The North Platte Community College Knights basketball team was defeated by the Northeastern Junior College Plainsmen on Wednesday night at the Bank of Colorado Event Center 103-89 in a National Junior College Athletic Association Region IX South Sub-Region contest.

The Plainsmen began the game with a 7-2 run to take the early lead with the only basket made by Victor Lewis.  The game was close in the first half with the largest lead in the half being 26-18 lead by the Plainsmen.  The Knights cut the lead to four at the end of the half trailing 49-45 at halftime.

The Knights tied the game at 51 with just over 18 minutes to play. A three-pointer by Jalonni McCovery put the Plainsmen up 61-54 with 16 minutes to play.  The Knights came back to tie the score and take the lead on a pair of free throws by Leito Holloway 67-66.  The score went back and forth and the game was tied with nine minutes to play at 70.

At that point, free throw shooting made the difference.  The Plainsmen shot 17 free throws and made 15 of them.  During that time the Knights shot six free throws and made three.

Throughout the game, both teams shot well from the floor.  The Knights were 31 for 64 for 48.4 percent.  The Plainsmen were 35 for 65, which is a 53.8 shooting percentage.

The Knights, now 6-3 and 0-1 in Sub-region play were led in scoring by Tim Wagner with 21 points.  Diontae Champion was right behind with 20 points.  The only other Knight to score in double figures was Tyree Peter, who finished the game with 16 points.  Peter also had his fourth double-double on the season by grabbing 13 rebounds.

The Plainsmen, 5-5 and 2-0 in the Sub-region were led by Robert Jones with 30 points, 12 of 13 from the free throw line.  Marcus Cooper finished with 14 points, 8 of 9 from the free throw line. McCovery added 13 points and Axel Mpoyo was the fourth Plainsmen in double figures with 12 points.  Jones also pulled down seven rebounds.

The Knights return home on Saturday against another Region IX South sub-region opponent when they host Lamar Community College at 3 pm at the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium.

The game is designated as “Special Olympics Night.”

Also, prior to the game, the name of the new Knight mascot will be revealed.

The game will be livestreamed on www.coachesaid.com.