Knights open weekend with win over Conquistadors

Garden City, Kan. – Alex Harper and Mo Diao each finished with 17 points to lead North Platte to a 70-66 win over Dodge City Community College on Friday afternoon.

"We learned from our past mistakes," said head coach Jacob Brandl. "Defensively we were really good again, but we will need that kind of effort against a tough team tomorrow."

North Platte matched the Conquistadors in the opening 13:32 of the first half, until a 10-4 run pushed the Knights advantage to 31-22 inside three minutes to play. Dodge City countered with their own run to narrow the margin one, but a late 4-2 rally gave the Knights a 37-35 lead at the halftime break.

Dodge City battled back to retake the lead in the opening minutes of the second half, but five straight points from Omel Occeus pushed the Knights back out front. The margin would remain tight over the next 8:47, until a 12-3 run gave North Platte the 62-50 advantage.

The Conquistadors rallied over the next four minutes to cut the margin to two on a three by Kyle Burns. Leading 64-62, Sedrick Nari tallied six straight points in the final 1:30 to seal the win for North Platte.

Knights will wrap up the Broncbuster Classic with No. 19 Garden City Community College on Saturday. Tip is set for 4 p.m. inside the Conestoga Arena.