Scottsbluff –The North Platte Community College Knights basketball team were defeated at the Cougar Palace by the Western Nebraska Community College Cougars 93-91 in a crucial Region IX South Sub-region matchup on Saturday afternoon.

The Knights, who were in sixth place in the South Sub-Region, were hoping to improve their standings and work on their bid for a place in the top four of the sub-region to be able to host a first round game in the Region IX tournament.

Things started out well for the Knights, jumping out to a 7-0 lead and leading by 10 in the first half at 26-16. The Cougars cut the Knights lead to four at 47-43 at the end of the half.

In the second half, with the score being tied at 58-58, the Cougars went on a 14-3 run to take a 72-61 lead for their biggest lead. The Knights whittled away at the Cougars lead and trailed by one at 92-91 with less than a minute to play. After the Cougar’s Jeremy Ruffin went 1-2 at the free throw line, the
Knights missed a last second shot to give the win to the Cougars.

The Cougars, who are 18-9 on the season and 9-4 in the South Sub-Region is a half game behind Laramie County, who leads the South Sub-Region were led in scoring by Djordje Dimitrijevic with 30 points. Trent Harris finished with 14 points, Marlon Sierra added 13 points. RJ Palmer had 12 points and Michael
Connor chipped in 10 points. Vinnie Shahid had six rebounds to lead the Cougars in rebounding.

The Knights drop to 17-6 on the season and 6-6 in the sub-region were led in scoring by Samuel Kearns and Victor Lewis, who finished with 19 points each. Mike Amius was next at 18 points. Godfrey Rolle had 14 points. Amius had seven rebounds to lead the Knights.

The Knights will next travel to Cheyenne, Wyo., to play Laramie County on Wednesday, Feb 15. Tip-off is at 8 pm CST.