Vignery, Peterson put up career-highs for points in season-opening tournament finale

SAVANNAH, Mo. — The questions were understandable, and no one knew the amount of answers to expect in the season-opening Savannah Invitational.

A lot of work remains to be done, but Platte County finished with a winning record, rolling to an 82-61 win over Hogan Prep in Saturday’s third-place game at Savannah High School behind career-high scoring performances from senior Judah Vignery and junior Jaden Peterson. The Pirates utilized a deeper-than-normal rotation of 10 players, and nine scored at least two points during the first three games — a win over Savannah on Tuesday, a semifinal loss to Maryville and the tournament finale.

Peterson led the way early for Platte County against Hogan Prep, scoring 19 of his 29 in the first half, while Vignery — the lone returning starter from last season — put up 21 of his 36 in the second half.

“I feel like we have pieces to build on. I really do,” Platte County veteran coach Rick Hodge pragmatically said. “When you come out of your first week, that’s what you’re looking for. Are you coming out of the week with things to build on? Are you coming out of the week with positives? We are. Do we have things to work on? Yes, and we’re going to work on them.”

Platte County took control with a 15-2 run late in the first half.

Hogan Prep hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter to go ahead 28-27, but Platte County senior Isaac Dittrick answered with the first of his three 3s to put the Pirates ahead for good. After a stop, Peterson scored an easy basket on out-of-bounds play from under the basket with Vignery providing the easy look.

Peterson’s third 3-pointer of the first half increased Platte County’s lead to 35-28, and the advantage would reach 42-30 before the Rams hit a shot just before halftime to pull back within 10.

Hogan Prep came no closer than nine the rest of the way with Peterson and Vignery providing consistent offensive answers. The Rams called a timeout after drawing within 52-43, but Vignery immediately hit a 3-pointer and then added a bucket in transition off of a missed 3.

Vignery and Peterson combined for 18 of Platte County’s 20 points in the third quarter, and Hogan Prep mostly remained within striking distance thanks to seven 3-pointers, including one at the third quarter buzzer to pull back within 61-49 going to the final 8 minutes of regulation.

“Just the intensity on defense and everyone doing their job,” Vignery said of the difference while building the double-digit lead.

Perhaps most importantly for Platte County, the cast of first-year contributors also provided key support with timely buckets and defensive rebounding for a generally undersized lineup.

Hogan Prep scored the first two points of the fourth quarter, but Dittrick answered with back-to-back 3-pointers. Peterson’s three-point play finished his scoring and pushed the lead to 70-55 with 5:39 left, and Vignery put the game away with back-to-back 3-pointers and a transition layup to increase Hogan Prep’s deficit to 78-58.

In addition to the top three scorers, Platte County senior starting point guard Connor Currence — a key reserve as a junior — scored two points, while Dittrick, and juniors Anthony Morrison (five points), Archie Wesley (two points) and Hayden Schultz (two points) combined for 18 off the bench.

“We were rotating a lot of guys through,” Hodge said. “A lot of these guys have been in our program a long time, coming up through the ranks. They understand the offense; they understand where to be defensively. They need to do a little better and be a little more physical, but at least they’re in the right spots and they’re competing.

“You can tell they like playing with each other.”

Hogan Prep jumped to an early lead, but Peterson, who entered with a career-high of 18 points as a reserve in a loss last season to Belton, scored Platte County’s first five points. His first 3-pointer tied the score at 5-5, and Vignery’s layup off of a turnover gave the Pirates their first lead.

“They did hit a few shots early, and they can score it,” Hodge said. “We knew that, but Jaden helped us a lot early, which loosens everybody up and then hopefully it snowballs. Then Dittrick was carrying us late with his 3s that helped us out. Any time you can can get anybody going early, it gives everybody confidence, and you go from there.”

Peterson’s second 3 of the first quarter and one from Morrison were part of a back-and-forth segment, and Vignery’s first 3 in the final minute of the opening frame made it 20-18 going to the second quarter. Vignery’s three-point play broke a 22-22 tie before Hogan Prep hit the back-to-back 3s around a runner for two from Currence. The second 3 from the Rams gave them their final lead in a matchup that became a bit chippy and overly physical at times.

A third-year contributor, Vignery took control and provided a calming presence for a Platte County lineup with only five players to have seen varsity minutes prior to last week.

“He can play the game in different ways,” Hodge said. “He’s a very nice guy but when it gets like, starts to get emotional, he can play with poise.”

Platte County’s experience group also includes Peterson and Currence moving into more prominent roles after coming off the bench in last year’s 8-18 season that ended with a loss to Van Horn in the first round of the Class 5 District 8 tournament. Dittrick and senior starting guard Brady Wetzel played limited minutes, as well. The Pirates lost a majority of last year’s scoring and could have needed more time to develop an identity.

Instead, Vignery set a career-high in scoring in the first round against Savannah (26 points), then bettered that four days later. He scored more than 20 only five times all last season, twice going for 24 — once in a December loss to William Chrisman and again vs. Belton in the same game that saw Peterson score 18 — but has had 23 or more in all three games so far this season.

“For the most part, I feel like I’ve worked so hard this summer and this offseason that I know I can become a scorer and just lead this team,” Vignery said. “So my expectations were high for myself, and I feel like I’m stepping into that role.”

Maryville 66, Platte County 53

The Spoofhounds jumped to a 20-10 lead after the first quarter of Thursday’s semifinal at Savannah High School and held on from there.

Vignery and Peterson combined for all 12 of Platte County’s points in the second quarter, and the Pirates trailed by eight at the break. Wetzel hit a 3 early in the third quarter for his only points that briefly trimmed the deficit to 30-25, only for Maryville to continually find answers. The Spoofhounds eventually finished as tournament runnerup with a loss to Kearney in Friday’s night’s championship game.

While Vignery (23) and Peterson (11) accounted for the majority of Platte County’s scoring, Morrison added nine points — all in the second half — while Currence (three) and Schultz (two) both scored in the first quarter but not again. Dittrick’s two points came in the third quarter.

Platte County 65, Savannah 55

Vignery’s career-high-at-the-time of 26 points led the Pirates to a win in Tuesday’s season-opener at Savannah High School.

Savannah held Vignery scoreless in the third quarter and without a field goal in the second half but couldn’t make up a 26-17 deficit from halftime. Morrison set a career-high with 13 points, scoring nine in the fourth quarter. The Pirates hit nine 3-pointers total, six from Vignery on his way to 22 points in the first half plus one each for Morrison, Dittrick (five points) and Wetzel (four points).

Peterson scored 10, and Currence added two.

Platte County’s bench accounted for 23 points with junior guard Brett Mueller (two), Schultz (two) and Wesley (one) rounding out the scorers. The Pirates started senior Jacob Isaacson in all three games, but he has yet to score.