Knights fall to Bobcats on the road

Lincoln, Neb. – North Platte men's basketball falls to Southeast Community College 71-68 in Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference action on Friday night.

Davion Evans led the Knights with 22 points, while Emmanuel Oladeru pulled down a career-high 19 rebounds to accompany his 11 points in 34 minutes of game action.

An Oladeru bucket in the paint and a three from Parker Baumann helped the Knights build a 10-4 lead in the early minutes of the first half. The margin grew to 21-13 with 11:54 remaining, but a 9-0 run helped the Bobcats recapture the lead on a second chance bucket from Carson Brown in the lane.

Landon Broer answered with a floater along the baseline, as the Knights reclaimed the lead on their next offensive possession. The margin stayed within four for the remainder of the first half, until Southeast used a short spurt to take a 38-37 lead into the halftime break.

Knights and Bobcats continued to trade blows throughout the remainder of the second half. The deficit stretched to three, before a short rally helped North Platte build a 50-45 lead inside the final twelve minutes.

Southeast would not let the Knights run away on their home court and stormed back with an 8-0 run to regain the lead on a layup by Justin Bolis. The game stayed within one possession until one final run over the closing 2:26 helped Southeast secure the come from behind victory.

North Platte (10-11, 3-1 NCCAC) returns to the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium on Tuesday, Feb. 6 for a rematch against Central Community College at 6 p.m.