North Platte head boys’ basketball coach Bradyn Kemper has led the Panthers to a 16-6 start so far this season, clinching the first winning season since 2016.
DEARBORN – Regardless of how the rest of the season plays out, the North Platte boys’ basketball team (16-6) has officially clinched its first winning season since 2016 and has earned its most wins since 2011.
Since 2010, North Platte has only finished with more victories than defeats twice with this winter set to be the third occasion. In year three under Bradyn Kemper, the Panthers will end over .500 for the first time since being 14-13 in 2016, which was the year Kemper was a senior at Mid-Buchanan.
Only once in the program’s history has North Platte won a district title, happening in 2011 along with a 17-11 record. Trying to repeat that success is a goal this year although the Class 3 District 15 Tournament will be competitive; five of the seven teams currently sit with more wins than losses on their season record.
Each of the last three years, North Platte has won its home opener – starting off 2-0 twice in that timeframe – to briefly be above .500 before going on a losing skid. The last time the Panthers were above .500 with at least four games played was 2016 until this year, which has been the case after every game.
Dating back to last season, North Platte has finished with a championship or third-place finish in two of its last three regular season tournaments – including two third-place plaques this winter alone. Since taking third in their home tournament, the Panthers won two more in a row before falling to one of the best teams in Class 2.
North Platte hosted and defeated St. Joseph Christian (15-5) for the first time since 2013 by a score of 87-77 on Jan. 30. That ended up not only being the most points scored in the Kemper era, but also the most the program has produced since beating Northland Christian 81-76 in the Bill Burns Classic on Jan. 9, 2013.
There’s a lot of mouths to feed on this electric Panther offense, led by Brenden Matt who erupted for 26 points against the Lions. Creek Johnson had 21 points and Dylan Armstrong ended up scoring 13 of his 19 points in the first half.
Not counting the tournament games, North Platte moved to 6-1 at home following a 56-38 triumph over Excelsior Springs (2-15) on Jan. 31. Johnson rounded up scoring with 16 points, while the sophomore duo of Matt and Armstrong both had 10 points.
North Platte was tasked with taking on Plattsburg (18-4) – the No. 5 ranked Class 2 team according to the MBCA poll – on Feb. 2. Johnson and Armstrong both had six first quarter points to keep the game within three points before it got out of hand and the Tigers won 80-51.
North Platte bounced back and matched the 2011 squad in home wins – still trailing that team by one victory overall – with its sixth one coming against King City (5-15) on Feb. 5. The Panthers dominated, coming out on top 80-40.
When the starters were pulled early in the fourth quarter, those five alone had 40 points and the Wildkats had 38 at the time. Matt was the only starter in double figures with 15 points as there were 40 bench points, matching King City’s total.
There are only two games left in the regular season, both of which are against conference opponents. North Platte will head to Lathrop (3-16) on Feb. 9, then host East Buchanan (13-6) on Feb. 13.