Platte County continues to find ways to start strong and frustratingly fade at the end of games. The Pirates have dropped three straight — all in Suburban Conference White Division play — after Friday night’s 50-47 loss to William Chrisman at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Platte County senior guard Jayden Martin draws contact while taking a shot against William Chrisman on Friday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
In an ongoing process of melding a roster almost entirely comprised of newcomers, Platte County senior Jayden Martin (21 points) and junior Jordy Moore (11 points) accounted for the majority of offense. Moore played just his third game after a delayed start to the season while helping the Pirates to a second straight Class 5 state championship in football.
Martin ended up as the only returning starter from last season, while Moore and junior Eli Hockaday (four points) received limited action as deep reserves.
Platte County opened the season 2-1 in the Savannah Invitational and led at some point in the losses since to Raytown (57-38), Belton (62-45) and William Chrisman, which trailed by eight at halftime and by three going into the fourth quarter.
Hockaday scored all four of his points in the first quarter, while Moore and junior Jacoby Keith hit two of Platte County’s three 3-pointers in the first half. Martin ended up going 11-for-12 on free throws, but the Pirates didn’t have enough offensive strength in a diverse list of scorers.
Keith and sophomore MaCallen McMillian each hit a 3 to account for their only points, and juniors Jude Brown and Brock Dye scored two each while senior Bryton Bertram split two free throws in the third quarter for his only point.
Platte County junior Eli Hockaday takes a shot against William Chrisman on Friday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Platte County led 39-37 going to the fourth quarter, but William Chrisman hit three 3-pointers in the final 8 minutes to complete the comeback. The Pirates hit just two shots from the floor in the same span, including McMillian’s 3.
On Tuesday, Platte County went into the fourth quarter against Belton down 46-41. Belton immediately hit back-to-back 3-pointers to create a double-digit lead and roll from there.
Platte County led 12-11 after the first quarter and then kept pace during a high-scoring second despite playing without Hockaday due to illness. McMillian’s 3-pointer tied the score at 29-29 just before halftime, but Belton went into the break up by two.
Now dropped to 2-4 overall, Platte County takes more than a week off before facing Joplin in the 12 Courts of Christmas event on Monday, December 29 at HyVee Arena in Kansas City.
