Knights make it two straight with win over Lancers

North Platte, Neb. – Kayden Crosby topped off a record night with a career high 20 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double of his collegiate career, as North Platte edged out the 84-77 win over Eastern Wyoming College on Friday night.

Bruce Carpenter recorded his ninth double digit game finishing the night with 20 points, while teammates Ramiah Adedigba (12) and Antwone Gonzales (10) rounded out the Knights double digit scorers.

Knights saw their 21-point lead shrink to one in the closing minute, as Eastern Wyoming used multiple runs through the second half to attempt to complete the comeback. Inside the final minute, Eastern Wyoming surged back narrowing the deficit to 77-75, before the Knights closed out the game by going 5-of-7 at the free throw line to edge out the win.

In the opening minutes of the second half, North Platte quickly extended their lead to 52-34 on a three by Gonzales. Eastern Wyoming kept inching their way back into the contest utilizing a 12-0 run to narrow the deficit to 65-61 with 6:42 to play. The Lancers held the Knights without a field goal for the next two minutes as they narrowed the deficit to one.

Crosby broke the dry spell by capitalizing on back-to-back offensive possessions to extend the lead back to five. The Eastern Wyoming offense surged back to within two, as teams headed into what would be a tightly contested final minute.

North Platte closed out the game shooting 49.2 percent (32-65) from the field, while connecting on only 17.4 percent (4-23) from downtown. Knights outrebounded the Lancers, 44-33, while forcing 18 turnovers in the contest.

North Platte wasted no time jumping out to a 23-9 lead in the opening ten minutes of the game. The Knights lead continued to grow as a layup by Crosby extended the deficit to twenty. Eastern Wyoming would shake off the early shooting woes and cut the deficit down to 36-24, as back-to-back three pointers by John Barbee provided the spark the road team needed.

Carpenter provided the answer with six straight points for the Knights, as they closed the half on a 6-2 run to build a 42-29 lead by the halftime break.

North Platte (5-3) will look to keep their winning streak alive as they host Laramie County Community College on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 4 p.m. Knights defeated the Golden Eagles 94-79 to end of opening week of basketball on Nov. 5.