The North Platte Community College Knights went down to defeat to the Northeastern Junior College PlainsmenWednesday Night at the Bank of Colorado Events Center 72-69.

With the win the Plainsmen clinced the number one seed in the National Junior College Athletic Association Region IX South Sub-region.

The game was physical and went back and forth in the first half. The Plainsmen led by as many as 10 in the first half on a couple of occasions.  The Knights rallied to cut the Plainsmen lead at halftime to 37-31.

In the second half, the Plainsmen led for most of the half.  The Knights were down by 12 but rallied to cut the lead to one with under a minute to play.  The Knights fouled Plainsmen Logan Kelley with eight seconds to go in the game. Kelley made both free throws to put the Plainsmen up by three.  The Knights had one last chance.  The ball was thrown to Cameron Williams, who was stripped as he was going for the game tying shot.

One of the keys of the game was the second chance points because of offensive rebounds.  The Plainsmen out rebounded the Knights 41-24 and 17-8 on the offensive boards.

The Knights fall to 21-8 on the season and 10-5 in South sub-region play.  The Knights were led in scoring by CJ Polk with 17 points. Cameron Williams added 14 points.  Shyquinn Dix added 12 points and Marco Pascolo added 10 points.  Williams had six assists and along with Pascolo had five rebounds to lead the Knights.

The Plainsmen who are 21-9 on the season and 12-4 in South sub-region were led in scoring by a trio of players with 13 points each: Logan Kelley, Robert Jones, and James Dumes.  They were led in rebounding by Shi Blake with 12 rebounds.

The Knights finish out the regular season at home on Tuesday, February 24 against McCook Community College.  The night is “Military Night”.  All veterans and active military will be admitted free to the game.

The game may be seen on www.coachesaid.com.  Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. CST​