NPCC Knights Lose to Western Nebraska on the Road

The North Platte Community College Knights lost to the Western Nebraska Community College Cougars on Saturday afternoon 83-65 in a National Junior College Athletic Association Region IX South Sub-Region contest.

The Knights fall to 20-6 and 10-3 in Region IX play. With the loss the Knights drop to second place in the Region IX South Sub-Region standings behind Northeastern Junior College. The Cougars are 12-15 overall and 8-6 in sub-region play. The Cougars are currently fourth in the sub-region standings.

The Cougars jumped out to an 11-4 lead with 16:02 left in the first half. The Knights rallied to tie the score at 20 with 11:31 to play in the half on a field goal by Cameron Williams. The Cougars went on another run to take the lead 34-25 with 5:38 to play. The Knights went on an 8-0 run to close out the half and only trail at halftime 34-33.

In the second half, the Knights had the lead with 13:03 to play 50-47. The Cougars then went on a 16-2 run to retake the lead 63-52 with six minutes to go on a three-pointer by Chase Mason. Mason hit four three-pointers down the stretch to put the game out of reach.

The Knights were led in scoring by Cameron Williams with 22 points to lead all scorers. Two other Knights scored in double figures: CJ Polk had 14 points and Matt Thomas had 10 points. Marco Pascolo had six rebounds to lead the Knights.

The Cougars out-rebounded the Knights 46-27. Another key to the game was that in the first half the Cougars committed 14 turnovers and only had four in the second half.

The Cougars were led in scoring by Preston Christensen with 20 points. Chase Mason was next in scoring with 19 points. Mason scored 16 points in the second half. The third Cougar to score in double figures was Diante Mitchell, who finished with 14 points. Davis Carter led the Cougars in rebounding with seven.

The Knights travel to Cheyenne, Wyo. on Wednesday, Feb. 18 to play Laramie County Community College. Laramie County is currently third in the South Sub-Region with a 9-4 record. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. CST.