Knights down Cougars in regular season finale

Scottsbluff, Neb. – Knights saw their sixteen-point advantage dimmish in the closing minutes of regulation but managed to close out the Cougars of Western Nebraska Community College on Tuesday night, 75-67.

In the win, North Platte (13-12, 6-6 Region IX) secures the fourth seed in the Region IX South postseason tournament, while Western Nebraska slips to 15-13 overall and 4-8 in Region IX play.

North Platte finished the night with four players in double-figures, including Jevarrick Butler and Nico Felici who finished the game with 16 points apiece.  Sophomore forward Trevon Dennis closed the night with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting, while Danilo Matovic chipped in 12 points off the bench in sixteen minutes of action. The Knights closed out the contest, shooting 52 percent from the field, including 23-of-31 from the free throw line.

Western Nebraska opened the scoring and pushed their lead to six by the 16:52 mark of the first half. Knights slowly chipped into the deficit, as a steal and transition layup by Nolan Sughroue gave North Platte their first lead of the game, 16-14.

The margin stayed within four, as North Platte could not generate the momentum needed to extend their lead. Western Nebraska temporarily regained the lead, but North Platte managed to reverse the momentum and close out the half with the one-point advantage, 34-33.

A short 6-0 run to open the second half pushed the Knights lead to seven on an elbow jumper by Butler. Western Nebraska narrowed the deficit to one, but the Knights managed to build a sixteen-point cushion with 7:35 to play, 64-48. The Cougars attempted one final run in the closing minutes and managed to narrow the deficit to five.

Western Nebraska was forced to foul, which put the Knights at the free throw line with a chance to put the game away. North Platte handled the pressure and connected on 3-of-4 from the free throw line in the final thirty seconds to secure the road victory.

Knights will return home on Saturday, Feb. 26 for the opening round of the Region IX South postseason tournament.