Rattlers upset Knights in Region IX opening round

North Platte, Neb. – Otero used an 8-0 run in the final two minutes to upset North Platte to open the Region IX postseason tournament on Saturday, 78-72.

"We had to play catch up the entire game and then just couldn't make the plays down the stretch to put it away," said head coach Jacob Brandl. "Proud of the guys for battling through things all season."

Alex Harper led the Knights with a team high 30 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field. Forward Mo Diao capped off his first season with a double-double, finishing with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Otero controlled the tempo while jumping out to a 12-3 lead behind eight points from Marko Rangan. The margin stretched into double digits with 11:35 remaining, but the Knights finally hit their stride offensively.

Over the course of the next ten minutes, North Platte matched the Rattlers bucket-for-bucket as the deficit dipped under ten with 4:35 left in the first half. Otero strung together another short run before a 9-0 run by North Platte narrowed the deficit to six at the break.

The game remained tight in the opening minutes of the second half, until a 7-2 run gave the Knights their first lead with 11:26 to play. Rattlers quickly responded with a 9-0 run to recapture the advantage. North Platte made one more run in the final minutes to take the lead on a layup by Harper, 72-70. Otero responded by scoring the next eight points to earn the upset win.

Knights close out the season with an 19-12 overall record.