Smithville stages big comeback to upend Platte County in Bulldog Classic 5th-place game

With a big lead in the fifth-place game, Platte County looked in position to take optimism out Kearney’s Bulldog Classic.

Instead, Smithville authored an improbable comeback to score a stunning 59-56 victory Friday night at Kearney High School. The Warriors trailed by 18 late in the third quarter but stormed back after hitting six of their eight 3-pointers over the final 8 minutes.

Platte County (5-8), which has now lost six of the last seven overall, saw the seemingly safe lead evaporate in an inopportune combination of stalled offense, turnovers and missed shots. The Pirates now have little time to regroup before Tuesday’s road Suburban Conference White Division matchup with Grain Valley and then a scheduled regular season rematch with Smithville (4-9) on Thursday.

Platte County missed multiple chances to fully take control in the first meeting after both teams came back from a first round tournament loss to reach the consolation final. A 3-pointer from junior guard Braiden Stevens pushed the Pirates’ lead to 47-29 late in the third quarter.

In the remainder of the game, Platte County made just two more field goals. The Pirates’ only other scoring in the third quarter came from senior reserve guard Brett Mueller hitting 3 of 4 free throws to account for all of his offensive production.

Platte County junior reserve forward Jack Utz missed two shots from the line with 34 seconds left in the frame with the score 50-32, and Smithville split a pair at the other end to go into the fourth down 17. The Warriors finished just 8 of 24 on 3-point attempts, but senior Braden Turner hit 3 in the fourth quarter and finished with 15 points, while junior AJ Mason added two more triples on the way to a team-high 21 points.

With 6:31 left in regulation, Smithville sophomore Sully Ford buried a 3 from the left corner in what ended up becoming a 20-1 run that started in the final seconds of the third quarter. The Warriors took the lead back — their first since early in the second quarter — when senior Louis Larson scored in the post with 2:36 on the clock to make it 52-51.

There were two ties in the remainder, the second at 55-55 when Mason scored on a backdoor cut layup to answer Platte County senior Jaden Peterson’s final basket. He gave the Pirates their final lead when he split two free throws with 51 seconds left, finishing with a team-high 17 points to make the all-tournament team.

Mason drained a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left to put Smithville ahead for good at 58-56.

Platte County took a timeout with 30 seconds left but called another with 11 seconds on the clock after the first play drawn up didn’t develop. The Pirates’ final full possession ended with junior guard Brennan McLaughlin missing a 3-point try from the corner.

The rebound ended up knocked into the air, and Peterson fouled Smithville’s Ford in the battle for the loose ball. The Warriors weren’t in the bonus yet, and on the ensuing inbounds pass, McLaughlin appeared to have a shot at a steal with 3 seconds left, only for an official well off the ball to call a foul.

Smithville junior Tanner Billings missed the first free throw, and after a timeout, he accidentally banked in the second to put the Warriors up 3.

Platte County inbounded to Stevens, who threw up a shot from three-quarters court that ended up well off the mark. He finished with 15 points.

The opening portion of the game featured another cold stretch for Platte County, which trailed 9-2 in the first quarter. The Pirates snapped back after a steal and layup for Stevens off of a lazy pass at the top of the key gave him an easy scoring opportunity.

Platte County senior reserve Cobe Pollard’s only basket, a layup off of a press break, closed the gap to 13-9, and the Pirates went into the second quarter down just 13-11.

Smithville scored the next four then answered a pair of free throws from Utz, who finished with two points, with a 3-pointer to go up 20-13. Peterson led the initial comeback, starting with a pair of jumpers — the second a 3 to trim the deficit back to two.

McLaughlin, who finished with eight points, then gave Platte County its first lead at 21-20 with a 3-pointer from the left corner with just under 5 minutes left in the first half. The run hit 10-0 on another basket from Peterson, who animatedly reacted after scoring through contact to set up a chance at a three-point play.

The free throw missed, but Platte County’s lead hit 34-25 with the next stretch included two of Stevens’ three 3s and another for McLaughlin from the left corner. The Pirates went into halftime with the advantage still at nine after senior forward Hayden Schultz drew a foul after grabbing an offensive rebound off of a missed 3 from McLaughlin and putting up a shot at the second quarter buzzer.

Schultz, who finished with five points, hit two free throws with no time on the clock and while standing at the line alone.

Platte County scored the first four of the second half and led by double figures until the early part of the fourth quarter. Stevens’ final 3 ended up the last field goal for the Pirates until junior point guard Jayden Martin, who finished with four points, made his only shot from the floor with just over 2 minutes left in regulation, a stretch of about 8 minutes.

After a loss to Lafayette (St. Joseph) in Tuesday’s first round, Platte County came back to beat Paseo Academy 57-47 in Thursday’s consolation semifinals to end a five-game losing streak that included a neutral court matchup with Kirksville on New Year’s Eve and the first three games of 2025 — vs. Ruskin and road tilts with Pembroke Hill and Truman.

Pembroke Hill 59, Platte County 53

Stevens and Peterson combined for 33 points in a nonconference loss January 8 in Kansas City.

Pembroke Hill likely gained an advantage in Class 5 District 8 seeding with the win. Stevens led Platte County with 18 points and hit three of the Pirates’ five 3-pointers, while Peterson added 15 points with five coming from the free throw line.

Platte County made just 6 of 14 free throws overall — 5 of 9 for Peterson — and shot just 33% on 3s. Schultz scored nine points to go with a team-high six rebounds for the Pirates, while Pollard (four), McLaughlin (three on 1-for-1 shooting from the 3-point line), Mueller (two) and senior reserve guard Anthony Morrison (two) rounded out the Pirates’ scorers.

Peterson added five rebounds and five steals, while Stevens led Platte County with four assists. Two days later, the Pirates dropped to 2-3 in White Division play in a 74-52 road loss in Independence.