McCook outlasts North Platte on sophomore night

North Platte, Neb. – A 12-1 run to end the first half helped propel McCook Community College to a 71-65 win over their rival North Platte on sophomore night at the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium.

Nico Felici led the Knights with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field, while Jevarrick Butler accounted for 16 points, eight rebounds, and three assists in thirty-five minutes of action.

In the loss, North Platte falls to 10-12 overall on the season and 4-1 in Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference play. McCook improves to 9-18 on the year and 3-2 in NCCAC action.

Knights jumped out to an early 6-2 lead, before McCook knotted the game back up with 8:39 to play in the first half, 18-18. Back-to-back three pointers by Butler and Nolan Sughroue helped the Knights regain the advantage.

North Platte pushed their lead to eight inside the final five minutes of the half, before a 12-1 run by McCook reversed the momentum and gave the road team the three-point edge by the halftime break, 34-31.

The McCook lead grew to ten by the midway point of the second half, 57-47. Over the next two minutes, North Platte managed to shrink the deficit to six after a layup by Felici. McCook continued to control the momentum over the next five minutes as the margin grew to back to double-digits.

Inside the final minute, the Knights trimmed the deficit to seven on a layup by Butler. The defensive pressure intensified, as North Platte would be rewarded with an opportunity to cut even further into the lead after a McCook turnover inside the final twenty seconds.

Felici received the inbound and drove into the heart of the defense, as he would to get his shot to fall and earn an opportunity to complete an old fashioned three-point play. Felici completed the free throw, but North Platte would be forced to foul putting McCook at the free throw line with a chance to seal the game. McCook took advantage of the opportunity and knocked down both free throws to seal road win.  

Knights return to the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium on Friday for a rematch with the Rattlers of Otero Junior College at 7 p.m. North Platte fell to the Rattlers 101-94 in La Junta, Colo. back on Jan. 22.