Knights fall in overtime to Plainsmen

North Platte, Neb. – Parker Baumann led the Knights with 22 points, but an early run in the opening minutes of overtime helped Northeastern earn the 83-81 win over North Platte on Saturday night.

The Plainsmen erased an eleven-point second half deficit to retake the lead on a pair of free throws with 6:51 remaining in regulation. North Platte stayed within two possessions down the stretch until Baumann led the Knights back with six points in an 8-4 spurt to send the game into overtime.

The Plainsmen quickly built a four-point lead before a pair of free throws from Bryce Baez cut the margin to 80-78 with 3:21 to play. Knights edged closer with a 3-2 spurt inside the final minute, but the Plainsmen connected on the back end of a pair of free throws to close out the win.

North Platte finished the game shooting 48.5 percent (33-68) from the field, while connecting on 8-of-20 (.400) from long range. Northeastern won the battle on the glass, 49-36, but North Platte held the Plainsmen to just 40 percent shooting from the floor.

A 14-1 run helped North Platte erase an early Plainsmen lead in the opening minutes of the first half. Knights pushed their lead to 30-18 on a floater by Emmanuel Oladeru, but Northeastern cut the margin to five with 3:14 to play on a three from Michael Murphy.

Baez answered with his own three to halt the momentum shift, as North Platte responded with a short spurt to build a 38-29 lead inside the final two minutes. Northeastern managed to cut the margin to six, but a layup in transition helped North Platte take a 42-34 lead into the halftime break.

North Platte (12-13, 3-6 Region IX) will close out the road portion of their season against Western Nebraska Community College on Tuesday. Tip is set for 7 p.m. in Scottsbluff.