North Platte – The North Platte Community College Knights basketball team defeated the Eastern Wyoming College 99-58 on Saturday afternoon at the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium.

The game was a National Junior College Athletic Association Region IX South Sub-Region contest.

The Lancers Petar Skoknic drained a three pointer at the 19 minute mark to start the scoring and give the Lancers a lead of 3-0. It was the only lead that the Lancers would have for the rest of the game as Samuel Kearns sank four three-pointers to help the Knights jump out to a 27-7 lead for their biggest lead in the first half. Diontae Champion added nine points during the run.

The Lancers pulled within six points at 39-33 on a field goal by Will Osborn. That was the closest the Lancers would get the rest of the game. The Knights outscored the Lancers the remainder of the half 9-1 to take a 48-34 halftime lead.

In the second half the Knights opened it up scoring 51 points, while allowing 24 points for the Lancers.

The Knights improve to 10-2 on the season and 2-2 in South Sub-Region play. Champion led the Knights in scoring with 27 points. Three other Knights scored in double figures. Kearns was next on the scoring list with 19 points. Godfrey Rolle was next with 15 points and David Niklasson added 10 points.
Champion had six rebounds to lead the Knights. Kearns and Rolle each had four assists.

The Lancers fall to 2-14 on the season and 0-5 in South Sub-Region play. Two Lancers scored in double figures led by Skoknic, who had 16 points. Osborn added 10 points. Walker Korrell had five rebounds to lead the Lancers.

The Knights will try to extend their three-game winning streak and improve in the South Sub-Region when they host Laramie County Community College on Wednesday, January 11.

The game will be broadcast on the radio at ESPN 1410 and on the Internet at www.northplattepost.com. It will also be livestreamed at www.npccknights.com.

Tip-off is set for 7 pm.

North Platte – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team was defeated by the Eastern Wyoming College Lady Lancers 69-54 on Saturday afternoon at the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium.

In the first quarter the game went back and forth, having six lead changes and four ties with the Lady Knights holding a 18-16 lead.

In the second quarter, the Lady Knights outscored the Lady Lancers 18-15 to take a 36-31 halftime lead.

The Lady Lancers started out the third quarter by going on a 9-2 run to take a 40-38 lead. The Lady Lancers led at the end of the third quarter 49-45.

The fourth quarter belonged to the Lady Lancers. They jumped out to a 16-4 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 65-49.

The Lady Knights, now 5-8 on the season were led in scoring by Thomesha Wilson, who scored 18 points. Allison Tichy added 13 points and Jessica Lovitt contributed 10 points. Wilson led the Lady Knights in rebounding with nine rebounds.

The Lady Lancers, who are 9-8 on the season, had four players in double figures. Emily Evans, Sarah Bersang, and Sophie Claycomb each had 16 points and Anna Perez Gomez added 12 points. Katrina Terrell had 12 rebounds to lead the Lady Lancers.

The Lady Knights will host the Laramie County Community College Golden Eagles on Wednesday, January 11. This is the first year for the Golden Eagles women’s basketball team

The game will be broadcast on the radio at ESPN 1410 and on the Internet at www.northplattepost.com. It will also be livestreamed at www.npccknights.com.

Tip-off is scheduled for 5 pm.

North Platte – The North Platte Community College Knights basketball team defeated the Western Nebraska Community College Cougars in a National Junior College Athletic Association Region IX South Sub-Region contest Friday night 69-67 at the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium.

The Knights controlled the early part of the game, jumping out to a 14-2 lead. Samuel Kearns hit a pair of three-pointers and a field goal for eight of the 14 points.

The Knights maintained their lead over the Cougars throughout the first half. The Cougars did cut the Knights lead to one at 20-19 on a free throw by Vinnie Shahid.

The Knights closed out the first half by going on a 19-7 run to lead at halftime 39-26.

In the second half, the Knights extended their lead to 17 leading 49-32.

The Cougars cut away at the Knights lead and took the lead at the one minute mark 67-65 on a three-pointer by Trent Harris.

The Knights Victor Lewis regained the lead for the Knights at 68-67 on an old-fashioned three point play. Godfrey Rolle took the charge by Marlon Sierra, which would have put the Cougars up by one. On the inbound play, Kearns was fouled at hit one of two of his free throws to seal the win.

The Knights, now 9-2 on the season and 1-2 in South Sub-Region play was led in scoring by Diontae Champion, who led all scorers with 25 points. Kearns added 13 points and Mike Amius finished with 10 points. Buom Dubol led the Knights in rebounding with six rebounds.

The Cougars, 9-6 overall and 2-2 in the South Sub-Region, had their five game winning streak snapped. They were led by Shahid, who had 21 points. Michael Conner Jr finished with 14 points and Jeremy Ruffin had 12 points. Ruffin and Shahid each had six rebounds to pace the Cougars.