TOMS RIVER, NJ - After falling behind 32-8 in the first half, the NCC men's basketball team regained their composure and slowly cut into the lead, eventually cutting the margin to 7 (86-79), with four minutes remaining, but a missed shot followed by a JaMario Clayton 3-pointer pushed Ocean's lead back to 10 and the Spartans could get no closer, as the Vikings earned a 103-90 victory.

"I have to hand it to Clayton," remarked NCC Head Coach Kevin Foley refering to Ocean's sophomore guard who scored 47 points, "he played an outstanding game and we really had no answer for him ... he is one of the best, if not the best, in this Region."

Ralph Padilla had his second consecutive game with over 30 points, scoring 31 to lead NCC, while Jaylonn Tullis had 17, Jahron Mathies 16 and Nick Nickle 15.

NCC falls to 8-16 overall and 7-14 in Region XIX.

Ocean is now in 3rd place in the region with a 15-4 mark and is 16-6 overall.

The Spartans return home on Tuesday night when they host Atlantic Cape Community College at 8:00pm.