McCook – The No. 13 North Platte Community College men’s basketball team (21-4, 9-4 South Sub-Region, 4-1 NCCAC) lost in overtime to the McCook Community College Indians (17-9, 7-6 South Sub-Region, 3-2 NCCAC) in a Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference (NCCAC) and Region IX Sub-Region contest 98-106.

The Knights started off the game with great defensive intensity as the Indians were only able to score 36 points in the half to the Knights 41. Cameron Williams dominated in the early going as he scored 16 points in the opening half by repeatedly getting to the basket. After being held to only three points through much of the first half, Knight’s leading scorer Ethan Montalvo hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Knights the five point lead at intermission.

In the second half, both teams found their offensive stride as the teams would battle back and forth with five ties and 15 lead changes in the second half. Late in regulation, the Indians were ahead by five points before a drive by Montalvo and dump to Aireon Porter for the basket and foul cut the Indians lead to two.

After a stop on the defensive end, Montalvo drove to the hoop and was fouled. With seven seconds remaining, he calmly sank both free throws to tie the game. McCook was unable to get a shot off and the game headed to overtime.

In the first two minutes of overtime, the two teams continued to battle back and forth before fast break opportunities allowed the Indians to earn their largest lead of the game at 91-102. The Knights would then out-score the Indians 7-4 but it was not enough.

Montalvo and Williams both scored 29 points in the game while Porter finished with a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Tim Simmons was the fourth Knight in double-figures with 10 points.

Dominic Williams led the way for McCook with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Tony Dobbinson (17), Demetrius Woodley (13), D’Andre Downey and LaMont Pruitt (10) were also in double-figures for the Indians. The Indians bench outscored the Knights bench 29-8.

The Knights sit atop the NCCAC standings with a 4-1 record and earn sole possession of the title with a victory over Southeast Community College in the final game of the season. McCook sits in second place with a 3-2 record, with Central Community College third at 2-3 and Southeast in fourth with a 0-3 record.

North Platte kicks off their four game home stand to end the season by hosting Eastern Wyoming Lancers (10-13, 2-9 South Sub-Region) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday Feb 14. The Knights defeated the Lancers on Jan. 11 79-69.

The Knights finish out the week when they host Western Nebraska Community College Cougars (15-10, 6-5 South Sub-Region on Saturday Feb. 15 at 3 p.m. North Platte defeated the Cougars on Jan. 10 75-68.

Both home games will be live streamed by Coaches Aid. A link to the broadcast can be found by going to www.npccknights.com and clicking on the “Live Video” link.

Next week marks the end of the regular season as the Knights host Laramie County Community College (15-10, 6-6 South Sub-Region) on Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. and Southeast Community College (19-8, 0-3 NCCAC) on Feb. 22 at 4 p.m. The Knights fell at Laramie County 78-82 and defeated Southeast 83-68.

McCook – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team (13-11, 2-1 Region IX Division II, 3-2 NCCAC) fell to the McCook Community College Lady Indians (5-20, 2-3 NCCAC) in overtime in the second overtime game of the match-up this season by a score 72-75 after being tied at 64 in regulation.

The Lady Knights and Lady Indians fought back and forth throughout the entire game as there were eight ties and 16 lead changes. The Lady Indians held the largest lead of the game at nine points with a score of 40-49.

The Lady Knights entered the final minute of regulation down by four points. Jordan Dickerson hit a 3-pointer to cut the McCook lead to one point, but then was forced to foul, ending her night with her fifth foul of the game. After the Lady Indians hit both free throws to stretch the lead to three points, Aliyah Brown hit a 3-pointer to tie the game with a few ticks remaining. The Lady Indians attempt at the buzzer was unsuccessful and the game went into overtime.

In overtime, Aliyah Brown would continue her hot shooting as she knocked down a 3-pointer and a shot with her toe on the line to give the Knights a lead. McCook would fight back and outscore the Lady Knights down the stretch and outscore them in overtime 8-11 to earn the victory.

DaVontaye Merritt led the way for the Lady Knights with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Brown and Jordan Dickerson were the other Lady Knights in double-figures as both finished with 13 points. Cydnee Ceballos had a double-double for the Lady Indians as she finished with 26 points and 17 rebounds.

The Lady Knights are currently tied atop the Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference (NCCAC) standing with Central Community College with a 3-2 record. Southeast Community College owns a 1-2 record while McCook is 2-3 in the NCCAC.

North Platte returns home for their second to last home game of the regular season as the host Eastern Wyoming College Lady Lancers (13-11) at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Knights lost at Torrington on Jan. 11 by a score of 59-77.

The game with Eastern Wyoming will be live streamed by Coaches Aid. A link to the broadcast can be found by going to www.npccknights.com and clicking on the “Live Video” link.

The Lady Knights are then done for the week as the game originally scheduled for Feb 16 at Nebraska Wesleyan JV has been cancelled.

The Lady Knights finish out their regular season next week with two games. First North Platte travels to Goodland, Kan. to take on Northwest Kansas Technical College on Wednesday Feb. 19 at 5 p.m. The Lady Knights defeated the Lady Broncos 92-76 on Nov. 22.

The last home game and last game of the regular season for the Lady Knights is Feb. 22 at 2 p.m. when they host the Southeast Community College Lady Storm (0-2 Region IX Division II, 1-3 NCCAC) in a very important Region IX Division II match-up. The Lady Knights won in Beatrice 59-50 on Jan. 17.

North Platte – The No. 3 North Platte Community College men’s basketball team (21-3, 9-3 South Sub-Region, 4-0 NCCAC) travels to face the McCook Community College Indians (16-9, 6-6 South Sub-Region, 2-2 NCCAC) tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. and then hosts the Eastern Wyoming Lancers (10-13, 2-9 South Sub-Region) on Friday Feb. 14 at 7:30 and the Western Nebraska Community College Cougars (15-10, 6-5 South Sub-Region) on Saturday Feb. 15 at 3 p.m.

The Knights kick off the week by travelling to McCook to square off with the Indians at 7:30 p.m. in both a Region IX and Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference (NCCAC). The Knights held home court earlier this year when they defeated the Indians 82-79 on Jan. 29 behind 25 points from Ethan Montalvo and 23 from Cameron Williams. Dominic Williams led the Indians with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

North Platte then kicks off their four game home stand to end the season by hosting Eastern Wyoming at 7:30 p.m.. The Knights defeated the Lancers on Jan. 11 behind 19 points from Montalvo and 17 from Tim Simmons in a 79-69 victory in Torrington, Wyo. Mark Hall and Jonathan Doss led the Lancers with 13 points apiece.

The Knights finish out the week when they host Western Nebraska on Saturday at 3 p.m. North Platte defeated the Cougars on Jan. 10 75-68. Montalvo again led the Knights as he finished with 18 points. Youssoupha Kane led the Cougars with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Next week marks the end of the regular season as the Knights host Laramie County Community College (15-10, 6-6 South Sub-Region) on Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. and Southeast Community College (19-8, 0-3 NCCAC) on Feb. 22 at 4 p.m. The Knights fell at Laramie County 78-82 and defeated Southeast 83-68.

North Platte – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team (13-10, 2-1 Region IX Division II, 3-1 NCCAC) travels to face the McCook Community College Lady Indians (5-20, 1-3 NCCAC) on Tuesday Feb. 11 at 5:30 pm. The Lady Knights then return home to play the Eastern Wyoming College Lady Lancers (13-11) on Friday Feb. 14 at 5:30 p.m.

The Lady Knights get things going this week as they travel to McCook to play a Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference (NCCAC) opponent on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Knights currently lead the NCCAC and defeated the Lady Indians earlier this year at home 64-58 behind 18 points from Courtney Widick, 12 points from Aliyah Brownand 11 rebounds from DaVontaye Merritt.

North Platte then returns home for their second to last home game of the regular season as the host Eastern Wyoming at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Knights lost at Torrington on Jan. 11 by a score of 59-77 despite 14 points from Jordan Dickerson and a double-double from Merritt of 13 points and 12 rebounds.

The Lady Knights finish out their regular season next week with two games. First North Platte travels to Goodland, Kan. to take on Northwest Kansas Technical College on Wednesday Feb. 19 at 5 p.m. The Lady Knights defeated the Lady Broncos 92-76 on Nov. 22.

The last home game and last game of the regular season for the Lady Knights is Feb. 22 at 2 p.m. when they host the Southeast Community College Lady Storm (0-2 Region IX Division II, 1-3 NCCAC) in a very important Region IX Division II match-up. The Lady Knights won in Beatrice 59-50 on Jan. 17.

Editor’s Note: The previous version of this story included an NPCC Lady Knights game at Nebraska Wesleyan on Sunday, February 16. That game has been canceled.

Lamar, CO – The No. 3 North Platte Community College men’s basketball team’s (21-3, 9-3 South Sub-Region, 4-0 NCCAC) fell Friday night to Region IX opponent the Lamar Community College Runnin’ Lopes (8-16, 4-6 South Sub-Region) by a final score of 59-67.

The Knights started off the game slow and could not find their groove offensively. Tim Simmons kept the Knights in the game by making several big plays and scoring 10 points in the opening half. The Knights were only able to connect on 8 of 22 shots in the first half but 10 of 12 free throws kept them in striking distance at 27-35.

In the second half the Knights would battle back but were never able to get over the hump to take a lead after cutting the lead to a single point on numerous occasions. Lay-ups after breaking the Knights press and free throws down the stretch would make the final margin eight points.

Simmons finished the game with a double-double as he scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Aireon Porter and Jake Maslo were also in double-figures with 12 and 10 points respectively. The Knights leading scorer Ethan Montalvo was held to only seven points.

Jacoby Harrison led the way for the Runnin’ Lopes as he also finished with a double-double off the bench with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Curtis Redd led Lamar in scoring with 18 and Tiwian Kendley finished with 11.

“It was a tough week for our team,” said assistant coach Nathan Wieseler. “We have to have a couple good days of practice and be ready to travel to McCook on Tuesday.”

Next week the Knights travel to McCook Community College (16-7, 6-4 South Sub-Region, 2-2 NCCAC) on Tuesday, February 11 to face the Indians at 7:30 p.m. The Knights then return home for a Friday-Saturday double-header as they host the Eastern Wyoming Lancers (9-12, 1-8 South Sub-Region) on Friday, February 14 at 7:30 p.m. and the Western Nebraska Community College Cougars (14-9, 5-4 South Sub-Region) on Saturday, February 15 at 3 p.m.

The Knights have defeated all three teams already this year. The Knights won at home over McCook two weeks ago 82-79 while on the road they defeated the Lancers Jan 11. 79-69 and the Cougars Jan 10. 75-68.

Lamar, CO – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team (13-10, 2-1 Region IX Division II, 3-1 NCCAC) lost to the Lamar Community College Runnin’ Lopes (13-8) Friday night as 14 girls played and 11 scored for the Runnin’ Lopes in the 62-71 victory.

As they did when they played in North Platte, the Runnin’ Lopes were true to their name and flew the ball up and down the court all night and subbed a new five players in almost every minute. The strategy worked to speed up the Lady Knights as they turned the ball over 46 times.

In the first half, the Runnin’ Lopes were able to gain an eight point lead at intermission. No one was in double-figures in the first half. The Lady Knights had seven girls score compared to the Runnin’ Lopes who had nine get on the score board.

The second half was more of the same as the Lady Knights were never able to close the gap as they played even with Lamar. The Runnin’ Lopes attempted 95 shots including shooting 7 of 54 from the 3-point line compared to the Lady Knights who shot the ball 67 times.

“We played hard but had too many turnovers,” said head coach Richard Thurin. “We have to make better decisions and cut down on turnovers.”

April Stull led all scorers as she finished with a double-double on 8 of 11 shooting as she scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. DaVontaye Merritt also finished with a double-double as she pulled down 13 rebounds and scored 13 points. Courtney Widdick was also in double-figures as she finished with 10 points.

The Runnin’ Lopes placed two players in double-figures as Ellie Stevens scored 11 and Gabriela Jimenez scored 10.

Next week the Lady Knights travel to McCook Community College (5-18, 1-3 NCCAC) to face the Lady Indians on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 5:30 p.m. before returning home on Friday, Feb. 14 to face the Eastern Wyoming College Lady Lancers (12-10) at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Knights finish out the week by hosting the Nebraska Wesleyan University JV on Sunday, February 16 at 2 p.m.

The Lady Knights defeated the Lady Indians at home Jan. 29 by a score of 64-58 while the Lady Lancers knocked off the Lady Knights in Torrington, Wyo. Jan 11 by 18 points in a 59-77 game.

Sterling, CO – The No. 3 North Platte Community College men’s basketball team’s (21-2, 9-2 South Sub-Region, 4-0 NCCAC) fell Tuesday night to the No. 15 Northeastern Junior College Plainsmen (22-2, 9-2 South Sub-Region) by a score of 66-70 despite 26 points from Ethan Montalvo as he passed the 1,000th career point total.

The Knights started the game struggling to score as it would be over six minutes before the Knights would get on the board. A strong defensive effort held the Plainsmen to only eight points during the stretch to keep the Knights in the game. Two free throws from Montalvo finally broke the Knights scoring drought.

Slowly through the first half the Knights would chip away and find their offensive rhythm while holding the Plainsmen at bay. The Knights would even the game at 32 apiece on two free throws from Cameron Williams before a steal and put-back by Kenyon Gist would give the Knights a 34-32 lead at break. Montalvo led the Knights with 14 points while Dual Mayot had 13 for the Plainsmen.

In the second half the game would swing back and forth as both teams were able to keep the other team on its heels. Late in the game, Northeastern was able to knock down two free throws and get a stop to stretch their lead to four that the Knights could not overcome in the final minute.

The Knights were led by Montalvo’s 26 points that included 10 of 10 from the free throw line. Tim Simmons finished with 14 points, 12 in the second half. Cameron Williams was the only other Knight in double-figures with 10.

With his 26 points, Ethan Montalvo became the 13th Knight ever to score 1,000 career points. He currently sits at 1,005 points which is 13th on the Knights All-Time scoring list after passing Tod McKeone and All-American Eugene Bain. In 12th place is Kevin Bromley with 1,040 career points. All-American Joseph Ragland is the Knights All-Time leading scorer with 1,286 career points.

Mayot led the Plainsmen with 19 points and Bronson Moton was the only other in double-figures with 13. The Plainsmen had seven players score at least five points while the Knights only had four.

“Give Northeastern a ton of credit, they played a heck of a ballgame,” said assistant coach Nathan Wieseler. “We have to regroup and put this behind us during the next two days of practice before we travel to Lamar.”

The Knights then travel to Lamar, Colo. to face the Lamar Community College Runnin’ Lopes (7-16, 3-6 South Sub-Region) on Friday Feb. 7 at 8:30 p.m. CST. The Knights defeated the Runnin’ Lopes at home on Dec. 7 by a score of 86-56 behind 17 points from Marco Pascolo and a double-double from Jake Maslo on 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Next week the Knights travel to McCook Community College (16-7, 6-4 South Sub-Region, 2-2 NCCAC) on Tuesday, February 11 to face the Indians at 7:30 p.m. The Knights then return home for a Friday-Saturday double-header as they host the Eastern Wyoming Lancers (9-12, 1-8 South Sub-Region) on Friday, February 14 at 7:30 p.m. and the Western Nebraska Community College Cougars (14-9, 5-4 South Sub-Region) on Saturday, February 15 at 3 p.m.

Sterling, CO – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team (13-9, 2-1 Region IX Division II, 3-1 NCCAC) traveled to Sterling, Colo. despite the snow and knocked off the Northeastern Junior College Plainswomen (10-12) Tuesday night 72-70 on the strength of an 18-0 run at the end of the first half.

The Lady Knights started out the game slow and got down early to the Plainswomen by as much as 26-11. Jordan Dickerson was the spark that the Lady Knights needed and went on an 18-0 run and out-scored the Plainswomen 24-6 down the stretch of the first half to earn the 35-32 lead at the break. DaVontaye Merritt led all scorers in the first half with seven points.

In the second half the game was back and forth as neither team could gain control of the game as the teams traded baskets and runs. Late in the half with a little over a minute and a half Dickerson went to the line and hit two free throws to give the Lady Knights a 72-70 margin that turned out to be the final margin.

Both teams had opportunities to tie the game for the Plainswomen and to stretch their lead for the Lady Knights but both were unsuccessful as no more points were scored.

Dickerson led the way for the Lady Knights as she finished with 19 points. DaVontaye Merritt (15 points), April Stull (12 points) and Stephanie Casteel (11 points) were all in double-figures for the Lady Knights.

“We played some zone defense which turned out to be big,” said head coach Richard Thurin “as was the 18-0 before half. It was great to see four girls in double-figures.”

Meg Pritchard led the Plainswomen with 16 points and Brooke Blair was the only other in double-figures with 12.

The Lady Knights travel to Lamar, Colo. to take on the Lamar Community College Runnin’ Lopes (12-8) on Friday Feb.7 at 6:30 p.m. CST. The Lady Knights knocked off the Runnin’ Lopes 87-84 at home earlier this year behind 26 points and 11 from DaVontaye Merritt. Freshman April Stull also had a double-double as she finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Next week the Lady Knights travel to McCook Community College (5-18, 1-3 NCCAC) to face the Lady Indians on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 5:30 p.m. before returning home on Friday, Feb. 14 to face the Eastern Wyoming College Lady Lancers (12-10) at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Knights finish out the week by hosting the Nebraska Wesleyan University JV on Sunday, February 16 at 2 p.m.

North Platte – The No. 5 North Platte Community College men’s basketball team’s (21-1, 9-1 South Sub-Region, 4-0 NCCAC) found a way to win Saturday afternoon at McDonald-Belton Gymnasium as they knocked off the Central Community College Raiders (18-6, 2-3 NCCAC) in a Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference battle 71-59.

The Knights and Raiders both struggled offensively in the first half as the half ended in a very low scoring Knight advantage at 27-25. Aireon Porter and Marco Pascolo both led the way for the Knights with seven points apiece while Tyron Criswell scored eight for the Raiders. The first half was marred with fouls as four Knights had two fouls while one Raider had three fouls and three players had two. However, the Knights never trailed in the first half.

In the second half both teams found their rhythm offensively as both teams traded baskets. In the second half, there were six lead changes and four ties. The Knights trailed by as many as eight points, but a five point play brought the Knights right back.

“I am very excited that our guys responded to adversity tonight,” said assistant coach Nathan Wieseler. “Central is a very talented team and we were fortunate to emerge victorious.”

Pascolo was able to knife his way through the Raiders zone and make the basket as a foul was a called. A technical foul was then issued to the Raiders and Ethan Montalvo converted two free throws followed by Pascolo making his free throw to cut the deficit to three.

The Knights and Raiders would battle back and forth in a stretch that included a missed 3-pointer by Cameron Williams in which he followed his own miss and was fouled in the process to give the Knights a three point lead.

Late in the game the two teams were tied when Aireon Porter converted a lay-up and was fouled off an assist from Montalvo. Cameron Williams was then fouled and converted both to give the Knights a five point lead.

Montalvo converted seven of eight free throws down the stretch to give the Knights the 12 point victory. The Raiders did not score in the last two minutes and thirty seconds.

The Knights were led by a double-double from Aireon Porter who finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Ethan Montalvo scored the most points for the Knights as he finished with 17 on 11 of 13 shooting from the foul line. Marco Pascolo scored 15 and Cameron Williams finished with 11 as the other Knights in double-figures.

“I had to give my all because I missed the last game,” said Porter. “I had to step up for my team.”

The Raiders played only two in double-figures as Tyron Criswell finished with a game-high 21 points and a team-high eight rebounds while John Ruffin scored 13.

The victory gives the Knights a 4-0 record in the Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference while dropping the Raiders to 2-3. McCook Community College improved to 2-2 last night with a victory over Central while Southeast remains at 0-3.

Next week the Knights take to the road to face the No. 19 Northeastern Junior College Plainsmen (19-2, 6-2 South Sub-Region) on Tuesday Feb. 4 at 8:30 p.m. CST and the Lamar Community College Runnin’ Lopes (6-16, 2-6 South Sub-Region) on Friday Feb. 7 at 8:30 p.m. CST. The Knights defeated the Plainsmen 69-60 on Dec. 11 when North Platte was ranked No. 8 and the Plainsmen were No. 17. The Knights also defeated the Runnin’ Lopes at home on Dec. 7 by a score of 86-56.