tuesday, Feb. 11 in Weston.
Plattsburg scored 31 points in the first half and outscored the Bluejays in all four quarters.
Phillip Pattison had a team-high 15 points for West Platte and reached a milestone in the loss, scoring his 1,000th career point.
East Buchanan 69, North Platte 53
The Panthers led early but couldn’t maintain it in a loss to the Bulldogs in a KCI Conference game on Tuesday, Feb. 11 in Dearborn.
North Platte got seven points from Andrew Hernandez in the first quarter and led 17-11 against the Bulldogs. East Buchanan then scored 25 points in the second quarter to take a 36-27 lead, behind eight points from Owen Fortney and two other players with six points.
East Buchanan led by 17 points going into the fourth quarter.
Four players scored in double figures for North Platte, led by Jace Stubbs’ 14 points, including four 3-pointers. Hernandez (12), Joel Smyser (11) and Ty French (10) also accounted for double digit points.
Idaho signee Ethan Kilgore had 21 for East Buchanan.
The game was a precursor for a district showdown that will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 25 in Gower, in a No. 8 (North Platte) vs. No. 1 (East Buchanan) matchup.
West Platte 66, DeKalb 39
The Bluejays defense limited the Tigers to 10 or less points in three of the four quarters to pick up a victory on Monday, Feb. 10.
West Platte led 17-5 after the first quarter and despite yielding 17 points in the second, led 39-22.
Trent Taylor outscored DeKalb in the first quarter by two points and four players had at least four points in the first half for West Platte.
DeKalb was held nine points and eight points in the final two quarters, respectively.
Brayden Cogan had 13 points, followed by 12 by Sloane Portman and 11 by Taylor.
Up next
North Platte: The Panthers closed KCI Conference play on Tuesday, Feb. 18 hosting Mid-Buchanan. Results weren’t available by press time. Then, on Thursday, Feb. 20, the Panthers plays at Wellington-Napoleon, a former district foe.
West Platte: The Bluejays plays their final two KCI Conference games this week. First up was a game at Penney on Tuesday, Feb. 18 in Hamilton, though that game wasn’t over by press time. Then, the Bluejays play at Lawson on Thursday, Feb. 20.
Class 2 District 16: Six of the eight teams in the Class 2 District 16 tournament in Gower have winning records. West Platte, at 12-10, is the No. 6 seed in the field and will play North Andrew at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 25. The winner will play the winner of Mid-Buchanan/St. Joseph Christian at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 27 in the semifinals. North Platte is the No. 8 seed and draws East Buchanan at 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 25. The winner gets East Atchison/Bishop LeBlond in the semifinals. The finals are set for 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 29.