The North Platte Community College Knights will play for a Region IX Men’s Basketball Championship tonight. They cruised past Northeastern Junior College 84-59 in semifinal action last night in Casper, Wyoming. North Platte scored the game’s first seven points and would never trail. They held NJC without a field goal for a ten-and-a-half minute stretch in the first half to build a 23-point lead and led by as many as 30 in the second half. Aboubacar Casse posted season highs of 21 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Knights to the victory. Tim Simmons scored 17 points, while Ethan Montalvo added 16 points. The win is the 10^th in a row for the 21st-ranked Knights. They will face Otero in the championship game tonight. ESPN Radio 1410 will have the call, with pregame coverage at 6:45 and the tipoff at 7 PM.