North Platte – The North Platte Community College Knights basketball team will host the National Junior College Athletic Association 17th ranked Lamar Community College Lopes on Friday, Feb 3 at the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium.
The game will be a Region IX South Sub-Region contest. The Knights are looking to avenge a 72-63 defeat in Lamar back on Dec 10.
The Lopes are 19-4 overall and 7-3 in Region IX South Sub-Region play. Two Lopes are averaging in double figures led by Wayne Stewart at 18.7 points per game. The other Lopes’ player to average in double figures is Michael Skinner at 12.8 ppg. Isaiah Martin leads the Lopes in rebounding at nine rebounds per game.
In the previous game, Skinner scored 27 points and Stewart had 14 points. Taylor Shepard added 13 points.
The Knights are 14-5 overall and 4-5 in the South Sub-Region. They are on a three game winning streak. Diontae Champion is one of five Knights averaging in double figures. Champion is at 16.6 ppg. Mike Amius is second on the team at 12.4 ppg, followed closely by Godfrey Rolle at 12.3 ppg. Samuel Kearns is at 11.4 ppg and Victor Lewis is at 11.3 ppg. Amius leads the Knights in rebounding at 5.8 rpg.
The current standings in the South Sub-Region shows Lamar leading the sub-region at 7-3, along with Laramie County. Western Nebraska is next at 6-3. Otero is 6-4, Trinidad State is 5-4. Northeastern is 6-5, followed by North Platte at 4-5. McCook is next at 2-6, with Eastern Wyoming at 0-9. The top eight teams will make the Region IX tournament with the top four hosting a first round game.
Tip-off is at 7 pm CST. There is no radio broadcast but the game will be live streamed at www.npccknights.com.