North Platte falls to McCook in Region IX matchup

McCook, Neb. – Antwone Gonzales led North Platte with 19 points, but McCook Community College held on late to earn the 78-72 victory on Tuesday night.

Kayden Crosby was the Knights top rebounder grabbing 10 boards to accompany his 11 points, while North Platte finished the game shooting 37.7 percent (23-61) from the field.

In the opening half, the margin never exceeded six points as teams battled back and forth on the hardwood. North Platte built an early 22-16 advantage on a three pointer from Gonzales, before a 10-0 run shifted the momentum in favor of the home team. During the stretch Martel Evans proved to be the unstoppable force by getting to the basket to finish off heavily contested field goal opportunities.

North Platte responded to knot the game up with 2:19 to play on a Gonzales three pointer. The McCook offense outscored the Knights in the final minutes of the half to take a 42-37 lead into the break.

The McCook lead was stretched to seven in the opening two minutes of the second half, but the Knights fought back to narrow the deficit to 50-48 on a layup by Bruce Carpenter. McCook continued to hold on to the momentum and quickly extended their lead back out to six on a pair of Jah-Keish Demby free throws.

The deficit grew to nine inside the final four minutes of the game, but the Knights chipped away at the lead to cut the margin to five inside the final minute. McCook stepped to the stripe and connected on half of their free throw attempts to seal the win.

North Platte (11-11, 1-6 Region IX South) will return to the road for a Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference matchup against Central Community College on Friday. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m. inside the Raider Field House in Columbus.