North Platte boys hoops fends off Windsor, Panthers advance to state for the first time in school history

(KANSAS CITY, MO) - History has been made, the North Platte High School boys basketball team is advancing to the State Semifinals in Columbia for the first time in school history.

The Panthers defeated Windsor 73-61 in the Class 3 State Quarterfinals to advance. North Platte held the lead the entire way, the Greyhounds cut it to an 8 point game in the fourth quarter, but got no closer.

North Platte was led by Brendan Matt, who scored his 2,000th career point tonight and finished with 25 points. Junior Jase Smith finished with 20 points and junior Isaac Wright had 12.

"It means a lot. We've been working towards this since we were little kids," said Matt. "My dad coached when we were little, just to get everyone developed. Not a lot of us are still playing from when we were little, but big key parts of the team are. Yeah, it's pretty nice."

"It's been a long journey, I knew our team could always do it," said Wright. "Through the ups and downs we always stuck together. It's going to be an exciting experience in Columbia."

"You have to have talent and our players have been putting in work. It goes to show if you put in work on your own, you're going to be a good basketball player. Brenden Matt scores 2000 tonight. We have a lot of guys that are really good players," said North Platte head coach Braydn Kemper. "They put in their own work and it helps. They buy in, they buy into the program, they buy into doing what's best for the team, and that's what leads to success."

North Platte improves to 26-4 and will now face Miller Career Academy in the Class 3 State Semifinals on Friday, March 13th at 2 pm.