NORTH PLATTE – North Platte Community College's Tyree Peter had a double-double of 16 points and 17 rebounds as the Knights claimed a 90-73 South Division win over Western Nebraska Community College Saturday evening in North Platte.

                WNCC trailed just 37-32 at intermission, but an early second-half run that resulted in a North Platte 61-41 lead was the big difference.

                The loss drops the Cougars to 5-8 in South play and 15-10 overall. North Platte moves to 7-5 in the South Division and 15-9 overall. WNCC is still alive to host a first-round regional tournament game as they are just two games out of a top four position.

                WNCC head coach Russ Beck said it was a rough night, but they still have a chance for a top tournament seeding.

                "I love our group. We have great young men and everyone know it. We just need to play together," he said. "Three straight home games give us a chance to pick up some momentum. We need to finish strong."

                Saturday night was a mixture of several things, Beck said.

                "It was a rough night and we need to get healthy," he said. "We are missing two starters and three bench players. We did a poor job keeping Tyree Peters off the offensive glass. We also played selfishly offensively with only two assists to 16 turnovers. We need to play both ends of the floor as a team."

                Both teams shot equally. WNCC connected on 45 percent of its shots while North Platte was at 48 percent. WNCC connected on five treys, led by Chase Mason with three, while North Platte had four 3-pointers.

                The difference was in free throw shooting where North Platte was 80 percent (20 of 25) while WNCC was just at 58 percent (14 of 24).

                The other difference was scoring. North Platte placed five players in double figures, led by Leito Holloway with 19 points.

                WNCC had three players in double figures. Phil Fayne led the way with a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds. Michael Sparks led all scorers in the game with 23 points, including going 10 of 11 from the free throw line.

                Daylon Harris also recorded 11 points, while Tyrell Williams cleaned the glass with 11 rebounds.

                WNCC will return to action on Tuesday when they host Northeastern Junior College in a women's and men's South Division doubleheader.

WNCC                   32 41 – 73

North Platte       37 53 – 90

WNCC

Daylon Harris 11, RJ Palmer 4, Michael Sparks 23, Michael Connor 3, Bo McVay 3, Derrick Bowers 3, Chase Mason 8, Phil Fayne 11, Tyrell Williams 7.

NORTH PLATTE

Tim Wagner 3, Leito Holloway 19, Diontae Champion 16, Mark Gilbert 3, Victor Lewis 17, Tyree Peter 16, Jordan Mills 10, Michael Mitchell 6.