Lamar, Colo.- The North Platte Community College Knights basketball team dropped their second National Junior College Athletic Association Region IX South Sub-Region contest on the season to the Lamar Community College Runnin’ Lopes 72-63 on Saturday afternoon.

The Knights led in the first half by 12 points 25-13, but the Lopes rallied to take a 36-33 lead at halftime.

The Knights started out the second half outscoring the Lopes 5-0 to take a 38-36 lead. The second half remained close until the Lopes opened it up in the last two minutes, which forced the Knights to take desperation shots to get back into the game.

The Knights are now 7-2 on the season and 0-2 in South Sub-Region play. Diontae Champion led the Knights in scoring with 16 points. Victor Lewis added 13 points and Godfrey Rolle added 11 points.

The Lopes, ranked 15 th in the nation in the latest NJCAA Division I poll is 14-1 overall and 3-0 in the South Sub-Region, were led in scoring by Michael Skinner with 27 points. Wayne Stewart added 14 points and Taylor Shepard added 13 points. Skinner also added 10 rebounds to complete the double-double. Isaiah Martin also added 10 rebounds and had five block shots.

The Knights are next in action on Wednesday, Dec 14, when they face non-Region IX opponent Dodge City (Kan.) Community College. Tip-off is set for 7 pm.

The game will be broadcast on ESPN 1410 and on the internet at www.northplattepost.com. It will also be livestreamed at www.npccknights.com.