North Platte – The North Platte Community College Knights basketball team overcame a slow start and defeated the Eastern Wyoming College Lancers 81-76 on Friday night at the McDonald – Belton Gymnasium .

The Lancers jumped out to a 15-10 lead behind a pair of Alek Cosic three-pointers.

The Knights went on their own run of 16 straight points to grab 26-15 lead. The Knights led throughout the first half by double digits leading by as much as 16 at 35-19.

The Knights held a 40-30 lead at half time.

The Lancers began to chip away at the Knights lead in the second half. They pulled within four at 67-63. The Lancers could not get any closer and had to foul down the stretch. The Knights went to the free throw line 16 times in the last six minutes and connected on 14 of them to finish off the win.

The Knights, now 15-11 overall and 8-7 in the South Sub-Region of Region IX. Goy Lew led the Knights in scoring with a career high 23 points. Godfrey Rolle was a point behind at 22 points. Jakub Karwowski added 15 to the Knights scoring total. Lew also led the Knights in rebounding with 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.

The Lancers are 2-24 on the season and 0-15 in South Sub-Region play.

The Lancers had four players in double figures led by Brandon Meadows with 21 points. Cosic was next in scoring with 16 points. Jordan Mirich added 14 points and Daniel Wright finished with 11 points. Chad Hencricks had seven rebounds to lead the Lancers.

The Knights will conclude their regular season on Saturday when they host Western Nebraska Community College Saturday afternoon at 3 PM. The game will be broadcast on ESPN 1410 and on the Internet at www.northplattepost.com. It will also be live-streamed at www.npccknights.com.