T-Birds slip past Knights, 74-70

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — Looking to build some momentum heading into the semester break, the Cloud County Community College Thunderbirds used a balanced offensive attack to slip past North Platte Community College 74-70 on Saturday.
Cloud County, with a second win this season over North Platte, is now 7-6 on the season.
The T-Birds will wrap up first semester play with a trip to Council Bluffs, Iowa, to take on Iowa Western University (9-7) on Tuesday night.
Iyen Enaruna led six Cloud County players in double figures in the win over North Platte with 15 points.
Sami Sanad tossed in 12 points for the T-Birds.
DJ Sims, Dyelan Reed, Chad Vincent-Simon and Denzel Ndongosi added 10 points each.
Cloud County would jump out to a 19-7 lead on North Platte.
The Knights put together a 16-7 run to close the gap to 26-23.
Reed grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to put the T-Birds up 28-23.
North Platte stayed within striking distance, and used a 7-3 spurt late in the first half to make it a 35-33 game.
The Knights (3-7) then outscored Cloud County 6-2 in the opening minutes of the second half to take their first lead, 39-37.
Five straight points gave the T-Birds the lead back at 42-39.
North Platte would pull even at 42-42.
Three-point shots by Enaruna and Reed gave Cloud County a 48-42 advantage.
The T-Birds would not trail again.
North Platte used an 8-2 surge to again tie the game at 50-50.
Cloud County responded with an 8-2 run of their own, and led 58-52 with under 10 minutes to play.
The T-Birds would lead by as many as seven points, 71-64, with under three minutes on the clock.
A three-point play would get the Knights within four points, 71-67.
Cloud County would hold off North Platte over the final 1:32 to capture the win.
The T-Birds hit 27 of 58 field goal attempts for 47 percent and 13 of 18 free throws for 72 percent.
Tim Johnson led North Platte with 15 points. Damon Harge chipped in 11 points.
The Knights shot 32 percent (25 of 78) from the field and 63 percent (15 of 24) from the line.
North Platte had a 52-36 rebounding advantage.