Late rally falls short against Rattlers

La Junta, Colo. – North Platte narrowed the margin to four inside the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, but the late rally fell short in a 65-53 loss to Otero Junior College on Saturday afternoon.

Dazjanae Greene tallied 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting from the field, while grabbing nine rebounds to lead the Knights on the glass. Jada Thompson and Jada Grigsby rounded out the Knights players in double figures with 11 points, respectively.

A tightly contested opening first half featured strong defense and some timely offense. A three pointer from Katia Nekic in the opening minutes of the second quarter, helped spark a 10-0 run that allowed the Rattlers to build a 26-17 lead.  

North Platte trimmed the deficit in half over the next two minutes, but Otero countered to build their largest lead of the opening half with 2:04 to play. A three pointer from Grigsby helped spark a 10-0 run for North Platte, as they managed to trim the deficit to 36-31 at the halftime break.

An 8-2 run to open the third quarter helped the Knights reclaim the lead on a Thompson jumper in the lane. The Rattlers went on to outscore North Platte 14-2 over the final 3:57, as the margin once again stretched into double digits.

North Platte attempted one final run and was able to cut the margin to 55-51 on a Grigsby three with 7:07 remaining. Rattlers responded once again, closing the quarter on a 10-2 run to close out the victory.

Knights (10-6) return home on Wednesday to take on Lamar Community College. Tip is set for 5 p.m. inside the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium.