A late comeback fell short for North Platte on Friday, Feb. 12 in Plattsburg, Mo., and the Panthers remained stuck at one win in KCI Conference play.
Plattsburg held on for a 62-59 win, dropping North Platte to 1-5 in KCI Conference play with only a home game against Mid-Buchanan left on the league slate. The rematch of last month’s North Platte Invitational final was scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 16, but the result was not available at The Citizen’s deadline.
North Platte upset the Dragons, last year’s Class 2 state runner-up, in the previous meeting. The Panthers had lost two straight entering the rematch after a seven-game winning streak.
Up and down most of the season, North Platte draws the No. 4 seed in next week’s Class 2 District 16 tournament. The Panthers play Polo in the first round Tuesday, Feb. 23 at Maysville, Mo.
North Platte trailed most of the way against Plattsburg, but surged in the fourth quarter. Andrew Roberts, a senior guard, scored six of his 16 in the first quarter and seven more in the fourth quarter. Kyle Ewing continued his improved play with five of his 13 in the final 8 minutes, while Anthony Hernandez and Austin Snook hit a 3 apiece.
Plattsburg yielded 20 points in the fourth quarter but held on late despite shooting only three free throws in the final frame, going 1-for-3 and missing the front end of two one-and-one situations.
Lawson 52, North Platte 48
After Roberts cooled off Tuesday, Feb. 9, the Panthers couldn’t maintain the offense to spring an upset in Lawson, Mo.
Roberts finished with 21 points, but 14 came in the first quarter. He hit four 3s and added two free throws to give North Platte an 18-12 lead after 8 minutes. Lawson held him to one basket in each of the next two quarters and two free throws in the fourth quarter.
Kyle Ewing scored the other four in the first quarter for North Platte and wound up with 15 points.
Lawson outscored the Panthers 32-15 in the second and third quarters and held off their rally late. Roberts hit five of North Platte’s eight 3s, while Hernandez (eight points) added two.
Lawson 62, West Platte 37
Tied after the first quarter, the Bluejays’ offense faltered in the next 16 minutes resulting in another KCI loss Thursday, Feb. 11 in Lawson, Mo.
Luke Horseman hit four 3-pointers and led West Platte with 14 points. Lawson pulled away with 21 points in the second quarter, taking a 32-17 lead into the break. The Bluejays put up six points in the second quarter and only 11 in the third quarter.
West Platte dropped to 8-13 overall and 2-4 in KCI play. The Bluejays had lost four straight in conference heading into the Tuesday, Feb. 16 finale against Hamilton, but the result was not available at The Citizen’s deadline.
In the Class 2 District 15 bracket released last week, West Platte drew the No. 4 seed and opens Tuesday, Feb. 23 against Kansas City Lutheran in Alma, Mo.
Mid-Buchanan 58, West Platte 37
The Bluejays made just 13 shots from the floor in a KCI loss Tuesday, Feb. 9 in Faucett, Mo.
Mid-Buchanan scored 24 points in the third quarter, including all three of Braydn Kemper’s 3-pointers, and took a 56-27 lead into the fourth quarter. West Platte’s reserves closed the gap in the fourth quarter, and the Bluejays ended up with nine players in the scoring column.
Jonah Vandel led West Platte with nine points off the bench, which contributed 18 points overall.
Mid-Buchanan ended up with eight 3-pointers total, including five for Jakob Meikel on his way to a game-high 22 points. He scored all 22 in the first half.