Knights strike down Comets at home

North Platte, Neb. – Mo Diao recorded his second double-double of the season to help North Platte earn the 90-76 win over Western Iowa Tech Community College on Friday.

"We got a lot of great minutes and plays from a variety of guys tonight," said head coach Jacob Brandl. "When we assembled this group, this is the kind of team I thought we would have."

Diao tallied 16 points and 12 rebounds in 26 minutes, while Alex Harper had a team high 25 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field.

North Platte got off to a slow start as the Comets held the early lead in the opening minutes of the first half. A 10-3 run capped off by a corner three from Daniel Nwauzu pushed the Knights out to a 12-7 lead with 13:56 to play. The Comets narrowed the margin to three before North Platte settled back into their rhythm.

The black and gold extended their lead to 27-16 on a layup by Justus Michael, but the Comets rallied again to cut the margin to six. An 8-2 response over the final 1:17 helped North Platte close out the half with a 48-32 lead.  

Comets shrunk the halftime deficit to six in the early minutes of the second half, but the Knights quickly rebuilt a double-digit lead with a 5-0 run. North Platte fought off the Comets down the stretch while maintaining their double-digit lead to secure the win.

North Platte (3-5) will return to the road on Dec. 3 to take on Hastings College JV. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m. inside the Lynn Farrell Arena in Hastings.