From the opening tip to the final buzzer, the West Platte boys’ basketball team (17-7) dominated in what ended up being its largest postseason victory in a decade on Feb. 20.
West Platte took on Braymer (16-11) in the first round of the Class 2 District 15 Tournament and went on to win 72-40. The Blue Jays never trailed, and the only tie was at 2-2 as they had control of the entire contest.
West Plate head coach Tyler Funk talks to Xavier Reynolds in the first half as the senior guard subed into the postseason game where the Blue Jays dominated.
This was the largest West Platte postseason victory since beating Frontier School of Excellence Charter 80-35 on February 29, 2013. That game was also in the first round of districts on a season that ended with a state championship berth.
Braymer made the game relatively close in the opening minutes, but after the frame went under four minutes and West Platte led 11-7, that changed. From that point to the first quarter buzzer, the No. 3 seed went on a 10-0 run.
Charlie Kinslow scored a layup with less than 10 seconds left to put the Blue Jays up 21-7. Drake Montez scored eight of his 10 points in the second quarter and a late shot by Xavier Reynolds from behind the arc gave West Platte a 38-20 lead heading into the locker room.
It only took 14 seconds into the second half for the Blue Jays to keep the offense rolling, with Miles McHenry converting on an up-and-under move down low, despite being fouled on the play. The junior big man added another bucket two minutes later to help double the Panthers’ point total, putting West Platte ahead 44-22.
Kinslow went on a scoring surge after that – with the next eight West Platte points – which included two straight triples from the same spot, the left wing. Gunnar Smith added a pair of free throws with 1.7 seconds left to give West Platte a 59-27 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
Since there was a lead larger than 30 points, the clock was running in the last eight minutes. This was the second victory of the season for West Platte over Braymer, with it also occurring by a score of 62-32 in the North Platte Tournament on Jan. 24.
Kinslow had 18 points and McHenry added 12 points to keep the Blue Jays alive in the postseason. Next up for West Platte is a matchup with second-seeded Gallatin (23-2) – who has officially won 12 straight games, with its last loss being to West Platte in the third-place game of the Lawson Invitational on Jan. 14 – at Plattsburg High School on Feb. 22 at 7:30 p.m.