NPCC Athletics
Great Bend, Kan. – Justus Michael led the Knights with 21 points, but a strong second half propelled No. 2 Barton Community College to a 93-74 win on Tuesday night.
“I thought we played 30 minutes of really good basketball,” said head coach Jacob Brandl. “Unfortunately, you can’t have bad minutes against a team of that caliber.”
Michael connected on 8-of-18 of his shots from the field, while Mo Diao chipped in 18 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in 32 minutes.
North Platte connected on 61.5 percent (8-13) from long range in the opening half. Barton relied on their bench in the opening twenty minutes to take a 46-40 lead into the halftime break.
The Cougars extended the margin into double digits after an 8-3 run with 9:36 remaining in the first half. Itai Alinsky halted the run by connecting from long range, but Barton continued to maintain a three-possession advantage.
A 6-0 run chipped away at the Barton lead after a three pointer from Trey Summers with 6:24 remaining. Barton pushed their lead back into double digits until a late 5-0 run cut the deficit to six at the break.
The Cougars lead grew to 56-42 in the opening minutes of the second half. Back-to-back buckets from Mo Diao helped ignite the North Platte offense. Trailing 60-51, the Knights launched a 10-4 run to cut the deficit to three on a three pointer by Alex Harper with 8:24 remaining.
Barton countered with their own 14-5 run to regain a double-digit lead over the next four minutes. North Platte was limited down the stretch while the Cougars put their finishing touches on their win.
Knights (2-4) return to the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium on Saturday to take on Cloud County Community College. Tip against the Thunderbirds is set for 4 p.m.