Story by NPCC Athletic Communications
North Platte, Neb. – North Platte carried the lead into the final minute of regulation, but a clutch three helped Trinidad State escape with the 91-89 win on Saturday afternoon.
Sedrick Nari led the Knights with 24 points on 6-of-12 shooting from long range, while Justus Michael chipped in 19 points and four rebounds. Mo Diao, Trey Summers, and Alex Harper rounded out the Knights players in double digits with 11 points apiece.
“It was another tough loss tonight in a game that we played well enough to win,” said head coach Jacob Brandl. “We had to many mental mistakes that caught up to us in the end.”
North Platte held the lead for most of the second half until an 8-2 run capped off by an Amir Reaves putback gave the Trojans the 72-70 lead. The game remained tight down the stretch as the margin stayed within one possession.
Inside the final two minutes, Michael forced a Trinidad turnover before finding Diao in transition for the game tying bucket. North Platte limited the Trojans to a deep three on their next possession, before Summers split the defense and finished his layup as the Knights took the lead.
Trinidad fired back with a quick 5-0 burst to regain control on a three by Reaves with eleven seconds remaining. North Platte could not steal back the lead in the closing seconds, as Trinidad closed the game out at the free throw line.
Knights finished the game shooting 45.1 percent (32-71) from the field but only managed to connect on 33.3 percent (12-36) from long range. Trinidad knocked down 49.2 percent of their shots from the field, while winning the rebounding battle, 43-32.
The Trojans used a 7-2 run to take control early in the first half. Trinidad State would not let the Knights catch up, until five straight points from Nari pushed the Knights into the lead. North Platte held the momentum the rest of the way to take a 47-43 lead into the halftime break.
“Now we need to get ready for playoff basketball and fortunately for us we earned the right to host the first-round game,” Brandl said.
Knights (19-11) will host the opening round of the Region IX postseason tournament next Saturday.