Knights fall in closing seconds to Plainsmen
| Final | 1 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
North Platte Community College | 68 | 68 |
|
Northeastern Junior College | 70 | 70 |
Sterling, Colo. – Knights had four players finish in double-digits, but it wasn't enough to hold off a late run by the Plainsmen of Northeastern Junior College on Sunday afternoon, 70-68.
Despite trailing by ten points at the halftime break, the Plainsmen quickly erased the deficit in the opening minutes of the second half. Neither team could capture any of the momentum needed to build upon their lead over the next eleven minutes. The margin stayed within three until a short 5-0 burst gave the Knights a 66-61 lead with 3:02 to play.
Northeastern attacked the boards and their second chance opportunities helped cut into the deficit, eventually tying the game back up at 66-66. North Platte and Northeastern traded buckets inside the closing minutes, until a Plainsmen floater gave the home team the lead with seven seconds remaining. The bucket forced the Knights to call a timeout, as they drew up what would be an almost perfect play.
Nico Felici received the inbound and drove the length of the floor for a chance at the game tying layup. The layup rolled off the front of the rim as time expired, which sealed the Plainsmen come from behind win.
North Platte took control early, jumping out to a 22-10 lead in the opening ten minutes of the game. The Plainsmen trimmed the deficit down to eight over the next two minutes, before back-to-back three pointers from German Plotnikov stretched the lead to fourteen. The Plainsmen pulled back within eight on a reverse layup inside the final minute, but Felici extended the lead back to double-figures as the Knights held a ten-point advantage headed into the halftime break, 36-26.
Plotnikov led the Knights with 15 points and four assists against the Plainsmen. Jevarrick Butler added 13 points, while Felici tallied 12 points and Danilo Matovic chipped in 10 points off the bench.
North Platte (8-10) will travel to Lamar, Colo. on Tuesday, Feb. 8 for a rematch with the Runnin' Lopes of Lamar Community College. Tip is set for 8 p.m. inside the Wellness Center.