Story by Daniel Stinman Area Director of Marketing and Public Information
North Platte, Neb. – The North Platte Community College men’s basketball team finished off their 2021 regular season with a victory over Region IX opponent Western Nebraska Community College on Tuesday night, 106-89.
In the opening half, the Knights jumped out to a 7-0 lead after Jevarrick Butler connected on a pair of free throws. Western Nebraska responded with their own 8-2 run to cut the deficit down to one in the opening minutes of action, 9-8. Butler answered with a free throw line jumper, which sparked an 8-3 run by North Platte to push their lead to six, 17-11.
Cougars attempted to halt the Knights momentum with a bucket with 12:40 to play, but the Knights extended their lead to eight as Butler cut through the defense and laid it off the glass, 21-13. Cougars narrowed the margin back to within one possession by going on a 10-3 run to pull back within one, 24-23.
Knights and Cougars continued to trade buckets over the next few minutes, before Western Nebraska tied the game up at 29-29. Inside the final six minutes of the half, the Knights outscored the Cougars 23-8 to take a fifteen point lead into the half, 52-37.
In the second half, the Knights pushed their lead out to twenty-two in the opening minutes on a three by Jason Eubank, 69-47. The Knights lead hovered around the twenty point margin, until Western Nebraska trimmed the deficit down to twelve as the clock moved inside the final five minutes.
Trevon Dennis halted the Cougars momentum by grabbing his own offensive rebound and laying it off the glass, which ignited a 10-4 run for North Platte. The Knights continued to score inside the final minute of regulation, as Butler connected on a pair of free throws and a deep three as the Knights closed out the Cougars.
North Platte finished the night with six players in double digits including Butler (24), German Plotnikov (18), Eubank (16), Danilo Matovic (13), Nolan Sughroue (12), and Dennis (11).
Knights shot 59.7 percent from the floor, 35.7 percent from beyond the arc, and 77.1 percent from the free throw line against the Cougars.
The Knights (7-12) will be on the road for the opening round of the DI Region IX Tournament. North Platte will travel to McCook, Neb. on Saturday, April 3 to take on the Indians of McCook Community College. North Platte defeated the Indians in both regular season meetings.