BETHLEHEM, Pa. - After a 46-day layoff the Northampton men's basketball team returned to the Arthur L. Scott Center and dominated visiting Harrisburg Area Community College, 134-73 on Saturday afternoon.

The 11th ranked Spartans trailed by as much as 7 early in the contest as they shook off the rust from their long layoff, but once they started firing on all cylinders, it was all over for the Hawks. 

Northampton led 62-44 at the break and then outscored Harrisburg 72-29 in the second half, shooting 62% from the field for the game and out-rebounding the Hawks 57-20. 

"We were definitely a little slow out of the gate," remarked Head Coach Brennan McCarthy, "but once we got rolling, I was really happy with our effort and efficiency after such a long layoff."

Gary Francis (Morrisville, PA/Pennsbury) led the Spartans with 27 points, followed by Michael Marable (Harrisburg, PA/Susquehanna Twp.) with 17, Kymir Roper (Upper Darby, PA/Upper Darby,) 16, Zykir Williams (Philadelphia, PA/Boys Latin Charter ) 15, Jymir Thompson (Philadelphia, PA/Dobbins Tech) 12, Amyr Fox (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin East ) 11 and Michael Mish (Leesport, PA/Schuylkill Valley) 10.  11 of the 12 Spartans in uniform scored at least one point.

Tyrese Fuller (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin) finished with 9 points and 10 rebounds in his first game with the Spartans, while Fox added 7 assists Williams recorded 10 rebounds. 

Northampton, which improves to 19-2 all-time vs. Harrisburg, moves to 12-2 overall, while Harrisburg falls to 0-3. 

The Spartans are back in the Spartan Center on Tuesday night when they host Lehigh Carbon Community College at 7pm.