Sterling, CO – The No. 15 North Platte Community College men’s basketball team (27-4, 12-4 South Sub-Region) survived and advanced for the second straight game in the Region IX Tournament by defeating the Casper College Thunderbirds (19-13, 11-5 North Sub-Region) in overtime 71-70 behind a long 3-pointer from freshman Marco Pascolo.
“Big time players make big time plays and we had some guys do that today,” said head coach Kevin O’Connor. “We are very excited to be advancing and playing tomorrow.”
The Knights started out the game quickly and earned an early 11-2 advantage over the Thunderbirds. Casper would not go quietly and turned the tables on the Knights to take a 32-25 lead into the locker room. Tim Simmons and Cameron Williams each picked up two early fouls in the first half and saw limited action. Ethan Montalvo led the way for the Knights with 10 points while Jay Wright paced the Thunderbirds with 12.
In the second half, the Knight quickly cut into Casper’s lead and would take as much as a six point advantage, but like Saturday were unable to close the door on the Thunderbirds. Late in the game, Casper was able to take a two point advantage with 50 seconds left. After working the ball around for 30 seconds, freshman Marco Pascolo hit a step-back jumper with 18 seconds left to tie the game at 61. A great defensive effort by the Knights forced Wright into a double-clutch shot that flew wide to send the game in overtime.
In overtime, Casper would get on the board first and would gain as much as a three point advantage over the Knights. Montalvo came up with two huge steals to keep the Knights in the game. The Knights once again found themselves with the ball, down two with 50 seconds remaining. Once again the Knights would work the ball around and once again Pascolo would be the hero. A skip pass from Cameron Williams found Pascolo open on the wing for the game winning points with 18 seconds remaining. The Knights were once again able to get a stop and advance to the Region IX Semifinals tomorrow.
The shot was Pascolo’s second straight game winner after scoring a lay-up with two seconds remaining Saturday to give the Knights an opening round victory.
“It was what you practice every day for,” said Pascolo “to be in that position and make the shot. I wasn’t thinking about how poorly I had shot the ball today (1-8 from 3) and just let it fly and knew it was going in.”
The Knights were led by Ethan Montalvo who finished with 22 points. Pascolo was second on the team with 14 points, while Tim Simmons and Jake Maslo each scored 11. Maslo led the Knights with eight rebounds.
Jay Wright paced the Thunderbirds with 22 points while Daniele Nwosu score 20. George Edwards was the third Thunderbird in double figures with 13.
The Knights advance to play the No. 1 seed from the North Sub-Region and nationally ranked No. 9, the Gillette College Pronghorns (28-3, 15-1 North Sub-Region) tomorrow evening in the Region IX Semifinals at 7 p.m. CST. The game will be live streamed at www.ihigh.com/gonjc/ and will be broadcast live be ESPN Radio 1410. The Pronghorns defeated the No. 4 seed from the South Sub-Region McCook Community College (21-11, 9-7 South Sub-Region) by a score of 109-97.
North Platte Community College hosted “Elementary Night” during the Knights men’s and women’s basketball games against Southeast Community College on Feb. 22.
“Students from all the Elementary Schools were invited and the ones that attended saw some pretty great games,” said Josh York, Assistant Housing Director/Student Activities. “The students showed up the games to show their support for both teams. They had a great time meeting and getting the autographs from the players. Some of them made signs to show their support and they were able to those autographed.
“We look forward to doing this again and will hope for a strong showing from the community as well as from the Elementary students,” he said, adding, “A special thanks goes out to all those who helped create such a great event. Without their help we would not have been as successful as we were with this event.
Sterling, CO – The No. 15 North Platte Community College men’s basketball team (26-4, 12-4 South Sub-Region) survived and advanced Saturday afternoon in the opening game of the Region IX Tournament defeating the Central Wyoming College Rustlers (12-17, 6-10 North Sub-Region) 71-69 on lay-up by Marco Pascolo out of a baseline out of bounds play with 2.1 seconds remaining.
“It’s that time of year where all that matters is winning and advancing,” said assistant coach Nathan Wieseler. “We took their punch early and were able to get back in the game possession by possession. We are very excited to continue our season Monday.”
The Knights started off the game slow as the Rustlers scored the first nine points of the game to take the early lead. Two free throws by Ethan Montalvo finally got the Knights on the board. The Rustlers continued their hot play as they would gain as much as 16-30 lead in the second half. The Knights would not go quietly and battled back to only trail 27-34 at intermission behind nine points from Montalvo and seven from Tim Simmons.
The Knights got right on track at the start of the second half as Marco Pascolo hit back-to-back threes to immediately cut into the Rustlers lead. The Knights completed their battle back to take a lead as Simmons started to take over with drives to the basket and assists to teammates for easy buckets. The Knights would stretch their lead to as many as nine points, but were never able to close the door on the Rustlers.
The Rustlers were able to hang around behind the hot shooting of Bryce Canda who went 7 of 7 from the 3-point line on his way to 26 points. After a couple free throw misses, the Ruslters had the ball down two with 34 seconds left. A foul was called on the Knights in the back court and Elmer Lopez knocked down both free throws to tie the game at 69 points. The Knights took a timeout with eight seconds left to set up a final play. After the ball was deflected out of bounds with 3.5 seconds left the Knights took another timeout setting up Pascolo’s heroics.
On the ensuing inbounds play Pascolo slipped to the basket and was rewarded with a pass from Simmons that he finished with 2.1 seconds remaining to give the Knights the winning basket. The Rustlers attempted a full court pass that was intercepted by the Knights to end the game.
“It was a tough game,” said Tim Simmons. “We got back in it on defense and we were fortunate to pull it out in the end and play again Monday.”
Simmons led the Knights with 16 points. Montalvo finished with 15, Pascolo finished with 14 and Cameron Williams finished with 11 points to round out the scorers in double-figures for the Knights. Aireon Porter contributed eight points and nine rebounds.
Canda finished with 26 points, while Isaiah Tademy had 14 and Elmer Lopez had 12 to pace the Rustlers.
The Knights advance to the Quarterfinals of the Region IX Tournament and will face the winner of No. 3 seed Casper College (18-12, 11-5 North Sub-Region) and No. 6 seed Lamar Community College (11-19, 7-9 South Sub-Region) on Monday March 3 at 2 p.m. CST. The game will be live streamed at www.ihigh.com/gonjc/ and will be broadcast live be ESPN Radio 1410.
Rosemount, MN – The North Platte Community College softball team (2-3) traveled to Rosemount, Minn. on Sunday to compete in the Irish Dome Winter Classic on Monday. The Knights played back-to-back-to-back games, losing to Marshalltown Community College 6-7, Iowa Lakes Community College 5-7 and Iowa Central Community College 2-8. All games were five innings and placed on a time limit.
In the first game against Marshalltown, Shannon Lieber was the starting pitcher. She pitched 4.9 innings, giving up only two hits and five runs. Katharine Savolt took the loss as she gave up two hits and two runs. Brooke Wakefield led the Knights at the plate with two hits, while Sydney Standage scored two runs for the Knights.
Against Iowa Lakes, Rylee Murphy was the starting pitcher and pitched the entire game. Murphy gave up six hits and seven runs. Britlee Anderson had three hits for the Knights, while Wakefield had two with three RBIs and Soliel Atenza had two hits and one RBI.
In the final game of the day for the Lady Knights, Murphy pitched the first two innings and Lieber pitched the final three. Murphy gave up five hits and two runs, while Lieber gave up seven hits and six runs. Anderson, Wakefield, Savolt and Lexi Bryant each had a hit for the Knights.
“We didn’t get the outcome we wanted,” said head coach Janelle Higgins. “It is hard when you are on a time limit and once time is up the game is over. It was a good learning experience for us, it showed our team we have to be focused from the start and not get relaxed once we score because we won’t always have seven innings to make a comeback.”
The tournament in Garden City scheduled for this weekend has been cancelled due to the weather. The Lady Knights first home games scheduled for Thursday, March 6 and Friday, March 7 with Williston State College have been postponed with a date yet to be set. The Knights return to action on March 10 when they travel to Phoenix, Ariz. to take on South Mountain Community College.
North Platte – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team (15-12, 3-1 Region IX Division II) will host the Central Community Lady Raiders (19-12, 2-2 Region IX Division II) on Monday, March 3 at 6 p.m. for the Region IX Division II title. The winner will advance to the District F Playoff on March 9 to qualify for the Division II National Tournament.
The Lady Raiders advanced to the championship game by defeating the Southeast Community College Lady Storm (17-14, 1-3 Region IX Division II) last night 79-68 behind five players in double figures. Javona Wynne, Caitlin Fehringer and Adrianna Beck each scored 12 points, while Alyssa Foltz and Eleishia Bibbs each added 11 points. Wynne had a double-double as she added 12 rebounds.
The Lady Knights and Lady Raiders have split their two contests so far this year, with both teams defending their home court. The Lady Raiders won first 67-74 before the Knights returned the favor with a 57-50 victory of their own.
DaVontaye Merritt led the Knights in the loss with 21 points and 10 rebounds while Courtney Widick added 14 and April Stull scored 12. In the victory, Jordan Dickerson and Aliyah Brown led the Knights with 11 points each while Stull scored 10. Merritt only scored nine points, but racked up 18 rebounds.
For Central, Sophia Yarger led the Lady Raiders in victory with 16 points while Alyssa Foltz had 15 and Javona Wynne had 10. In defeat, Yarger was the only Lady Raider in double-figures with 17 points.
North Platte – Ethan Montalvo, Cameron Williams and Tim Simmons of North Platte Community College (25-4, 12-4 South Sub-Region) were all named to the 2013-14 Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference (NCCAC) All-Conference Team on Thursday. Head coach Kevin O’Connor was also named the NCCAC Coach-of-the-Year.
Ethan Montalvo of Omaha was named All-NCCAC First Team and was the leading vote getter. The sophomore is the Knights leading scorer at 19.0 points per game. Montalvo leads the team in steals (2.2 spg) and is tied for first in assists (2.7 apg). He averages 2.3 three-pointers a game, making a team high 67 while shooting 39 percent behind the arc. Montalvo also leads the team in free throw percentage at 82 percent from the charity stripe.
Montalvo currently sits 6th All-Time on the Knights career scoring list with 1,116 points in his career. Montalvo is 30 points from cracking the top five and passing Jason McDonald. Montalvo was named All-NCCAC First Team for the second consecutive year.
Cameron Williams of Omaha was also named All-NCCAC First Team. The freshman is the Knights second leading scorer at 13.7 points per game. Williams is tied for first on the team in assists (2.7 apg) and is second in steals (1.5 spg). Williams shoots 45 percent from the field and 73 percent from the free throw line. In his last outing, Williams scored a career-high 33 points in only 19 minutes of action to go along with six rebounds and three assists.
Tim Simmons of Stamford, Conn. was named All-NCCAC Second-Team after leading the Knights to the NCCAC Championship for the second consecutive season. The sophomore is third on the team in scoring at 11.8 points per game and has been at his best in the biggest moments during his career at North Platte. Simmons is third on the team in rebounds at 4.5 per game. Simmons leads the Knights in field goal percentage at 54 percent from the field, 37 percent from the 3-point line and 72 percent from the free throw line.
Simmons currently sit 49th All-Time on the Knights career scoring list with 660 career points. Simmons can move up the scoring list rapidly as the next 10 spots have scored under 700 career points.
Kevin O’Connor
Kevin O’Connor was named the NCCAC Coach-of-the-Year after leading the Knights to their third consecutive NCCAC Championship and ninth in the last ten years. Coach O’Connor has won 15 conference championships in his 29 year career at North Platte Community College. He guided the Knights to a 25-4 regular season record and a 5-1 record in conference play. The 25 regular season wins is the second consecutive year of 25 wins and ties for third in program history with last year for a regular season trailing only the 1989-90 O’Connor coached team which finished the regular season 27-3 and the 1972-73 Doug Schakel coached team which finished the regular season 26-8.
NCCAC First-TeamNCCAC Second-Team
Ethan Montalvo- North Platte CC Tim Simmons- North Platte CC
Tyron Criswell- Central CC Riak Bol- Central CC
Tony Dobbinson- McCook CC David Plain- Central CC
Dominic Williams- McCook CC Tyrell Corlew- Southeast CC
Cameron Williams- North Platte CC (tie)
Josh Roberts- Southeast CC (tie)
NCCAC Honorable Mention
D’Andre Downey- McCook CC
Jarrod Gamble- Southeast CC
NCCAC Coach-of-the-Year
Kevin O’Connor- North Platte CC
North Platte – Ethan Montalvo, Cameron Williams and Tim Simmons of North Platte Community College (25-4, 12-4 South Sub-Region) were all named to the 2013-14 Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference (NCCAC) All-Conference Team on Thursday. Head coach Kevin O’Connor was also named the NCCAC Coach-of-the-Year. Ethan Montalvo of Omaha was named All-NCCAC First Team and was the leading vote getter. The sophomore is the Knights leading scorer at 19.0 points per game. Montalvo leads the team in steals (2.2 spg) and is tied for first in assists (2.7 apg). He averages 2.3 three pointers a game while make a team high 67 while shooting 39 percent behind the arc. Montalvo also leads the team in free throw percentage at 82 percent from the charity stripe. Montalvo currently sits 6th All-Time on the Knights career scoring list with 1,116 points in his career. Montalvo is 30 points from cracking the top five and passing Jason McDonald. Montalvo was named All-NCCAC First Team for the second consecutive year. Cameron Williams of Omaha was also named All-NCCAA First Team. The freshman is the Knights second leading scorer at 13.7 points per game. Williams is tied for first on the team in assists (2.7 apg) and is second in steals (1.5 spg). Williams shoots 45 percent from the field and 73 percent from the free throw line. In his last outing, Williams scored a career-high 33 points in only 19 minutes of action to go along with six rebounds and three assists. Tim Simmons of Stamford, Conn. was named All-NCCAC Second-Team after leading the Knights to the NCCAC Championship for the second consecutive season. The sophomore is third on the team in scoring at 11.8 points per game and has been at his best in the biggest moments during his career at North Platte. Simmons is third on the team in rebounds at 4.5 per game. Simmons leads the Knights in field goal percentage at 54 percent from the field, 37 percent from the 3-point line and 72 percent from the free throw line. Simmons currently sit 49th All-Time on the Knights career scoring list with 660 career points. Simmons can move up the scoring list rapidly as the next 10 spots have scored under 700 career points. Kevin O’Connor was named the NCCAC Coach-of-the-Year after leading the Knights to their third consecutive NCCAC Championship and nine in the last ten years. Coach O’Connor has won 15 conference championships in his 29 year career at North Platte Community College. He guided the Knights to a 25-4 regular season record and a 5-1 record in conference play. The 25 regular season wins is the second consecutive year of 25 wins and ties for third in program history with last year for a regular season trailing only the 1989-90 O’Connor coached team which finished the regular season 27-3 and the 1972-73 Doug Schakel coached team which finished the regular season 26-8. NCCAC First-TeamNCCAC Second-Team Ethan Montalvo– North Platte CC Tim Simmons– North Platte CC Tyron Criswell- Central CC Riak Bol- Central CC Tony Dobbinson- McCook CC David Plain- Central CC Dominic Williams- McCook CC Tyrell Corlew- Southeast CC Cameron Williams– North Platte CC (tie) Josh Roberts- Southeast CC (tie) NCCAC Honorable Mention D’Andre Downey- McCook CC Jarrod Gamble- Southeast CC NCCAC Coach-of-the-Year Kevin O’Connor– North Platte CC
Shootout winner Jacee Kershaw (right) poses with Carol Bodeen, MPCC area director of development.
A halftime shootout, sponsored by the North Platte Community College Foundation, was on tap for those who attended the NPCC Knights men’s basketball game on Feb. 19.
“It was a great night, not only for the students but for all those who came out and helped with the event,” said Josh York, NPCC Assistant Housing Director/Student Activities. “We had 40 individuals sign up for the halftime shootout. The four names drawn to participate were Jacee Kershaw, Daisy Garcia, Siarra Velasquez and Michael Driskell.”
According to York, each participant had 30 seconds to make a layup, free-throw, and a three-pointer.
“Our first winner of a $25 gift card to the NPCC Bookstore was Jacee, who made it through in one time around. The three remaining contestants then had one more opportunity to go through the competition. Daisy ended up winning our second prize which was a $10 gift certificate to the NPCC Bookstore. Michael and Siarra made it interesting, but could not make that last shot to capture the second prize.”
York was quick to give praise to the NPCC Foundation Board and Carol Bodeen, Area Director of Development, for their help in making the event a success.
North Platte – The bracket for the 2014 Region IX Tournament was announced Sunday with the No. 18 North Platte Community College men’s basketball team (25-4, 12-4 South Sub-Region) earning the No. 2 seed in the South Sub-Region. The Knights open up the tournament in the very first game at 2 p.m. CST in Sterling, Colo. against the No. 7 seed from the North Sub-Region, the Central Wyoming College Rustlers (12-16, 6-10 North Sub-Region).
The No. 10 Northeastern Junior College Plainsmen (26-3, 13-3 South Sub-Region) are the host after winning the South Sub-Region and earning the No. 1 seed. Gillette College (26-3, 15-1 North Sub-Region) earned the No. 1 seed from the North Sub-Region.
The Knights are led by sophomore Ethan Montalvo at 19.0 points per game. Montalvo has scored 1,116 career points as a Knight and currently is 6th All-Time on the career scoring list. Cameron Williams, a freshman, is the Knights second-leading scorer at 13.7 points per game after his career-high 33 points Saturday. Tim Simmons, a redshirt sophomore, is the Knights third leading scorer at 11.7 points per game. Simmons has scored 660 points as a Knight and currently sits 49th on the All-Time career scoring list.
The Rustlers are led by Daryle Morgan Jr. who averages 15.5 points per game. Eimer Lopez is Central Wyoming’s second-leading scorer 9.5 points per game and Isaiah Tademy is third at 9.4 points per game. The Rustlers have made their mark this season by allowing the fewest points per game in Region IX at 67.4 points per game. The Knights are second in the region allowing 68.9 points per game.
The winner of the Knights and Rustlers will advance to the Region IX Quarterfinals on Monday, March 3 at 2 p.m. CST to face the winner of the No. 3 North Sub-Region Casper College (18-11, 11-5 North Sub-Region) and No. 6 South Sub-Region Lamar Community College (11-19, 7-9 South Sub-Region).
On the Knights side of the bracket, the Region IX Semifinals tips at 7 p.m. CST on Tuesday, March 4. The Region IX Championship is scheduled for Wednesday, March 5 at 8 p.m. CST. The winner of the Region IX Tournament advances to the National Tournament held in Hutchinson, Kan. from March 17-22 2014.
North Platte – The No. 18 North Platte Community College men’s basketball team (25-4, 12-4 South Sub-Region, 5-1 NCCAC) defeated the Southeast Community College Storm (19-11, 0-6 NCCAC) by a score of 106-63 to earn the team’s second straight undefeated season at home. The Knights’ sophomores are the first class to ever not lose a home game during their career. The victory also sews up the Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference (NCCAC) championship for the Knights.
“This is a special group of sophomores,” said head coach Kevin O’Connor. “We tell our kids to do things the right way and the wins and losses will take care of themselves and this group definitely did that.”
The Knights won the NCCAC with a 5-1 record. McCook Community College finished in second place with a 4-2 record with Central Community College in third place with a 3-3 record and Southeast is fourth with a 0-6 record.
The Knights got off to fast start in the first half and never looked back en route to the 43 point victory. The Knights used a 25-3 run to turn a 17-12 lead into a 56-17 lead with two minutes to play in the first half. Cameron Williams scored 26 first half points on six of seven shooting from behind the 3-point line. Ethan Montalvo was also in double-figures with 10 points.
In the second half, it was more of the same as the Knights continued to fire on all cylinders and extended their lead. The Knights broke the century mark on a steal and lay-up from sophomore Marcus Linson.
Williams finished with a career-high 33 points and also had 3 assists. Montalvo finished with 19 points and Aireon Porter was also in double-figures with 10 points. Linson finished with a career-high seven points.
John Swift and Logan Dorn each scored 13 points to lead the Storm.
The Knights will return to action on March 1 when they compete in the Region IX Tournament. The bracket for the tournament will be released early next week.
North Platte – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team (15-12, 3-1 Region IX Division II, 4-2 NCCAC) defeated the Southeast Community College Lady Storm (17-13, 1-3 Region IX Division II, 3-3 NCCAC) to win the Region IX Division II regular season and claim the #1 seed by winning 59-35.
The victory gives the Lady Knights a 3-1 record in Region IX Division II and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming tournament. The Lady Knights will host the winner of No. 3 seed Southeast Community College (1-3) and No. 2 seed Central Community College (2-2). Southeast and Central will play in Columbus on Feb. 27. The winner will then travel to North Platte on March 3 to play for the Region IX Division II Championship.
North Platte Community College wins the Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference with the victory today with a 4-2 record. Southeast Community College and Central Community College tie for second with 3-3 records. McCook Community College finishes at 2-4 in the NCCAC. The conference championship is the first in school history for the Lady Knights basketball team.
The game started off with both teams struggling to find an offensive rhythm as four and a half minutes into the game the Lady Storm led 2-5. A 3-point shot by Courtney Widick started a 17-0 run over the next five minutes to take a 20-5 lead. The Lady Knights would continue their strong play as they held the Lady Storm to only five more points in the first half to take a 32-10 lead into the locker room behind 17 points from Courtney Widick.
In the second half the two teams played back and forth with the Lady Storm never able to get any closer to threaten the Lady Knights.
Widick led the way for North Platte as she finished with 18 points. DaVontaye Merritt had a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, as did April Stull who finished with 11 point and 12 rebounds.
Meshia Smith and Cymela Hunter led the Lady Storm with seven points each.
Sterling, CO – The No. 15 North Platte Community College men’s basketball team (27-4, 12-4 South Sub-Region) survived and advanced for the second straight game in the Region IX Tournament by defeating the Casper College Thunderbirds (19-13, 11-5 North Sub-Region) in overtime 71-70 behind a long 3-pointer from freshman Marco Pascolo.
