BLUE BELL, Pa. - 19 first half turnovers contributed to a 47-35 halftime deficit and the NCC men's basketball team could never fully climb out of that 12 point hole in suffering an 89-79 defeat at Montgomery County Community College on Tuesday night.

The Spartans cut the Mustangs lead to 5 points with three minutes to play, but Montgomery was able to hold on down the stretch to earn the conference victory.

"We are getting better," remarked Head Coach Kevin Foley, "while it may seem strange to say that after a loss, I saw some good things tonight and I like the direction we are headed.  We obviously need to do a better job handling the ball, but we are making progress."

Jaylonn Tullis and Ralph Padilla each scored 16 points and Nick Nickle added 15 to lead the Spartans. 

NCC, which hosts Cumberland County College on Thursday at 8pm, falls to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in conference play.

Montgomery improves to 2-1 overall and 2-1 in Region XIX.