Platte County collects critical bounceback win to avenge prior loss to rival

There were no worries about a potential letdown even as the second half lead ballooned to insurmountable margins.

Platte County pulled away and buried Smithville for a convincing — and much-needed — 70-35 victory Thursday night at Pirate Fieldhouse. This reversed the result of a meeting less than a week earlier in the fifth-place game of Kearney’s Bulldog Classic when the Warriors overcame an 18-point deficit late in the third quarter to claim a shocking three-point win between former conference and current Class 5 District 8 rivals.

This time around, Platte County junior guard Braiden Stevens hit five 3-pointers and led all scorers with 23 points, while senior forward Jaden Peterson added 20. The Pirates entered having lost seven of the past eight, most notable the first matchup with Smithville that seemed well in control for much of the second half.

“We came into the game like we should have won the previous matchup against Smithville,” Peterson said. “We didn’t want to lose again. We didn’t like that feeling against the rivals so we went extra hard in practice to make sure that didn’t happen again.”

Platte County took the first double-digit lead late in the first quarter and never allowed Smithville any closer. Stevens and senior forward Hayden Schultz were part of a key sequence right before halftime to set the stage for the runaway after the break.

Schultz scored in the final minute before an illegal screen foul on Smithville provided a final turnover.

Stevens then buried his second 3 just before the buzzer to put Platte County up 36-18. The quick five unanswered points came after a sloppy sequence that included back-to-back offensive fouls called on the Pirates with the double-digit lead in danger — the latter a second foul for Peterson, who stayed in the game, having put up 15 points in the first half.

“I thought they were locked in on the defensive end as best they possibly could. They took pride in it tonight, not just with their defense but their rebounding,” Platte County coach Rick Hodge said. “Once they made stops and started to get some points on offense and got some momentum, they fed off of each other, and it kind of snowballed from there.”

Platte County continued the run after halftime with five more points unanswered to go up 41-18. Stevens ended up hitting three more 3-pointers in the third quarter with the first starting a 14-0 run for the Pirates that put the 30-point running clock into effect entering the fourth quarter.

Stevens’ triple from the right wing with 3 minutes, 58 seconds on the third-quarter clock pushed the lead back to 48-26. The run also included a 3-pointer for senior reserve guard Anthony Morrison, and an offensive rebound for junior reserve forward Jack Utz allowed him to assist Steven on another for his final basket to put the Warriors down 59-26.

Morrison importantly continued to come out of season-long scoring slump with all five of his points in the third quarter, which included five of Platte County’s 10 3-pointers. Peterson added another and accounted for his last five points with Stevens passing him for the game-high in scoring with his trio of late 3s.

“(Braiden)’s very important,” Peterson said. “He spreads the defense out. He brings a lot on the offensive end and defensive end, and it’s good for me because I’m not the main attraction now because they have to worry about him, too.”

Utz scored on back-to-back possession to start the fourth quarter to account for all four of his points, and Platte County ultimately cleared the bench. The Pirates’ offensive production also included five points for senior reserve guard Brett Mueller while sophomores Jordan Moore (three points) and Elijah Hockaday (two points) also scored late as the lead hit as much as 29 in the closing minutes.

Platte County survived the two mostly brief sluggishness stretches of the first half and found an impressive way to improve to 6-9 overall. The Pirates were in desperate need of a positive result going into this week’s Grain Valley Invitational and came up with a win likely key to the eventual Class 5 District 8 seeding.

“I was happy with their mindset going into the game. It was a more positive and together meaningful mindset,” Hodge said. “The verbiage in the locker room, what they were saying to each other was something we were hoping for in getting over the last few weeks.”

However, just like in the first matchup, Smithville (4-11) jumped to an early lead, scoring the first four points.

Platte County immediately responded with a run of nine unanswered after figuring out the 1-3-1 zone defense the Warriors utilized to start the game. Layups for Stevens and Peterson quickly equaled the score, and Stevens’ easy putback on McLaughlin’s miss of a contested layup gave the Pirates their first lead, while Schultz, who scored all five of his points in the first half, capped the stretch with a split of two free throws.

Peterson’s 3 from the left corner with 1:35 remaining in the first quarter led to a Smithville timeout, and Stevens hit another in the final minute to push the lead to 17-7. The Warriors missed three shots at the other end, and Stevens’ 3 on a play drawn up out of Hodge’s timeout clanged off the rim.

Platte County didn’t let up with junior guard Brennan McLaughlin scoring his only points on a 3 with 6:57 left in the first half, and Mueller answering a Smithville basket with another 3 to increase the lead to 26-9. The Warriors went more than 3 minutes in the second quarter without points before sophomore guard AJ Mason hit two free throws and didn’t hit a field goal for more than 8 minutes overall before managing to pull within 11 and creating a chance to build some momentum.

“We’ve been getting a lot of scoring production from Stevens and Jaiden Peterson throughout the season,” Hodge said. “We’re looking for others to kind of come in. Anthony’s been giving us that the last few ball games, and I’m happy to see his confidence continue to grow. We know Anthony can give us that. We saw it all year last year, and he’s starting to give it to us this year.”

In an often contentious rivalry matchup with increased stakes thanks to the result of the prior matchup, Platte County mostly kept emotions in check, save for a technical foul on McLaughlin early in the third quarter while excessively battling for a loose ball. The Pirates entered off of an 85-52 loss to Grain Valley just two days earlier that dropped their White Division record to 2-4.

Platte County doesn’t have another conference game until after this week’s tournament, which includes guaranteed pool matchups against Barstow (3-8) and Blue Springs South (11-3) and a placement game Friday. The final eight games of the regular season for the Pirates will all be in conference play, starting with a home game on February 4 against Fort Osage (6-9).

“I keep telling the kids this: whether we win or lose, they’re getting better, and they’re getting better in longer stretches in the game,” Hodge said. “You saw that tonight. There were long stretches that we were really good, but we need to keep building on that.

“With the positive culture that we drive home with these guys, they can be better than we’ve shown so far, and I still believe we can be better.”