BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Northampton men's basketball team fell in overtime, 84-81, to the Community College of Philadelphia on Saturday evening in the Region XIX semifinals. 

In a tight contest that saw 19 lead changes and 16 ties, the Lions were able to tie the game late in regulation and then hold off the Spartans in the extra session.

"It was a battle of wills tonight," remarked Head Coach Brennan McCarthy, "It came down to a couple of plays and that was the difference in the game ... I think if you asked Coach Rome (CCP Coach), he would agree that these two teams are pretty evenly matched and one play can make the difference in winning and losing ... unfortunatley for our guys, we were on short end today."

Tony James (Harrisburg, PA/Harrisburg ) hauled down 17 rebounds, scored 5 points and dished out 4 assists, while D'Andre Davis (York, PA/York Catholic ) paced Northampton with 26 points. 

Nazir Gossette (Philadelphia, PA/Math, Civics & Sciences Charter) finished with 13 points and 9 boards and Marquise McClean (York, PA/William Penn ) added 14 points and 5 rebounds. 

The loss drops the top-seeded Spartans to 25-4 overall.

Philadelphia will advance to the Region XIX title game on Sunday vs. Montgomery County Community College at 2:30pm. 

Northampton will now wait to see if they earn an at-large bid to the NJCAA Division III National Tournament.  The selections will be made on Wednesday March 4th.