(courtesy NPCC Athletics)
Garden City, Kan. – The North Platte Community College men’s basketball team suffered its first loss of the season Wednesday afternoon, falling 106–100 to Garden City Community College.
Justus Michael led the Knights with 25 points, while Brandon Domsch added 16. Dennis Rocha (15) and Daniel Benjamin (12) also scored in double figures for North Platte.
“Garden City is a really good team and proved it tonight,” said head coach Jacob Brandl. “We got out to a terrible start in the first half, which made it hard to come back.”
Broncbusters opened the game on a 15–0 run. The Knights responded by cutting the deficit to 16-14 after a pair of free throws from Rocha with 12:34 remaining. Garden City settled back into a rhythm and pushed their lead to 17 points with 6:53 to play before halftime, eventually taking a 54-35 lead into the break.
The second half remained evenly matched early, with Garden City maintaining its 19-point cushion as they reached the 70-point mark. A three-pointer from John Sims IV with 3:51 left ignited a 14–2 North Platte run, closing the gap to five. Domsch made the last basket for the Knights cutting their deficit to four. Garden City added two more points down the stretch to escape with the win.
“The team showed tremendous fight, and that’s something we can lean on as the season continues,” Brandl said.
Knights (3-1) return to action on Saturday against Fort Hays Tech Northwest. Tip is set for 3 p.m. inside McDonald-Belton Gymnasium.
