The lights went out for a flashy pregame introduction. Energy filled a sizable crowd.
Platte County senior forward Chandavian Bradley throws down a dunk against Raytown on Wednesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
All of the setup for a memorable debut night at the brand new, state-of-the-art Pirate Fieldhouse for Platte County went for naught. Raytown spoiled the opening act with two big early runs on the way to a 63-44 victory in Suburban Conference White Division play Wednesday night. The Pirates closed the gap late with senior forward Chandavian Bradley providing three highlight-reel dunks in the closing stages on the way to finishing with a team-high 14 points before subbing out late with the outcome decided.
Platte County (3-7) went into the holiday break with a 61-48 loss to rival Smithville in a neutral court matchup at HyVee Arena all the way back on December 19. The Pirates were out rebounded 37-24 and couldn’t keep pace despite 18 points from junior forward Judah Vignery and 12 more from Bradley.
That ended up being the start of what has now become a three-game losing streak after losses to Raytown and then Belton on the road Friday night.
Against Raytown, Bradley ceded his spot in the starting lineup to junior Connor Currence. Platte County’s leading scorer opened both halves on the bench after missing practice to attend the Under Armour All-American football game played the day before. The Blue Jays took advantage with a 12-2 run to open the game that included a pair of 3-pointers.
Platte County’s opening basket came from senior forward Trevor Redding for his only two points, and Vignery’s deep jumper stopped the initial burst.
Raytown then responded with a third 3 and a dunk as part of seven unanswered points, leading to Platte County coach Rick Hodge taking a second early timeout. The Blue Jays closed the first quarter on an 11-0 run with Bradley misfiring on an off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer. Their advantage went all the way to 39-11 with 2:15 left before halftime.
Platte County junior forward Judah Vignery pulls up beyond the arc against Raytown on Wednesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Currence contributed a 3-pointer in the second quarter for his only points, while Bradley went into halftime with only two points and Platte County down 42-11.
Platte County scored the first six of the third quarter — a 3-pointer from senior guard Parker Amos, a layup for Vignery and a split of two free throws from reserve forward Kai Oates. Vignery scored six of his points after halftime, while Bradley totaled eight in the fourth quarter. Pirates sophomore Jaden Peterson added five points off the bench.
Raytown ended up with just five 3-pointers as the offense dried up after halftime but with the sizable lead holding up.
Platte County struggled with rebounding for a second straight game with a lack of scoring depth suddenly causing issues. In the loss to Smithville, Amos hit a pair of 3-pointers while Redding (four), Currence (three), Peterson (three) and senior guard Boston Wahlert (two) combined for just 12 total.
Wahlert scored all six of his points in the second half against Raytown.
Belton 66, Platte County 51
Platte County dropped to 0-3 in White Division play with Belton guard Giovanni Mack pouring in a game-high 26 points and tallying a double-double with 12 rebounds Friday night in Belton.
Unable to overcome a huge disparity in rebounds, Platte County shot just 39 percent and made only 5 of 23 attempts on 3-pointers. Amos hit two of those and finished in double-figure scoring for the first time this season with 10. Bradley led the way with 13 but had just three rebounds, as Belton won the battle on the glass 38-25 overall.
Peterson managed six points, a team-high seven rebounds and four assists off the bench for Platte County despite 3-for-12 shooting from the floor.
