Knights fall in regular season finale to Trojans

North Platte, Neb. – Davion Evans finished with 21 points, but the Trojans of Trinidad State College rallied late to earn the 72-69 road win.

A tightly contested opening half featured five lead changes, before a late run helped Trinidad build a four-point halftime lead. North Platte trailed early, but a jumper by Parker Baumann sparked an 8-3 run to put the Knights out front with 11:54 to play.

Trinidad responded quickly to regain the momentum, but North Platte rallied to knot the game up on a Landon Broer three pointer. Trojans fired back to outscore the Knights over the final 4:17 to take a 39-35 lead into the halftime break.

North Platte erased the deficit in the early moments of the second half, before regaining the lead on a layup by Evans. The margin stayed within one possession until a 9-2 run built a 60-53 advantage for the Knights with 8:13 to play.

Trinidad countered over the next two minutes to regain the lead, as a steal and transition layup put the Trojans out front with 6:06 remaining. North Platte waited patiently until a layup by Evans capped off a short run, as the lead changed hands again in the final two minutes. Trinidad responded with a three from Lateef Patrick, before closing out the scoring with a free throw to earn the come from behind victory.

North Platte (13-15) will hit the road for the opening round of the Region IX postseason tournament. Knights have earned a rematch with the Rattlers of Otero Junior College on Saturday, March 9 in La Junta, Colo.