North Platte – The North Platte Community College Knights basketball team will travel this weekend to play a couple of Region IX South Sub-Region games.
On Friday, February 10, the Knights will travel to Torrington, Wyo., to play the Eastern Wyoming Lancers.
The Lancers are 4-21 on the season and 0-11 in South Sub-Region play.
The Knights defeated the Lancers 99-58 on Jan 7 at the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium.
The Lancers have five players scoring in double figures led by Ahmad Pratt. In nine games Pratt has been averaging 18.6 points per game. Grant Olsson is second at 18.2 ppg in 20 games. Petar Skoknic and Jordan Mirich are next at 15.5 ppg each, Walker Korell is the fifth Lancer at 10.4 ppg. Pratt also leads the Lancers in rebounding at 5.7 rebounds per game.
On Saturday, Feb 11, the Knights will play the Western Nebraska Community College Cougars in Scottsbluff.
The Cougars are 16-9 overall and 7-4 in Region IX South Sub-Region play. They are tied with two other teams at 7-4 in Region IX.
The Knights defeated the Cougars in North Platte on Jan 6 69-67.
The Cougars have two players averaging in double figures. Vinnie Shahid is averaging 14.7 ppg and Djordje Dimitrijevic is at 12.7 ppg. Jeremy Ruffin is leading the Cougars in rebounding at 6.4 rpg.
The Knights are 16-5 overall and 5-5 in the South Sub-Region. They are currently in sixth place in the region. Diontae Champion leads the Knights in scoring at 16.7 ppg. Samuel Kearns is second on the team in scoring at 12.1 ppg, followed by Godfrey Rolle at 11.8. Mike Amius is the fourth Knight to average in double figures at 11.7 ppg, followed by Victor Lewis at 10.6 ppg. Amius leads the Knights in rebounding at six rebounds per game.
Both games are crucial games for the Knights in the Region IX South Sub-Region standings. Laramie County is leading the sub-region at 7-3. Lamar, Trinidad State, and Western Nebraska are all at 7-4, followed by Otero at 7-5. The Knights are in sixth at 5-5 followed by Northeastern at 6-6 and McCook at 3-7. Eastern Wyoming is last at 0-11.
The top four teams will host a first-round game in the Region IX tournament. The winners of those four game will travel to the winner of the North Sub-Region for a chance to advance to the National Junior College Athletic Association Basketball Tournament in Hutchinson, Kan.
Tip-off for the Eastern Wyoming game is at 8:30 pm CST and the Western Nebraska game is at 4 pm CST. Check www.npccknights for livestreaming of the games.