Vignery, Amos cap comeback to avenge prior loss to Benton

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Rick Hodge said patience and togetherness remain the key to this season.

On Tuesday night, Platte County slowly and methodically erased a double-digit deficit and showed cohesion in the closing minutes of a gutsy 43-42 victory over Benton at Springer Gymnasium and gave the veteran coach a reason to smile. Pirates senior guard Parker Amos came up with a clutch basket late, and junior forward Judah Vignery scored a team-high 14 points, including the game-winning putback inside of a minute.

Platte County then made one final defensive stand, and when Benton sophomore Miles Bachali’s late 3 ended up well off target, the Pirates were able to reverse the result of a one-point loss to the Cardinals just three days earlier in the fifth-place game of the Savannah Invitational.

“Yeah, it feels really good,” Vignery said. “I mean we lost by one and then we just wanted to get the win back, and we won by one so that feels good. Obviously, we want to win the game after being down at halftime big. We wanted to win the game. Yeah, it was a little anxious there, but we got the win.”

Trailing by 14 at halftime, Platte County received an immediate boost out of the break with a quick burst of five unanswered points, including a thunderous two-handed alley-oop dunk for senior forward Chandavian Bradley. Most importantly, the Pirates started to tighten up on defense and ended up holding Benton to just 12 points total in third and fourth quarters.

Foul trouble limited Bradley’s scoring production to single digits for the first time this season, and he finished with eight points and eight rebounds.

Platte County’s developing supporting cast behind the only returning starter from last season showed up, and Benton’s lead dwindled to six on multiple occasions in the third quarter. However, the Cardinals went into the fourth up 37-29 after a bucket from Denver Domann at the buzzer.

Benton’s offense almost completely dried up from there, and Vignery’s slashing three-point play layup pulled Platte County within 40-37 with 3 minutes, 44 seconds left in regulation. He then added a steal and transition layup less than a minute later to cut the deficit to just one with three minutes to play.

“(Vignery) made plays when we needed to, and that’s what great players do,” Vignery said. “They make plays when you need them to make plays, and he was dialed in and played very well in the fourth quarter.”

On the ensuing possession, Benton committed a turnover and called a timeout with 2:29 to go but never truly regrouped.

Amos, who finished with seven points and contributed Platte County’s lone 3-pointer earlier in the quarter, came up with a tough bucket along the right baseline to give the Pirates their first lead at 41-40.

“Yeah, (Amos) is quiet, but every now and then he’ll give you a big boost,” Hodge said.

Bachali came up with a quick answer and left Platte County with only about a minute to respond to a one-point deficit. The possession culminated with a missed 3-pointer from Pirates senior guard Boston Wahlert, who scored nine points and added four rebounds, but Vignery snaked inside for an offensive rebound and outback on an awkward-looking reverse layup with 39.4 seconds left on the clock.

Benton opted to run down the clock and took a timeout with 11.4 to go and down 43-42. The Cardinals’ play never materialized, and Platte County junior reserve guard Connor Currence pushed Bachali, who led them with 12 points, to the left wing for an off-balance, step-back 3 with Wahlert closing out. The shot never had a chance, and the Pirates celebrated a measure of revenge.

“It threw them all off,” Vignery said. “It interrupted (the timing) big time.”

Platte County trailed from the outset thanks to Benton’s hot shooting — seven 3s in the first half. In fact, the Pirates totaled just 16 points total before halftime, having scored 18 in the first quarter of the previous matchup between the two teams.

Bachali hit both of his 3s in the early-going, and Platte County went nearly 3 1/2 minutes without a field goal before Wahlert converted a transition layup. He scored four in the first quarter, but five triples helped the Cardinals push the early lead out to 18-6 with Bradley on the bench after picking up two early fouls — one on a charge in the opening seconds.

“They shoot the ball well,” Hodge said. “They really do. They shoot the ball well, and we have to do a better job of guarding the arc. We don’t guard the arc well enough. But a lot of us, we’re so concerned with giving up the drive and stopping the drive that for us it’s the difficulty to make up that ground and get up on shooters. We do what we can, and we’ll make adjustments.”

Benton went scoreless for the first 2 1/2 minutes of the second quarter but only gave up a Wahlert putback and short basket for Amos in the span. The Cardinals spent a timeout, and Currence came up with a steal and transition layup for his only two points that cut the lead to 18-12.

Currence finished with three rebounds and a pair of steals, the first leading to a missed layup and Wahlert’s putback.

“That’s his role,” Hodge said. “His role is energy and defense, and he does them well. He really gave us a boost tonight.”

The momentum didn’t last with Zach Smith answering at the other end with a 3-pointer, and Benton slowly stretched the lead to 30-16 at the break.

Platte County didn’t flinch despite the adversity with Bradley managing jut two points before halftime on 2-for-4 shooting on free throws. The Pirates also received four points and a pair of steals from senior forward Trevor Redding in his fourth straight start to open his first season as a contributor.

“We’ve got a lot of guys out here that will give us effort; they’ll give us intensity and defense,” Vignery said. “We’re just trying to prove we’re a whole team.”

William Chrisman 63, Platte County 57, 2OT

Vignery continued his strong run of play with a career-high 24 points, including 5 3-pointers, Friday night in Independence, and the Pirates nearly avenged the bitter loss that ended last year’s historic season.

Bradley, the lone returning starter from last season, helped send the game into an overtime with a demonstrative block at the rim that kept the game tied at 45-45. Vignery hit a key 3 in the first extra session and accounted for half of the Pirates’ 12 points after regulation.

William Chrisman hit all eight of its free throw attempts in the second overtime to pull away for the win.

Platte County again struggled on offense early, but Bradley had four of his 18 points in the first quarter. Vignery heated up in the second with first two of his 3-pointers to total 10 points before halftime, and the Pirates took a 25-19 lead in the break. Vignery and Amos hit triples in the third quarter as the offense dried up again.

Bradley scored nine combined in the fourth quarter and overtime, as Platte County leaned heavily on its top two scorers.

Amos finished with four points, as did Wahlert while not having a field goal. Currence came up with a 3-pointer for his only basket in the second overtime, and Redding and sophomore reserve forward Jaden Peterson added two apiece.

A year earlier, William Chrisman unexpectedly blew out Platte County in the Class 5 District 8 championship game with a 29-point margin of victory ending the Pirates’ second straight 20-win season and keeping their playoff drought active. The two teams will meet twice this season in Suburban Conference White Division play after the Pirates moved up a tier in the league.

This marked the conference opener for both teams in a rare pre-Christmas matchup, and they don’t meet again until February 10. Platte County earned a share of the last two Blue Division championships during one of the two best two-year stretches in program history.