When the official tossed the ball up to start the highly anticipated contest between the West Platte boys’ basketball team (18-6) and Plattsburg (16-7), the packed gym witnessed an all-time classic that will be talked about for years to come.
There were high stakes going into the game: it was courtwarming, the winner was all but ensured a spot as a top-2 finisher in the conference and it was a potential preview of the Class 2 District 15 Championship Game. If that wasn’t enough to show the magnitude of the game, then Mason Montez’s game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds should be.
With 19.7 seconds left, West Platte called a timeout trailing 46-45 to set up a play that ended up not being ran the way it was written up, but the Blue Jays made some magic happen, nonetheless. When Charlie Kinlsow caught the ball at the right wing with 12 seconds left, he gave it back to Tanner Rowe at the top of the key with the clock ticking.
The West Platte boys’ basketball team, above, celebrates with Mason Montez after the senior hits the go-ahead 3-pointer in the final seconds of the Blue Jays’ 48-46 win over Plattsburg on Feb. 11.
After a crossover from his right to left hand, Rowe began to drive down the middle but was picked up by a pair of Tiger defenders at the free throw line. He kicked it out to Montez near the left corner and without hesitation, the Blue Jays’ leading scorer pulled up from downtown and sank the shot with 5.7 seconds left.
“We didn’t run it that well – Charlie was supposed to hit the reversal - but we made a play out of it,” West Platte head coach Tyler Funk said. “Mason is a gamer and is all heart – the thing about him is he acts the same if he hit the game-winner shot and led the team in scoring or if he only scored five; he is an ultimate team guy and is everything you want in a Blue Jay.”
Although the big shot gave the Blue Jays a 48-46 advantage, the game wasn’t over. Plattsburg called a pair of timeouts – one to stop the clock after the shot went in with right over three seconds left, and another with 2.1 seconds left after the ball was advanced to the Tigers’ side of half-court. Plattsburg inbounded it to the right corner and the highly contested fade away 3-point attempt looked like it might find its way through the basket, but it bounced off the rim to end the game.
“That was as fun of a high school basketball game I have seen - rather on film or in person - in a long time. That’s why you play, and the kids deserve it. That is a great team that we were facing, and it was just a battle all night,” Funk said.
With the game coming down to the wire, Plattsburg was on the verge of pulling off a big road win as the Tigers led 46-45 with 1:30 left. Montez scored a bucket to close the gap, and on the defensive end Xavier Reynolds came up with a steal.
Rowe drew a foul with 48.6 seconds remaining and made both of his one-and-one free throw attempts, to bring the game within one point. The Blue Jays fouled one of the Tigers worst free throw shooters with 30.2 seconds left and the attempt was missed with West Platte securing the rebound, and the rest is history.
“It tells us a lot, we have been in close games all year. These guys are sometimes magicians to come up with something, it is a testament to their character and to the way there were raised that they just don’t give up,” Funk said.
Neither team could gain much of a margin throughout the night with West Platte’s brief 7-point lead in the opening frame being the largest deficit of the night. Dalton Hill had an impressive third quarter – scoring nine of 13 points - and helped the Blue Jays regain momentum at the end of the period.
After Hill scored six straight points in the frame, Plattsburg responded and extended its lead to four points. At the buzzer, Hill made a 3-pointer at nearly the same spot Montez’s game-winner was at as the Blue Jays trailed 36-35.
Montez ended the night with 23 points to lead the Blue Jays’ offense. West Platte is the No. 1 seed in the Class 2 District 15 Tournament at Gallatin High School and will have its next game on Feb. 24.