Story by Mid-Plains Community College Marketing and Public Information
Trinidad, Colo. – The Knights final run falls short as the Trojans of Trinidad State Junior College earn the victory on Friday night, 81-68.
North Platte Community College jumped out to an 8-2 advantage as German Plotnikov laid one of the glass just two minutes into the action on Friday night. The Trojans halted the Knights momentum and cut the deficit to one possession less than a minute later, 8-6.
The Knights stretched their lead back to six as Jason Eubank cut through the lane and laid one off the glass with 13:08 to play in the first half, 17-11. Trojans offense responded again going on an 8-2 run to take their first lead of the game with 9:13 remaining in the half, 20-19.
The Trojans lead grew over the next six minutes as Trinidad State used an 14-4 run to stretch their lead to 32-24. Closing in on the final minutes of the first half, the Knights attempted to cut into the Trojans lead but were stopped short as Trinidad State carried a 37-30 lead into the break.
Out of the break, the Trojans expanded their lead to ten just forty seconds into the second half, 40-30. Danilo Matovic responded for the Knights by hitting a contested three to put the deficit back to seven with 17:13 to play.
The Trojans responded pushing their lead back to double digits by the 14:45 mark as they began to heat up from the outside. Knights made one last run to change the momentum of the game cutting the deficit to seven inside three minutes to play on a Eubank jumper, 69-62.
Trojans silenced the momentum shift by outscoring the Knights 12-6 over the final minutes to claim the 81-68 victory.
Knights finished the night with four scorers in double digits including Plotnikov (19), Eubank (15), Matovic (14), and Timur Krupalija (11).
The Knights fall to 2-7 on the year and will look to rebound tomorrow as they travel to La Junta, Colo. to take on Otero Junior College Rattlers. This will be the first meeting between the Knights and Rattlers this season. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m.