HERKIMER, NY - The Northampton men's basketball team advanced to the NJCAA Final Four with a 69-67 victory over Northern Essex Community College on Thursday evening at the Lee Center on the campus of Herkimer College. 

After falling behind 7-0 in the first 1:30 of the contest, Northampton went on a 29 to 10 run to take a 29-17 lead with 4:34 remaining in the 1st half, before setting for a 1-point lead (34-33) at the halftime break. 

The 5th seeded Spartans held the lead for the entire second half, holding off a number of runs from the #4 Knights, to earn the berth in the Final Four.

"Just a great effort tonight," remarked Head Coach Brennan McCarthy, "the guys battled for 40 minutes.  Northern Essex is a very good team, I thought we did a good job defensively holding them to 31% from the field, but they made it very difficult on us as well, but we were able to make some timely plays and hit free throws down the stretch."

Mike Marable (Harrisburg, PA/Susquehanna) led the Spartans with 20 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, while Titus Wilkins (Easton, PA/Executive Education Academy Charter) added 13 points and 5 rebounds.

Luis Reynoso led the Knights with 29 points, including a 16 for 18 effort from the foul line. 

The Spartans, now 30-3 overall, will face #1 seed Sandhills Community College in the national semifinals at 5pm on Friday March 17th. 

Northern Essex falls to 31-2 overall with the loss. 

The 30 wins for Northampton sets a program record for wins in a single season.