North Platte finished with one win in KCI Conference play despite hanging close Tuesday, Feb. 16 in Dearborn, Mo.
Mid-Buchanan led 44-40 entering the fourth quarter but pulled away with 25 points in the final 8 minutes. Andrew Roberts scored 23 points for North Platte to lead all scorers, including three of the Panthers’ five 3-pointers.
North Platte trailed by just one at halftime in a rematch of an upset of the Dragons from last month in the North Platte Invitational.
The No. 4 seed in Class 2 District 16, North Platte (13-12) then defeated Polo on Tuesday, Feb. 23 in Maysville, Mo. North Platte won 59-54 and advanced to play top-seeded Hamilton in the semifinals, scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 25.
Hamilton 72, West Platte 52
The Bluejays hung close for a half with the co-KCI champions but ultimately finished with a 5-2 record in league play.
Brett Shepardson led a quartet of double-figure scorers for West Platte with 14 points, while Kaleb Baber and Daniel Cicha added 11 apiece. McKaulley Stephenson chipped in 10 more with the top four scorers accounting for 46 of the 52 points.
Hamilton led 26-24 at halftime but scored 26 points in the third quarter to pull away.
The No. 4 seed in Class 2 District 15, West Platte (9-14) was scheduled to play K.C. Lutheran on Tuesday, Feb. 23 in Alma, Mo., but the result was not available at The Citizen’s deadline. The semifinals are scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 25.
Wellington-Napoleon 73, North Platte 48
The Panthers closed the regular season with a loss Thursday, Feb. 18 in Wellington, Mo.
Roberts led North Platte with 15 points but went scoreless in the first quarter, which saw Wellington-Napoleon take a 19-6 lead. The Panthers were down 36-18 at halftime and couldn’t mount a charge.
University Academy 58, West Platte 30
The Gryphons pulled away in the fourth quarter Thursday, Feb. 18 in Weston, Mo.
Up seven going into the final 8 minutes, University Academy scored 25 points to pull away. West Platte was within 24-11 at halftime but scored just eight points the rest of the way. Shepardson totaled at team-high 14 points — 10 in the first half — while Shayne Kleinsorge added a pair of 3s off the bench, both in the second quarter.