BETHLEHEM, Pa. - NCC's three sophomores; Ralph Padilla, Nick Nickle and Emmanuel Brown didn't plan on their season ending prior to the Region XIX tournament, but the trio was determined to go out in style ... and they did ... leading Northampton to a 97-89 upset of Middlesex County College on Tuesday night in their season finale.

The Spartans, which advanced to the Region XIX Final Four last season, knew they were out of playoff contention, but they certainly did not play like it, dominating the playoff-bound Colts.

Padilla ended his stellar career with a 29 point, 10 rebound effort, finishing with over 800 points and just shy of 400 rebounds for his career.  Nickle (15 points) added five more 3-pointers to his school record, giving him 101 for his career.  Brown dished out 6 assists and ran the offense flawlessly as the three sophomores refused to lose.

"Those three would not let us lose this game," stated Head Coach Kevin Foley, "you could tell during warmups that they were not losing tonight.  I really appreciate what the three of them have done for the program ... both on the court and in the classrooom ... they were part of a final four team last year and stuck through the rough spots this season ... I wish them all the best."

Jaylonn Tullis added 22 points for Northampton, which finishes the season with a 10-17 overall record and a 9-15 mark in Region XIX.

Middlesex falls to 15-13 overall and 12-11 in Region XIX.