By Amanda Perkins
A sensational outing by Cabool senior Jon Smith proved to be bitter-sweet for the home team, as visiting Plato outlasted Cabool 91-83 on Monday night.
“It was a Texas County shootout right there,” said Plato coach Rick Supancic.
The Eagles led the Bulldogs by just one point at the half, 48-47. Smith energized the home crowd as he shot lights out, putting up 29 points in two quarters.
“We played good defense on the Smith boy,” said Supancic, “but that kid was hot, making some great shots.”
Smith connected on 89 total 3s last year, and made 13 in this contest – 9 in the first half . His total of 13 tied for the second-most single-game 3-pointers made by one player in state history. Smith finished with 41 points.
But despite the Bulldogs’ scoring drive, the Eagles maintained their composure and solidified their inside game to pull ahead.
“We didn’t make some free throws early on,” said Supancic, “But we had some patience, and didn’t fall behind and panic and worry when they went on a run. A lot of times teams go on runs and the best way to stop a run is to score yourself. I never thought at the beginning of the season we’d score 90 points in a game, but patience and following through – execution – paid off.”
Ty Humphrey led Plato with 27 points and Jacob Supancic scored 20.
Plato led by 12 to start the fourth, and with two minutes remaining, Cabool trailed by 10. The Bulldogs fouled to regain possession and cut the lead to just four, but the Eagles’ success at the charity stripe was enough to maintain the lead and to take the victory.
“We do play together as a team, it’s not one specific person,” said Supancic. “It takes everyone doing their jobs, and that’s how we ended up with the win.”
This was just the second game of the year for the Bulldogs and coach Brad Shockley said despite the loss, he saw many good things from his team.
“We’ve been working on mental toughness and playing from behind, as we know the shots we are taking won’t always fall,” he said. “They are good kids who are working hard.”
Shockley said Colton Hensley played tough in the final frame, adding 10 of his 20 points in the last minutes of the contest, but Plato made their free throws when they were put on the line late in the game. “We struggled defensively,” said Shockley, “which isn’t typical for this group of guys. Plato’s size hurt us; they had a couple of bigs and were kind of pounding in on us early.”
He said that for the pace they want to keep, they aren’t yet in game shape, and they will have to work to build around the outside play of Smith.
The Eagles next travel to Willow Springs on Friday, and Cabool journeys to Koshkonong next Monday.
Cabool Scoring: Jonathan Smith 41, Caleb Manning 5, Bailey Williams 5, Jordan Primanzon 1, Colton Hensley 20, Brett VonAllman 8, Titus Atkins 2.
Plato Scoring: Jacob Supancic 20, Jack Morrison 6, Caden Wyatt 7, Wesley Wilson 11, Ty Humphrey 27, Grady Todd 16, Kyle Jenkins 2, Marshall Pittman 2
