(Knights wing Sedrick Nari)
Concordia, Kan.– The North Platte Community College men’s basketball team came up short Saturday afternoon, falling 94-88 to Cloud County Community College.
Brady Kennison led the Knights with 25 points on 5-of-9 shooting from long range, along with six rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Justus Michael finished the game with 13 points and three steals.
“We gave them way too many free ones, from offensive rebounds and at the free throw line,” said head coach Jacob Brandl. “We need to be better about closing out games when we have the lead late.”
A shot from long range by Dennis Rocha opened up the scoring. Cloud County would quickly take the lead and stretched their advantage to ten with 14:27 remaining. A pair of free throws by Kennison tied it up at 30-30 with 5:48 remaining in the first half. North Platte temporarily took the lead, but a defensive battle ensued as the game remained tied at 38-38 headed into halftime.
North Platte opened up the second half by scoring 11 of the opening 17 points by the first media timeout. Cloud County rebounded to take the lead with 15:55 to play, but a North Platte 12-0 run reversed the momentum. The Knights continued to hold on to the advantage in the closing minutes until Cloud County settled into a rhythm offensively and rallied for the win.
“This one hurt just from a standpoint where you felt you gave it away,” Brandl said.
Knights (4-3) return to action on Saturday against Western Iowa Tech. Tip is set for 3 p.m. inside Robert E. Dunker Center in Sioux City, Iowa.
