In an electrifying, crowd-shaking gymnasium at Platte County High School, the Pirates needed eight extra minutes of play to take down Raytown South (3-7) on Jan. 6.
The Platte County boys’ basketball team (8-1) survived what could have been its first home loss of the season when the Pirates took down the Cardinals 63-55 in a double overtime thriller. The contest that lasted 40 minutes of basketball action started off slow with only 12 total points scored in the opening frame.
Platte County junior forward Chandavian Bradley, above, had a pair of second half dunks en route to scoring a team-high 18 points in the Pirates 63-55 in double overtime on Jan. 6.
The Pirates’ offense struggled early and didn’t convert on a field goal until Chandavian Bradley made a post hook with 7:12 remaining in the second quarter. After trailing 8-4 at the end of the first quarter, Platte County took its first lead in the final minute of the first half with a pair of free throws from Isaac Havemeier, but Raytown South answered with a 3-pointer to take a 19-18 lead at the break.
“The environment was great tonight – and that’s why you come out for high school basketball, to get games like this - and you could tell there was a bit of nerves in them early,” Platte County head coach Rick Hodges said. “Hopefully we get to play in more environments like this and we get a little bit more relaxed.”
The Cardinals’ lead increased to seven points midway through the third quarter, but a pair of dunks in a 45-second span from Bradley with less than three minutes remaining narrowed the deficit. The junior forward scored 16 of his team-high 18 points after halftime and he gave Platte County’s offense a spark and momentum late in the third period, but Raytown South led 35-31 entering the final eight minutes of regulation.
With three minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals were leading 41-37 before Jarett Mueller sank a trey and Bradley scored consecutive buckets to give the Pirates a 44-41 margin. The Cardinals responded with a shot from behind the arc to tie the contest with 1:32 remaining in regulation and neither team was able to take the lead before the buzzer sounded, so the game headed to overtime.
“I told them going into the overtimes that we are going to go with our bread and butter – the five out, motion offense and man-to-man on the defensive end and we’ll see the better team win. We get so quick and in a bit of a hurry sometimes, so we have to slow down sometimes,” Hodges said.
There were three ties and four lead changes in the next four minutes when Platte County and Raytown South both scored seven points and were tied at 55, and the Greater Kansas City Suburban Blue Division matchup went into double overtime. Mueller knocked down his third shot on the night from downtown on the Pirates’ first possession and they never looked back. Brody Fulk and Bradley added to the lead with a pair of layups and Platte County sealed the victory with five made free throws. Havemeier finished with 13 points, while Mueller and Fulk both scored 12 points.
“It took guts to win this one; tonight was a night where we didn’t shoot the ball very well and we once again dealt with pressure and intensity that we can’t stimulate in practice. When it comes to a game like this, the defense is key,” Hodges said.
This was Platte County’s second consecutive double overtime contest as it lost its first game of the season to Ruskin 90-86 on Jan. 4 after winning the first seven games of the season. The Pirates will head into the Kearney boys’ basketball tournament as the top-seed.