Trinidad State hangs on late to defeat Knights

North Platte, Neb. – Ramiah Adedigba finished the second half with 21 points, but it was not enough for North Platte to complete the comeback against the Trojans of Trinidad State College in the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium on Friday night, 99-88.

Adedigba closed out the night with a season high 35 points on 13-of-22 shooting from the field. His point total was his second highest of his collegiate career, narrowly besting his career high of 42 points during his freshman campaign at Cypress College.

Bruce Carpenter chipped in 22 points and seven assists, while teammate Antwone Gonzales added 17 points, five rebounds and four assists. As a team, North Platte finished the game shooting 53.7 percent (29-54) from the field, while connecting on 24-of-28 free throw opportunities.

North Platte narrowly erased a 14-point deficit in the opening ten minutes of the second half. Trailing 58-44, the Knights went on an 11-2 run sparked by a three pointer from Gonzales. Over the next 3:29, North Platte edged even closer as the margin was trimmed to 69-67 after a pair of free throws by Carpenter.

The game remained tight until Trinidad began to heat up from the perimeter. Deon Mclaughlin connected on a pair of shots from beyond the arc, as the lead increased to seven. North Platte continued to attack the basket, but the Trojans answered the call down the stretch to seal the road win.

In the opening half, the Trojans forced 16 turnovers as they took advantage of transition opportunities to build a sizeable lead.  

Trinidad broke open the scoring by forcing a North Platte turnover on their opening possession then quickly racing to the other end for the transition layup. The Trojans lead grew to 17, before a 7-0 run capped off by a layup by Adedigba cut the deficit to 26-16.

North Platte went back to work after a three by Chase McWhite, as a 6-0 run brought the Knights back within seven with 8:08 to play. Trojans responded in the closing minutes to build a 12-point lead as teams broke for halftime.  

Knights (9-5) return to the hardwood on Saturday against Region IX-South opponent Otero Junior College. Tip is set for 4 p.m. inside the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium.