Platte County’s season comes to a close in tight district loss to Van Horn

Platte County’s season-ending sequence of events likely felt like déjà vu all over again.

Fifth-seeded Van Horn drilled open 3-pointers and crashed the offensive boards to build a big lead in Wednesday’s Class 5 District 8 semifinal at Pirate Fieldhouse. Platte County responded with senior forward Chandavian Bradley and junior guard Judah Vignery fueling a furious comeback only for untimely miscues and missed free throws to doom the Pirates in a 61-60 loss — bringing to a close a promising but ultimately frustrating rebuild season.

Bradley and Vignery combined for 35 points in their final game together for fourth-seeded Platte County (8-18), which finished on a seven-game losing skid. Bradley’s off-balance leaner rolled off the rim at the buzzer, providing a reprieve for Van Horn after the Falcons scored just two points in the entirety of a frenzied fourth quarter.

“It’s the same things,” Platte County coach Rick Hodge said. “Like I told the kids after the game, it was a microcosm of what hurt us throughout the season. You saw the same stuff throughout the entire season — the same things we’re trying to correct in practice, meetings and film sessions — were the same things that bit us tonight.”

Per the recent trend, Platte County fueled the charge back through the use of full-court pressure.

Van Horn nearly ended up with a complete meltdown after leading 59-46 going to the fourth quarter but ultimately survived. Bradley scored six of his team-high 18 points during the final eight minutes, but the Pirates also went just 4-for-10 on free throws in the closing stretch to lose key opportunities at drawing closer.

Platte County never drew level nor led.

“You can’t give up 42 in the first half, and you don’t like your chances when you give up 42 in the first half,” Hodge said. “That’s what we did tonight is we weren’t dialed in on the defensive end throughout the first half and were buried too far and couldn’t come out of it.

“Our defense was better in the second half, and once again, they played hard. They competed to the end, cut the deficit and once again, we lose by one possession.”

Platte County junior reserve guard Connor Currence provided a spark and split a pair of free throws in a one-and-one position then grabbed a steal that led to another trip to the line. He again split those to make it 61-54 with under 3 minutes to play.

Van Horn drew a pair of fouls on the other end but ultimately turned it over with a traveling call against the inbounding passer after the second. Then came an apparent opportunity for a three-point play for Bradley, only for one official to run in and overzealously wipe away the basket and rule the foul occurred before the shot.

Bradley missed both free throws, but Platte County senior Parker Amos grabbed a key offensive rebound to keep the possession alive. Bradley scored on the possession to make it 61-56.

“Parker went and got it and gave us another possession there,” Hodge said.

Van Horn then committed two more turnovers, but Platte County couldn’t turn either in to points and remained down five with 1:20 left in regulation. The Pirates then forced a third turnover when senior Trevor Redding picked off a forced inbounds pass and drew a foul in the process.

Redding split those, and Platte County came up with another steal. Amos, who didn’t score but grabbed four rebounds and a steal in key minutes, grabbed a second important offensive board. The Pirates then closed within one possession for the first time since the first quarter when Vignery earned his way to the line and split two more.

Amos didn’t score in his final game but grabbed four rebounds and a steal.

“When (Amos) was out of the game, he was seeing things, and he was brining them up on the bench,” Hodge said. “So that’s when I was talking back to him, saying, ‘When you go in, that’s what you have to do.’ That’s what he was doing late game. He was going and trying to make plays on the defensive end or getting offensive rebounds.”

Vignery missed the second, and Bradley rebounded the miss to extend Platte County’s possession. After a timeout, he scored in deep on the right block over Van Horn senior Korey Messick to cut the Falcons’ lead to 61-60 with 43.5 seconds left.

Platte County fouled, but Van Horn sophomore Christian Neely missed the front end of a one-and-one. Amos rebounded for the Pirates, who called a timeout with 11.4 seconds to go.

After Neely stole a pass but went out of bounds along the right sideline in the process, Hodge used a second timeout with 5.4 seconds on the clock. The final play involved Amos throwing a baseball pass all the way over the left block where Bradley went high to catch it, pump faked Messick into the air and ended up with a somewhat awkward shot off the wrong foot that didn’t go down.

The officials momentarily huddled with Platte County’s players and coaches wondering if time would be put back on the clock or a foul might send the Pirates to the line for a chance to tie or win. Instead, they signaled the end of the game, and Van Horn advanced to Friday’s semifinal where they lost to top-seeded Pembroke Hill, which plays second-seeded Smithville in Monday’s championship game.

Hodge praised the read and pass from Amos, the screen from Vignery and Bradley’s effort to go toward the basket with the final shot.

“We got the ball down around the rim from where were out of bounds, and yeah, that’s about what I wanted,” Hodge said. “I wish the shot would have went for the kid. I really wish that ball would have went through the hoop for Chandavian.”

The teams went back and forth in the earlygoing, and Vignery tied the score at 9-9 on his first basket with 3:18 left in the first quarter.

Van Horn responded with a 13-4 run that included three of the Falcons’ six 3-pointers, which all came in the first half. The Falcons wouldn’t trail again, and Redding kept Platte County from a potential blowout, scoring nine of his career-high 14 points in the first half. The first-year contributor for the Pirates hit an assortment of mid-range jumpers on the way to the first and only double-digit scoring performance of his career.

“Trevor had a tremendous game; it was the best game he’s played all year,” Hodge said. “That mid-range. The mid-range is something that’s going away in basketball. Everything’s a layup or a 3-ball, and Trevor Redding still has the mid-range. I was really happy to see Trevor have a great game tonight. He’s a kid that keeps his mouth shut, does what’s asked, plays hard and plays with heart, and I’m glad he had this game.”

Redding started the best push of the first half for Platte County with a three-point play 32 seconds into the second quarter. Vignery then hit a 3, and Bradley, who added 11 rebounds to finish with a double-double, did the same only for Van Horn to start answering after the Pirates’ reduced their deficit to 26-22. The Falcons immediately came back with a 3-pointer, and senior Kayleb Jefferson added a three-point play on a baseline turnaround jumper.

Due to a scoring error, Van Horn’s biggest lead was either 15 or 13.

Platte County went down 39-24 on the scoreboard, but senior Boston Wahlert came up with a three-point play to cut the lead to 39-27 with 1:13 left before halftime. Hodge called a timeout after the made free throw, and during the stoppage, the officials conferred with the head table and changed the score to 36-27.

Van Horn immediately hit its final 3-pointer, and Messick, who finished with a team-high 16 points, stuck a putback at the buzzer to send the Falcons into the break up 42-29.

“We didn’t do enough right in the first half, and we gave up way too much scoring in the first half,” Hodge said. “And it was unacceptable. They knew who the shooters were, and whenever we missed an assignment, they buried the 3. Or when we didn’t box out, they got the putback.

“We had to reiterate everything that we talked about before the game at halftime.”

Platte County briefly closed within single digits in the third quarter at 49-40 but went behind 54-40 after splitting two free throws on a technical foul called against Wahlert with 2:13 on the clock. He went to the bench and did not return, finishing his final game with nine points.

Vignery stuck three of his four 3-pointers during the third quarter on his way to 17 points, and back-to-back triples pulled Platte County within 56-46. However, Van Horn junior Aaron Taylay converted a three-point play to answer after hitting a basket and drawing a foul called by the official on the opposite side of the court from the right block where he took the made field goal.

Platte County reserve senior forward Kai Oates nearly hit a putback at the third quarter buzzer, but the shot clearly came too late. He finished with three rebounds and a block in the final game of his only year on the Pirates’ varsity.

That left Van Horn with a seemingly comfortable 59-46 lead going to the fourth quarter.

Somewhat in desperation mode, Platte County went to a frequently successful pressure defense but one sparingly used due to a limited rotation. Vignery’s transition layup with under 4 minutes to play pulled the Pirates back within single digits at 61-52, setting up the final sequence that included enough stops and turnovers but not enough successful offensive possessions.

“We tried to use (the pressure) a little in the first half just to get them going, and it backfired because we gave up layups and putbacks,” Hodge said. “There’s a difference between late game when the other team is feeling pressure and doing it in the first half when they’re relaxed; they can see it, make some adjustments and go. That’s why I don’t like to do it much in the first half, and we do it late game when we need to. That’s when your kids are giving a little bit more effort because we’re trailing. They’re getting those traps a little bit tighter; they’re rotating a little bit quicker because they have to. The game’s on the line.”

Platte County ended up with a seventh loss by six points or fewer. Five of those came in the final 12 games and ran the gamut from a half-court buzzer-beater for Winnetonka in a controversial finish to multiple situations where the Pirates held the ball with a chance to win in the final seconds.

Coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons that ended in the district title game, Bradley, Vignery and Amos were the only players with significant returning experience. The Pirates mostly settled into consistently using eight players on the roster and won five of nine at one point in January, which included a third-place finish in Grain Valley’s Sonic Showdown.

However, Platte County often become reliant on Bradley and Vignery for too much scoring, while the mercurial scoring from Wahlert and sophomore guard Jaden Peterson provided an inconsistent boost. The Pirates were unable to unlock the combination needed to end the late-season spiral and now loses half of this year’s rotation with the athleticism and impact of Bradley requiring a multitude of contributors to even try and replace.

Bradley averaged 16.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.7 blocks per game in his second straight standout season for Platte County. Vignery will be the undoubted top returner after finishing second for the Pirates in scoring (14.1 points per game) with a team-best 53 3-pointers.

“Of course we want a talent like Judah coming back, and a kid that does things the right way and is here for the right reasons like Judah,” Hodge said. “Any time you get a high character kid like that who is also a talent, yeah, you’re always glad to have him back.”