KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In what became a harshly familiar scenario, Platte County hung around for the majority of the first half only to run out of responses.
Platte County senior guard Jayden Martin challenges a shot in a Class 5 District 8 matchup against Winnetonka on Tuesday at Winnetonka High School in Kansas City.
Third-seeded Winnetonka upped the defensive pressure with lengthy, athletic players to pull away for a 68-44 victory in Tuesday’s Class 5 District 8 first-round matchup at Winnetonka High School. The Griffins went on to advance to the championship game and finish as runnerup.
Platte County (7-20) saw the momentum built from back-to-back wins in the final week of the regular season snuffed out in emphatic fashion. The Pirates showed potential in flashes but struggled to maintain consistency both within individual games and game-to-game.
“The two biggest concerns I had going into the game were turnovers vs. pressure and giving up offensive rebounds, and those were the two things that hurt us,” Platte County veteran coach Rick Hodge said. “Like this group has done all season long, they listened; they bought in to the game plan. They executed game plan. We jumped on them early. We had a lead. We knew the pressure was coming. We’ve been working on it for two days in practice. You just can’t simulate that in practice.”
Platte County senior point guard Jayden Martin scored 15 points but made just three shots from the floor while going 9 of 10 on free throws, and junior guard Jordan Moore added 11 with three 3-pointers. The Pirates’ leaders on offense helped build a 14-9 lead after the first quarter that became a nine-point halftime deficit.
Platte County junior guard Jordan Moore throws a pass in a Class 5 District 8 matchup against Winnetonka on Tuesday at Winnetonka High School in Kansas City.
Winnetonka started to stretch the advantage in the second quarter and then dominated the second half.
Platte County, the No. 6 seed, managed just two field goals total between the second and third quarters and nearly faced a running clock in the fourth. The Pirates stayed committed to a deep rotation until the finish, having rarely been at full strength at any point during a difficult season.
A second-year starter and third-year contributor, Martin served as the unquestioned leader, especially with Moore and fellow junior Jude Brown both missing the start of the season while helping Platte County’s football team win a second straight Class 5 state title. Moore later missed time with a sprained ankle, while the Pirates played the last two weeks without Brown, who suffered a foot injury shortly after his installation into the starting lineup to try and jumpstart the offense.
In the final game of the season, Platte County junior guard Jacoby Keith scored eight points, while junior forward Brock Dye added two.
Keith and sophomore guard MaCallen McMillian hit back-to-back 3s early in the fourth quarter as the last gasp for Platte County. The Pirates ended up with seven scorers — McMillian and junior point guard Andrew Parrish three points apiece and senior Bryton Bertram two.
Platte County junior guard Jacoby Keith prepares to take a 3-pointer in a Class 5 District 8 matchup against Winnetonka on Tuesday at Winnetonka High School in Kansas City.
Martin and Bertram, a reserve forward, were the lone seniors on this year’s roster.
“This team is going to miss Jayden Martin more than they know. ,” Hodge said. “Both on the floor, he was our primary ballhandler all year, and then not only that, he gave us defense, basketball IQ, shooting. He did it all for us. But not only that, he was a tremendous leader. I told the team that after the game. I don’t just say that with any senior that leaves. He’s a special leader, also, and they’re going to miss not only his positivity and staying positive with this group throughout the season, but they’re also going to miss him helping direct them and telling them where to go, where they need to be.”
Platte County failed to advance out of the first round of districts for a third straight season. The lack of consistency in lineups hurt with junior guards Isaac Nelson (mostly a starter) and Elijah Hockaday (mostly as a reserve) also important pieces of the rotation. The Pirates did not have a win outside of tournament play until beating Northeast (Kansas City) on February 18.
That started a stretch of three wins in a span of four games, the last two coming on game-winning 3-pointers from McMillian at the buzzer in overtime at William Chrisman and in the final seconds of regulation at home against Fort Osage last week.
“You don’t really think about next year right now because your heart hurts so much for tonight and this season, but as always, we’re positive about the guys coming back — whether it’s juniors who are going to be seniors or the sophomores who are going to move up and progress,” Hodge said.
