Knights close out November schedule with win over Broncos

Hastings, Neb. - North Platte Community College men's basketball team earned their third victory of the season by defeating Hastings College JV on the road on Saturday afternoon. The Knights used a 12-3 run to open the second half to propel themselves past the Broncos, 89-74.

Broncos jumped out to a five-point lead just 3:47 into the first half on a layup in transition. Knights halted the Broncos momentum, as German Plotnikov beat his defender and laid the ball off the glass to cut the deficit to three, 6-9. The Broncos lead grew to eight with 13:42 to play as they connected on a free throw line jumper.

Knights outscored the Broncos over the next 3:23 to narrow the deficit down to four as Denys Bachurin got his second chance opportunity to fall, 15-19. North Platte continued to chip away at the Broncos lead over the next two minutes as a Timur Krupalija grabbed the offensive rebound and laid it off the glass to bring the Knights back within one possession, 21-23.

Broncos extended their lead back to seven inside the final eight minutes of the first half, before Plotnikov capitalized on back-to-back offensive possessions to narrow the deficit back to three, 27-30.

A Broncos 7-0 run extended their lead to ten as the clock moved inside three minutes to play before the halftime break. North Platte answered over the final 2:13 as a jumper by Plotnikov sparked a 9-0 run by the Knights as they closed the opening half with a one-point lead, 38-37.

Out of the break, the Knights lead exploded to fourteen over the opening 6:34, as Plotnikov contributed ten points during that stretch. Hastings cut the deficit back to nine over the next two minutes, before Bachurin capitalized on three free throw opportunities and Trevon Dennis added a layup in transition to increase the Knights lead back to fourteen, 61-47.

Knights lead grew to twenty-one after Dennis found Nico Felici cutting through the lane, as North Platte earned a second chance opportunity after the offensive rebound, 73-52. Hastings mounted a run over the next three minutes to cut the deficit down to ten, but North Platte answered in the closing minutes to seal their third win of the season.

North Platte (3-4) will begin the December portion of their schedule with a trip to Wyoming for a weekend doubleheader. Knights will open the weekend with Laramie County Community College on Friday, December 3. Tip is set for 8:30pm CST inside the RAC Gymnasium in Cheyenne, Wyo.