BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The 4th ranked Northampton men's basketball team was highlighted by LehighValleyLive.com as they prepare to open the 2023 Region 19 playoffs on Tuesday February 28th vs. Passaic County Community College.  Game time is set for 7pm at the Arthur L. Scott Center. 

Corky Blake | For lehighvalleylive.com

Everything appears to be lined up favorably for the Northampton Community College men's basketball team to be the first one in program history to compete in the NJCAA Division III national tournament.

The Spartans are 26-2 overall and ranked fourth nationally in D-III this week.

Statistically, Northampton CC is the best defensive squad in D-III.

The Spartans are riding a 17-game winning streak, are 13-0 at home and are the No. 1 seed for NJCAA's 11-team Region 19 tournament.

They also are 19-1 against teams from Region 19, which is composed of programs from eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Northampton CC will host ninth-seeded Passaic County on Tuesday night in the second round. Passaic, which eliminated eighth-seeded Thaddeus Stevens Tech 88-84 on Saturday, dealt the Spartans their lone region loss, 82-77, on Dec. 8 in Paterson, New Jersey.

"I've been excited about this group from the first day," NCC coach Brennan McCarthy said. "They've been an absolute great group to be around. I look forward to coming to practice every day. They have a special character about them both outside and inside the basketball program.

"How good could we be? We've always had talented kids, but you're never sure because the season is so long starting back on Oct. 1."

This is McCarthy's ninth season as the Spartans' head coach and eighth on the floor. The 2020-21 season was canceled due to COVID-19.

After going a combined 24-28 in McCarthy's first two seasons, Northampton CC has strung together six straight winning records, including 25-4 in 2019-20. The Spartans have advanced to the Region 19 Final Four in four of the last five tournaments.

But what's missing from this résumé of success is a Region 19 championship and its accompanying ticket to the national tournament. Or even a berth in the title game, which at least would put the Spartans in the conversation for one of the four at-large berths to nationals.

"That's the code we're trying to crack," McCarthy said without hesitation. "Our biggest challenge is playing as the No. 1 seed. But this year we're statistically the best team in the country, holding teams to 35% shooting."

The Spartans are within a 10th of a point of being No. 1 in fewest points allowed per game (63.4 to 63.3) at the Division III non-scholarship level. They're also fourth in defensive net efficiency and 14th in rebounding margin (9.3).

"We have a team that can score from all over the court, but our biggest goal is to be good at the defensive end," McCarthy said. "We've never been this good defensively. We need to lean on our defense and lock down at that end."

McCarthy noted he fields a well-seasoned squad, including a pair of local freshmen who aren't true community college, first-year players.

Bangor Area High School graduate CJ Miles is the point guard after spending a prep year at Scotland Campus. Freshman 6-foot-5 swingman Titus Miles of Executive Education hadn't played organized ball since starting his college career at Shippensburg two years ago.

Add in sophomores Tyrese Fuller (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin) and Mike Marable (Harrisburg, PA/Susquehanna), their leading scorer (16.2 ppg) and rebounder (7.7 rpg), to the starting lineup, a challenging schedule and, well, the Spartans do seem primed to take that next big step.

"I'm from Bangor where they have a winning culture so I always expect to win," said Miles, who is the team's second-leading scorer at 14.2 ppg. "We have some highly skilled players, like Titus, and we have expectations like winning Region 19 and the national championship."

Miles said spending a year at Scotland Campus, located near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, helped prepare him for the college level and improve his all-around game.

"I'm more explosive, I'm stronger and I'm a better shooter than I was at Bangor," Miles said. "I have a better touch on my shot around the rim on my floaters."

Miles relishes his role as the point guard.

"There's a lot of responsibilities to lead the team at both the offensive and defensive ends," he said. "It keeps your head in the game at all times."

McCarthy is proud of the way Wilkins, who lives in Forks Township, was able to battle through an early hip injury and then an extended absence because of a concussion in late November. He didn't play in the loss to Passaic.

The second-semester Wilkins is much more the player people saw excel at Executive and draw the attention of Division II Shippensburg.

"Titus is able to score the ball," McCarthy said. "He doesn't average the most points for us, but he's our most prolific scorer. Since Jan. 1 when he returned from the concussion, he's been healthy. The first semester he was off and on and not consistent. And as much as I praise his offense, he's been tremendous defensively for us. We can put him on the other team's best player."

"I take pride in my defense," Wilkins said. "Even when I wasn't playing, I could still play defense in whatever game I was in. Once I got back in school playing, I wanted to make sure I could help the team in anything and everything I did."

Wilkins has sharpened his skills both physically and mentally since high school.

"I'm definitely a more confident shooter," said Wilkins, who's averaging 13.9 ppg and 4.8 rpg. "When I was in high school, I wasn't as confident a shooter as I am now. I'm also able to make precise and faster decisions. When I came here, I just needed some time to understand and remember the plays."