West Platte to Play Without Roe
By: Matthew Tritten
Updated: March 8, 2013
(COLUMBIA, Mo.) West Platte is back in the Class 2 State Championship for the first time since 2003, but they're playing it without star forward Adam Roe.
Blue Jays head coach Zane Tanner said Friday afternoon that they were still awaiting MRI results but Roe's doctor believes that he has a torn ACL.
Roe sustained the injury when he was fouled hard late in the fourth quarter of Thursday night's semifinal game against Iberia.
The junior leads West Platte scoring 20 points per game.
In his absence, Nathan Coulson and Bryce Cashman will both be expected to take on a larger scoring role in Saturday's state championship against Salisbury.
Each player averages 10 points per contest. The next highest point total on the team is 5.1 per game.
Tanner expects multiple players to step up and make a difference.
"We've got other guys that are capable of doing stuff. We just have to play as a team--still make extra passes, get your feet set, knock down those shots, give ourselves a chance. It's only 32 minutes of basketball. I think they've got a good chance of doing it."
With Roe, West Platte won all 30 of its games during the 2012-13 season. Now they want to win number 31 for him.
"It was sad to see Adam (go down). He's a team player and our role model," Cashman said. "It sucks to see him go down, but we're going to do it in this next game for him."
West Platte takes the floor against Salisbury in the Class 2 State Championship at 3:10pm in Mizzou Arena.
