Story by NPCC Athletic Communications
North Platte, Neb. – Justus Michael and Mo Diao each finished the game with a double-double, as North Platte dominates Laramie County, 97-76, on Saturday afternoon.
Michael recorded 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Diao added 18 points and 12 rebounds against the Golden Eagles. Sedrick Nari chipped in 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field, while Maurice Reide added 12 points to round out the North Platte double digit scorers.
North Platte trailed for only 32 seconds in the entire game, which came in the opening minutes of the first half. In a tightly contested battle, Laramie County jumped out to a 5-3 lead on a three pointer by Andre Bennett. A 9-1 spurt behind four points from Diao put the Knights back out front with 16:26 remaining.
Laramie County cut the margin down to one twice over the next 3:26, but an 11-4 run pushed the Knights lead to 37-25 inside five minutes to play. Laramie County used eight straight points from Bennett to trim the margin to four, but a clutch three from Alex Harper triggered another short run to help North Platte carry a 46-37 lead into the break.
The Knights lead grew to as many as 25 in the second half, as they continued to control the tempo on their way to a 21-point win.
North Platte shot 44.2 percent (34-77) from the field, while connecting on 10-of-24 from long range. Knights won the rebounding battle, 54-36, while turning 19 offensive rebounds into 22 second chance points.
Knights (6-5) open conference action on Tuesday with Central Community College. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m. inside the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium.