The North Platte Community College men’s basketball team defeated Trinidad State Junior College and Otero Junior College on the road on Friday and Saturday to finish the regular season.

The Knights opened the road trip by dominating Trinidad 99-68 on Friday in Trinidad, Colo.

Brady Kennison, who scored 39 points, ignited a 9-0 run for the Knights (17-12) with two free throws at the 15:44 mark, and a Brandon Domsch layup soon extended North Platte’s lead to 17. The Trojans managed to cut the deficit to 10, but the Knights led 46-27 at halftime.

In the second half, North Platte broke the game open with a dominant 12-0 run, expanding their lead to 31 points. They later pushed the margin to 34, leaving the Trojans with too much ground to make up, as the Knights cruised to victory.

“Everyone is going to talk about our offense but I’m really proud of our defensive effort,” NPCC Head Coach Jacob Brandl said. ” We came out with the mindset that this was a must win game and it showed.”

The next day, NPCC traveled to La Junta, Colo., where they defeated Otero 81-68.

The first half was a back-and-forth battle with four lead changes and three ties before the Knights went on an 8-0 run to take control. North Platte pushed the lead to 11 with 1:31 left after a one-handed dunk by Justus Michael and the Knights entered halftime leading 39-27.

North Platte came out firing, scoring the first 12 of 16 points to build an early 19-point lead. They later extended their advantage to 20 with a long-range shot from Kennison. Otero fought back, cutting the deficit to nine with just 3:11 remaining, but it wasn’t enough as North Platte held on to secure the victory.

“Our guys did an excellent job adjusting as the game progressed,” Brandl saidd. “Games like this are always challenging, especially with back-to-back matchups. Sometimes the offense is clicking, and other times the shots just aren’t falling but our defense was outstanding throughout the weekend.”

Michael had a team high 27 points while Kennison scored 12 and dished out 14 assists.

Next, NPCC will host a first round matchup in the Region IX tournament against an opponent to be determined.

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