With a favorable tournament ahead, the North Platte boys’ basketball team (5-8) is making a push to reach – and potentially surpass – a .500 record after winning three of its last five games.
The Panthers ran into a bit of a rut by losing six straight to respectable opponents in December but ended the 2022 calendar year on a high note. Ten days before the New Year, North Platte took care of business and defeated East Atchison (4-9) by a score of 64-56.
West Platte sophomore Westin Snook had nine points in the Panthers’ 50-36 win over Penney on Jan. 6 and also finished with a team-high 15 points in the 46-36 loss to Savannah in the Vertin Classic at Bishop LeBlond High School on Jan. 7.
North Platte had a long break over the holidays then had a chance to take on the team that ended the Panthers’ season last year when Maysville (7-3) came to town on Jan. 4. In the opening round of the 2021 Class 2 District 15 Tournament, the Wolverines eliminated the Panthers with an 11-point victory.
In the rematch, North Platte wasn’t able to overcome a double-digit margin and fell 47-30. The Panthers bounced back in their next game to move to 1-1 in the KCI Conference with a dominant 50-36 win over Penney (2-6) on Jan. 6.
Before Braydn Kemper took over the program last year, North Platte had lost its last nine games against Penney, but Kemper is 2-0 against the Hornets as a head coach. It was a sluggish start to the game as the Panthers trailed 4-1 when the first quarter buzzer sounded.
North Platte bounced back on both sides of the court in the following quarter, outscoring Penney 17-5 for the rest of the half and taking a comfortable 18-9 lead at the break. The Panthers continued to pour it out against the conference opponent, going up 30-16 at the end of the third quarter and coming out with a big win in the competitive KCI Conference.
North Platte freshman Dylan Armstrong had a big game and led the squad in scoring when he shot an efficient eight-of-12 from the field to finish with 16 points, along with four rebounds and one block. Creek Johnson scored 11 points and grabbed seven boards, while Westin Snook ended with nine points and made three of the Panthers’ six shots from behind the arc.
Snook also led the Panthers’ offense when they took on Savannah (2-9) in the Vertin Classic at Bishop LeBlond High School on Jan. 7. While North Platte was beaten 46-36, Snook scored a team-high 15 points, while Armstrong had 11 points.
The Panthers have locked in the top-seed in the Osborn Invitational Tournament and opened up with a one-sided 68-26 victory over Mid-Buchanan’s JV on Jan. 9. The Panthers will have a chance to advance to the championship – something that no North Platte team has done in any tournament since 2016 – in a semifinal matchup against Stewartsville with Osborn (6-4) on Jan. 11.