Knights open season with road win over Cloud County

Concordia, Kan. – North Platte Community College men's basketball opened the 2022-23 campaign on the road against Cloud County Community College on Tuesday night. Knights never trailed in the game as they defeated the Thunderbirds, 68-56.

In the opening minutes of the first half, the Knights jumped out to a four-point lead after Ramiah Adedigba connected from downtown. The Knights and Thunderbirds continued to trade buckets, but five straight points from Antwone Gonzales pushed the Knights lead to eight, 15-7.

Cloud County hung around and managed to trim the deficit to three inside the final nine minutes of the half, but North Platte had the answer. A faceup jumper by Kayden Crosby quickly halted the swing in momentum, igniting a 6-2 burst which stretched the lead back to seven. Knights and Thunderbirds exchanged baskets down the stretch, but North Platte hung on to a six-point lead at the break, 30-24.

Adedigba connected on a long-range jumper to open the second half for the Knights. A quick 5-2 run by Cloud County narrowed the deficit to five with 17:39 to play. Knights never relinquished the momentum and quickly pushed their lead to twelve on a Bruce Carpenter lay-in.

The Knights defense tightened up and clutch offensive possessions helped control the next ten minutes, as North Platte maintained a 13-point advantage, 55-42. North Platte continued to match the Thunderbirds basket for basket and closed the game out at the free throw line to seal their first win of the season.

Adedigba finished the night with 29 points on 12-of-21 shooting from the field. Crosby led the Knights on the boards, finishing the game with eight rebounds in thirty-four minutes of action.

North Platte (1-0) will hit the road this weekend for back-to-back games against Region IX opponents in Wyoming. Knights open the weekend against Eastern Wyoming College on Friday. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. Eastern Wyoming College Gymnasium.