Rick Hodge claims to not have a sense the “basketball gods” owe Platte County a break. In the midst of a challenging schedule with a rebuilding roster, the Pirates veteran coach sweated out more than few tight finishes in recent weeks, and those coming down to the final possession have been more cruel than kind to this point.
On Thursday night in the nightcap of a rare boys-girls doubleheader, William Chrisman junior guard Trey Taylor split two free throws with 5.2 seconds left to provide the razor-thin margin in a dramatic 51-50 victory at Pirate Fieldhouse. Platte County’s final shot ended up being a desperation heave for senior forward Chandavian Bradley from near midcourt with pleas for a foul call going unheard. The Pirates dropped to 8-13 overall and 0-6 in Suburban Conference White Division play — unable to build any sustained momentum with just three players in the rotation with any varsity experience prior to this season.
Dating back to a devastating and controversial loss to Winnetonka, Platte County’s past seven games have included five decided by four points or less. Winnetonka drained a 3-pointer from near half-court in the nonconference game back on January 19 after being gifted an inadvertent whistle to stop the clock inside of 5 seconds left that set up the winning shot.
The three weeks since have included a two-point win over Blue Springs South and a four-point win over Fort Osage in a third-place finish for Platte County at the Brian Valley Invitational plus a tight win over St. Joseph Central last week after junior guard Judah Vignery stuck a late 3-pointer and then the most recent loss to William Chrisman, which swept the two-game series with the Pirates this season after also taking last year’s Class 5 District 8 championship game in surprising blowout fashion with a cast of players much different from the ones on the floor Thursday night.
“We’ve been in a lot of those games, and we’ve won some and lost some,” Hodge said. “And over the course of the season those usually even out. I think we had opportunities.”
Platte County continued to display reasons for encouragement, overcoming a nine-point deficit in the first half, a 12-point deficit early in the third quarter and a seven-point margin in the fourth quarter to tie the score late. Vignery (20 points) and Bradley (14 points) predictably led the comeback, while Pirates senior guard Boston Whalert splashed home a 3-pointer with about 2 minutes left in regulation to cut the deficit to 48-47.
Taylor responded with a pair of free throws in a one-and-one situation after Vignery picked up his fourth foul.
Down 50-47, Wahlert, who finished with all eight of his points late in the second half, came up with a floater along the right baseline to again knife Platte County within one, and Bradley created a steal off the ensuing inbounds pass but drew a hard foul and missed the shot while attempting to finish around the rim with a finger-roll layup.
Bradley split the two free throws to create a tie at 50-50 with 52.7 seconds left — the first time the teams were even since 2-2. Platte County’s only lead came at 5-4 with 4:22 on the clock in the first quarter, and despite repeated opportunities, the Pirates couldn’t come up with a stop to regain a lead in the closing sequence.
“Now you’re relying on the defense,” Hodge said. “The defense, the we extended the pressure a little bit is where we made our run there late. We had to, and I thought the kids did a good job at that.”
William Chrisman (12-11, 5-1 White Division) called a timeout and attempted to hold for the final shot.
Taylor dribbled around the top of the key with Wahlert hounding him and taking occasional around-the-back pokes to try and knock the ball loose. Eventually, Taylor drove inside and threw up a layup attempt that caromed off the underside of the rim before an official blew his whistle late and awarded a foul.
After Taylor missed the first, Hodge took a timeout, and Taylor made the second to give William Chrisman the 51-50 lead. The Bears then took a timeout, and Hodge didn’t counter with another stoppage and attempted to run the final play.
Bradley took a pass and dribble upcourt but a slight bobble of a dribble cost him a valuable portion of the 5.2 seconds left. He took the shot with a William Chrisman defender on his hip before crashing to the floor with more than one person on the floor and on the Platte County bench believing a foul could be called. No whistle came, and the Pirates were sunk.
“They called the foul there with the game on the line, which I’ll have to check the tape on,” Hodge said.
The early part of the game featured lengthy offensive possessions and solid defense not indicative of what became an exciting, physical back-and-forth finish.
Platte County senior forward Trevor Redding hit a pair of free throws for the Pirates’ first points at the 454 mark, and Bradley’s 3 moments later gave them their only lead. Bradley immediately picked up his second foul on the ensuing possession as part of a three-point play for Say’V’on Lankford, who scored nine points.
With Bradley on the bench, William Chrisman stretched out the advantage to 14-6 with sophomore Leo Gayman scoring six in the earlygoing.
“The first quarter was very disappointing; the first half was disappointing,” Hodge said. “Shooting and rebounding was what got us in the hole.”
Platte County hit another extended scoring drought to start the second quarter with Bradley forced out due to the fouls and Vignery struggling from the floor to start.
Bradley’s putback of a missed 3-pointer from senior guard Parker Amos provided the Pirates’ first points of the frame with 3:52 left before halftime, and his two free throws moments later made it a 6-0 run that cut the deficit to 16-12. Vignery finally conneted on a 3-pointer with 34 seconds on the clock, but an acrobatic tip-in at the buzzer for William Chrisman’s Antonio Graham, who scored seven points, created a 21-15 halftime lead.
To start the third quarter, William Chrisman senior guard Trey Kates buried a 3-pointer from the right corner to quickly turn a tenuous four-point advantage into a nine-point margin — the biggest to that point.
“That’s what we talk about,” Hodge said. “If you’re going to win those games, you’ve got to do all the little things. If you’re going to win those tight games, every possession matters, and you have to do every little thing. And there’s a lot of little things we didn’t do tonight.”
The run became 8-0 on a three-point play for Graham, and Platte County trailed 27-15 near the 6-minute mark of the third quarter. Vignery started the comeback with a pair of 3s and then hit two free throws in a big moment when Gayman, who accrued three fouls in the first half picked up his fourth on a loose ball and then his fifth personal when assessed for a technical after the initial call.
Gayman didn’t score again after his initial six but ended up as one of six players for William Chrisman with at least six.
Suddenly within 30-25, Vignery drew a shooting foul on the possession resulting from the technical foul and hit two more. Wahlert then scored his first basket with a steal and runner to make it 30-29 only for William Chrisman senior Fernando Garcia to answer with back-to-back 3s. The Bears led by seven again and took a five-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Vignery opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer from the right wing — his fourth and final triple — to again make the game one possession, but Platte County would continue to trail. William Chrisman would push it back to 43-36 before a lengthy possession for the Pirates provided the best chance to regain the lead.
Redding split two free throws, and Platte County rebounded with Wahlert drawing a foul and also going 1-for-2. Bradley grabbed another offensive rebound, and Wahlert ended up at the line for a second time, only to miss both with the Pirates down 43-42.
After seeing Platte County go 2-for-6 on free throws in the span of one possession, Taylor responded with a three-point play on his way to a team-high 10 points.
Bradley provided a boost with a thunderous two-handed dunk inside to again pull Platte County within two, but Lankford created a three-point play opportunity on the other end. He missed the free throw, keeping the Pirates within four and leading to the final stretch that included Whalert’s clutch 3 and short runner plus Bradley’s steal and near go-ahead layup only for the game to be decided with the late free throw.
“We had a spark,” Hodge said. “Judah started hitting some 3s to give us a spark; Chandavian obviously with the dunk. Got to the foul line and couldn’t get over the hump. We had guys at the foul line that could’ve got us over the hump, and they didn’t. If you’re going to win a game like this, a close one, you have to step up to the foul line and knock them down.”
Grain Valley 71, Platte County 54
The Eagles swept all three meetings between the two teams this season, continuing the dominance in Tuesday’s game at Grain Valley High School.
Grain Valley freshman guard Eli Herbert continued to give Platte County fits, scoring 21 points with three 3-pointers and shooting 10-for-10 on free throws. The Pirates countered with nine 3-pointers to stay close — four from Vignery and three more from sophomore reserve guard Jaden Peterson (nine points).
Vignery (16 points), Wahlert (12 points) and Bradley (10 points) all scored in double figures for Platte County, which committed 17 turnovers. Bradley piled up the stats with seven rebounds, five steals, four assists and two blocks. Only five players scored for Platte County with Redding adding seven points.
Platte County 55, Central (St. Joseph) 53
A week ago Friday, Vignery buried a 3-pointer with 8 seconds on the clock to provide the winning margin at Central High School.
Amos went 6-for-9 on 3s and poured in a career-high 19 points, while Vignery added three more triples and a team-high 19 points. Plate County feasted from beyond the arc with 11 total 3s out of 19 field goals. Bradley added 12 points and five rebounds to round out a high-scoring trio for the Pirates.
Entering off nearly a week layoff after placing third in the Grain Valley Invitational, Platte County made it three wins in a span of four games before returning to conference play with a pair of losses.