Knights shake off slow start to down Bobcats on the road

Lincoln, Neb. – Alex Harper had a team-high 21 points, as North Platte steals the 75-69 win from Southeast Community College on Saturday.

Harper, who came off the bench, helped North Platte capitalize on key possessions in the second half. Teammate Mo Diao added his second straight double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds for his eighth of the season.

"We did a really good job of cleaning things up in the second half," said head coach Jacob Brandl. "Just didn't shoot well from the perimeter but did a ton of other things right offensively."

North Platte had to shake off a sluggish start as they faced an eight-point deficit at the halftime break. Southeast raced out to a 17-7 lead on a jumper by Chang Deng with 11:35 remaining in the first half.

Over the next five minutes, the Knights leaned on Harper and Diao who helped North Platte cut the margin to 23-21. Southeast never relinquished their hold on the lead in the first half, as they stretched their lead to 40-32 at the halftime break.

A 9-0 run to begin the second half gave the Knights their first lead of the game on a layup by Justus Michael. Southeast retook the lead on their next possession before stretching their lead to 52-45 with 12:17 to play.

North Platte answered with a 10-0 run over the next two minutes to regain the lead for the final time. Southeast attempted to pick up the pressure by applying a full court press, but the Knights were unfazed and stretched their lead to seven with 3:09 remaining.

Southeast cut the deficit to within two in the closing minutes, but a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the final minute closed out the game.

North Platte (15-9, 4-1 NCCAC) returns to Region IX action on Tuesday against Lamar Community College. Tip is set for 7 p.m. inside the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium.