Polo loss to North Platte a nail biter

You would expect a close contest when the number 4 and number 5 seed play each other in the opening round in a tournament and that is just what took place when the 4th seeded North Platte Panthers faced the 5th seeded Polo Panthers at the Class 2, District 16 Basketball Tournament in Maysville on Tuesday night.

After trailing 9-2 half way through the opening quarter, Polo came back to tie the score at 15 after the first 8 minutes.

North Platte out scored Polo in the second quarter to take a 33-25 lead at the half.

Polo was only able to cut the deficit by 1 at the end of the 3rd, going into the final period trailing 46-39.

Polo would score the first 8 points in the quarter, taking a 47-46 lead on a basket by Parker Smith with 5:06 on the clock, and forcing a North Platte time out. With 1:54 left in the game, Polo trailed 53-51, 55-53 with 1:09 left, and 57-54 with 27 seconds to go. North Platte would survive by five, 59-54.

Parker Smith finished his high school career with a game high 26 points. James Fleener was next with 13. Seniors Jesse Vaughan and Jason Thompson scored 6 and 5 points respectively. Cole Bartlett rounded out the Polo scoring with 4. Smith and Vaughan each hit two 3-pointers. North Platte was led by Andrew Hernandez with 17. Polo hit 14 of 24 free throws compared to 11 of 14 for North Platte.

Jonathan Pickrell's Polo Panthers finished the season with a record of 10-15.