North Platte, Neb. – Bruce Carpenter powered the offense with 32 points, as the Knights earn the 97-79 upset win over division rival Western Nebraska Community College on Tuesday night.
Carpenter connected on 11-of-23 of his shots from the field for his second thirty plus point game this season. Kayden Crosby led the Knights on the glass with 12 rebounds to accompany his nine points against the Cougars.
As a team, North Platte finished the game shooting 51.5 percent (35-68) from the field, while scoring 31 points off of 19 Western Nebraska turnovers.
The Knights settled into an early offensive rhythm as they jumped out to a 25-8 lead in the opening ten minutes. The Cougars fired back to trim the margin slightly on a transition three, but North Platte countered to extend their lead to 37-16 with 6:01 remaining.
North Platte continued to fire on all cylinders in the opening half, as Antwone Gonzales connected on a turnaround jumper on the baseline to give the Knights their largest lead of the opening half. Teams continued to trade buckets over the final two minutes, but a strong opening half gave the Knights the comfortable 50-26 lead at the halftime break.
A North Platte steal and two-handed jam by Crosby pushed the lead to 61-27 in the opening three minutes of the second half. Cougars countered over the next 8:52 to narrow the margin to twelve, as a long run reenergized the road team.
The Knights never let their lead dip into single digits as Davion Evans halted the run by finishing his contested runner in the lane. North Platte kept responding over the closing minutes to rebuild the large deficit and close out the Cougars.
The Knights (12-13, 2-7 Region IX South) will continue with Region IX action as they hit the road to take on the Trojans of Trinidad State College on Friday. Tip is set for 8 p.m. inside the Scott Gym in Trinidad, Colo.
