BETHLEHEM, Pa. - In a battle of nationally-ranked teams, 7th ranked Northampton used a stifling defensive effort, which included 10 steals, to down (RV) Nassau Community College, 73-61, on Saturday afternoon at the Arthur L. Scott Center. 

Northampton, which led 31-20 in the first half, found themselves down 39-35 five minutes into the second half, but then outscored the Lions 38-22 over the remainder of the contest to secure the non-conference victory. 

"Big win for us today," commented Head Coach Brennan McCarthy, "I wanted us to get challenged to see how we would respond, and Nassau pushed us, but our guys responded and were able get a quality win over a really good opponent."

Titus Wilkins (Easton, PA/Executive Education Academy Charter) led the Spartans with 15 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.  Mike Marable (Harrisburg, PA/Susquehanna) added 15 points, CJ Miles (Bangor, PA/Bangor) and Keenan Roberts Jr. (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin) each had 13 and Tyrese Fuller (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin) chipped in with 11, as Northampton shot 52% for the game.

The 7th ranked Spartans improve to 17-2 overall, while Nassau falls to 11-4. 

Northampton travels to Trenton, NJ to face Division II Mercer County Community College on Tuesday at 6pm in a non-conference matchup.