BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The nationally ranked Northampton Men's Basketball team found themselves in a defensive battle on Thursday night, able to pull out a non-conference win over visiting SUNY-Broome, 59-51, at the Arthur L. Scott Center.

The Spartans, ranked 6th in the NJCAA national poll, carried a 36-24 lead into the intermission over the Hornets. The second half was a back and forth tilt highlighted by stingy defense by both teams. Northampton was able to hold on for their 7th straight win, outscoring SUNY-Broome 24-23 in the second half, for the 59-51 victory.

"This was a battle tonight," explained Spartans Head Coach Brennan McCarthy, "SUNY-Broome is a good team and we went back and forth all night, especially in the second half. We again found a way to lock it down on defense and hit the big shots down the stretch. All good things we will continue to build on."

The Spartans defense forced 24 turnovers, turning those turnovers into 16 points, and recorded 9 steals with 8 blocked shots and grabbed 56 rebounds. The Spartans also limited the Hornets to 19-63 (30%) from the floor and 3-21 (14%) from three point range.

Sophomore Guard Kevin Rucker (Philadelphia, PA/Monsignor Bonner Prendergast) was the leading scorer for the Spartans, hitting for 13 points and 4 rebounds, while also shooting 4-6 from the free throw line. Jahad Marable (Philadelphia, PA/Science Leadership Academy - Beeber) and Mekhi Shillingford (Philadelphia, PA/Penn Wood High School) each had a double-double, with Shillingford scoring 11 points along with 10 rebounds and 4 blocked shots and Marable scoring 10 points with 10 rebounds. Caleb Bridgeman (Cheltenham, PA/Plymouth Whitemarsh High School) added 7 points off the bench and was 2-3 from the line and 1-2 from three point range.

The Spartans improve to 7-0 overall.

Northampton will be back on the floor this Saturday, November 22nd when they host Luzerne County Community College at 12pm at the Arthur L. Scott Center.