PLATTE CITY – Judah Vignery has been on fire early on in the season, lifting the Platte County boys’ basketball team (4-1) to a third-place finish in the Savannah Invitational and impressing in regular season play.
The Platte County senior has scored at least 30 points three times and erupted for a career-high 36 points in the third-place game at the Savannah Invitational on Dec. 2. Hogan Prep Academy Charter (4-2) put up a fight but couldn’t overcome Vignery’s offensive performance, falling 82-61.
Junior Jaden Peterson also scored a career-high in points with 29. Peterson and Vignery combined for seven made shots from behind the arc.
Platte County opened the season – and the tournament – with a 65-55 win over Savannah (2-2) on Nov. 28. Vignery knocked down six triples, which he had never done before, to end with 26 points on the night.
Vignery followed that up with a 23-point outing when Platte County fell short 66-53 to Maryville (5-0) on Nov. 30. Peterson finished with 11 points and Anthony Morrison went 4-of-5 from the field to score nine points.
Platte County hosted William Chrisman (3-3) to start off conference play in the White Division of the Greater Kansas City Suburban Conference on Dec. 8. Vignery finished the home opener with 32 points, including some clutch free throws down the stretch to pull out the win.
For the first time since 2022, Platte County defeated St. Joseph’s Lafayette with a 62-53 victory on Dec. 11. The Pirates set the tone early and relied heavily on outside shooting in the first half.
Right out of the gate, Brady Wetzel made one triple and Vignery knocked down two to make the score 11-3. The Irish scored eight straight to tie the game at 11 but the Pirates held on to an 18-12 lead ahead of the second period.
Isaac Dittrick, Wetzel and Vignery all made one shot from behind the arc in the second quarter to make up all of Platte County’s points in the frame, going into the locker room up 27-22. The Pirates led by as much as 14 in the third quarter and the Irish had an unsuccessful comeback attempt in the final eight minutes.
Lafayette brought the contest within single digits late, but Vignery put up 30 points to hold off the St. Joseph school. Wetzel, Morrison and Dittrick all converted on two shots from downtown.
There’s only been five games so far this winter, but Platte County is already halfway to last year’s win total. The Pirates will look to keep it rolling when they head to Kearney (2-2) on Dec. 15.