PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The 2nd seeded Northampton men's basketball team was eliminated from the Region 19 playoffs on Thursday evening, falling to 3rd seeded Community College of Philadelphia, 71-57, at the Arthur L. Scott Center.
The Spartans got off to a slow start, falling behind 14-3, but battled back to take a two-point lead at halftime, 31-29, on a spinning layup from
Mel Copeland (Allentown, PA/William Allen) at the buzzer.
Philadelphia jumped out quickly in the second half, regaining the lead and never relinquishing it, as they outscored Northampton 42-26 over the final 20 minutes.
The Spartans struggled from the field, shooting only 28% for the game, and were out-rebounded by the Lions, 44-41.
"Losing in the playoffs is always tough, dealing with the finality of it," remarked Head Coach
Brennan McCarthy, "we struggled out of the gate, but I was proud of how the guys fought their way back to take the lead at halftime. In the second half, we just never got in sync, credit CCP and Coach Rome, they played hard and made some big plays."
Amyr Fox (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin East ) led Northampton with 18 points,
Mel Copeland (Allentown, PA/William Allen) had 12 and
Zykir Williams (Philadelphia, PA/Boys Latin Charter ) added 4 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Spartans.
Northampton, ranked 12th in the country, ends the season with an overall record of 19-5.
Philadelphia advances to the Region 19 championship game on February 26th, where they will face Brookdale Community College.
