Boys finally get over Plattsmouth hump

Please visit our Photo Store to view all images available for this event.

Platteview (8-12)  13   6 14 15 48
Plattsmouth (10-9) 8 12 14 13 47

Game Stats

Platteview overcame a six-point deficit early in the fourth quarter, and took advantage of missed free throws by Plattsmouth in the final minute, to finally defeat the Blue Devils 48-47 and advance to the semifinals of the Class B-2 district boys basketball tournament at Omaha Northwest.

The victory marked the end of Plattsmouth's nine-game win streak over the Trojans, who last defeated the Blue Devils 59-51 back in 2005 to open district tournament play. The two Eastern Midlands Conference rivals have met in the first round of the district tournament for eight straight seasons.

"It was good to finally break through against Plattsmouth," stated Platteview coach John Stanton.

Earlier this month the two teams battled through two grueling overtimes before the Blue Devils eventually prevailed 76-74. The rematch was settled in regulation but was every bit as exciting.

Platteview came out strong and led 9-2 four minutes into the game and 13-8 at the end of the first quarter. But Plattsmouth gained the upper hand in the second period and forged ahead 20-19 by halftime.

The third quarter featured 10 lead changes and two ties as Plattsmouth clung to its one-point advantage. But a 3-pointer by Andrew Mitteis, followed by a 11-foot jumper by Brenden Argento, put the Blue Devils up by six early in the fourth.

A 6-foot baseline jumper by Platteview senior Matt Gilleland with 2:53 left put the Trojans up 44-43. Then a layup by Argento and a pair of free throws by Mitteis gave Plattsmouth a 47-44 lead with 1:02 to play.

But Plattsmouth failed to score again.

Senior Adam Heimes nailed a pair of free throws just inside the one-minute mark to trim Plattsmouth's lead to 47-46. Junior Brooks Erhart then fouled Plattsmouth's Alexander Capazo. The junior missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Heimes missed a 3-pointer at the other end.

Senior David Negrete quickly fouled Mitteis just across midcourt, but the normally reliable senior standout also missed the front end of his one-and-one with 36 seconds left. Heimes then drove the lane for what turned out to be the winning layup with 22 seconds on the clock.

Plattsmouth's bid for another dramatic win over the Trojans was denied when Mitteis missed a jump shot and Derek Sutton banked in the rebound just after the buzzer sounded.

Stanton credited his team's patience on offense for helping produce a good shooting effort and a big win over the Trojans' longtime nemesis.

"We finally got back to shooting pretty well," Stanton said, "but the most satisfying thing from a coaching standpoint was our ability to execute our offense over long possessions."

The Trojans connected on all six field goals in the third quarter and shot 52 percent for the game. Three possessions lasted at least 13 passes and resulted in points.


Adam Heimes led the Trojans with 17 points. He scored seven in the decisive fourth quarter, including the final four points of the game. Seniors Gage Wichman and Matt Gilleland scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.


GAME STATS (Points, Rebounds, Assists, Steals, Blocked Shots)

Elliff 2, 3, 0, 0, 0
Gilleland 10, 1, 2, 0, 0
Glasshoff 3, 3, 0, 0, 2
Heimes 17, 2, 3, 2, 0
Herrmann 2, 1, 0, 1, 0
Meyer 2, 0, 0, 0, 0
Negrete 0, 1, 2, 1, 1
Wichman 11, 4, 3, 0, 0
Wills 1, 1, 0, 0, 0

Totals 48, 16, 10, 4, 3