BETHLEHEM, PA. - The nationally ranked Northampton Men's Basketball team had all they could handle on Tuesday night, slipping past Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, 70-69, at the Arthur L. Scott Center.

The Spartans, ranked 5th in the NJCAA National Poll, started off a little slow in the first half and trailed by as many as 8 points before finding their rhythm and taking a 37-29 lead into half-time. The Spartans, outscored in the second half, 40-33, found a way to hit the big shots when they needed and get the stops at the crucial times to hold on for their 11th straight win to open the 2025-26 season.

"No question, tough battle tonight," explained Spartans Head Coach Brennan McCarthy, "We started a little slow and got ourselves going a little bit and started to separate going into the half. But, give Thaddeus Stevens credit. They played us tough. I felt we did a nice job just battling and we took care of things when we needed to down the stretch. This was another good test."

Point Guard Terrence Cobb (Chester, PA/STEM Academy) led the Spartans with 18 points while dishing off 5 assists and Jahad Marable (Philadelphia, PA/Science Leadership Academy - Beeber) scored 12 points and grabbed 10 boards for the double-double. Aiden Brown (Philadelphia, PA/Math Civic and Science Charter) also recorded a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for the Spartans. Anniel Pichardo (Reading, PA/Downey Christian School) scored 15 points off the bench and was 3-4 from three-point range.

The Spartans saw an 8 point lead, 67-59, dwindle away in the last 5 minutes of the game, as timely shooting and costly turnovers began to factor heavily in the final minutes. A 3-point basket by Thaddeus Stevens cut the lead to 67-62 with 4:30 remaining and Jahad Marable (Philadelphia, PA/Science Leadership Academy - Beeber) converted a free-throw to put the Spartans back up, 68-62 with just over 4 minutes remaining. With 2:17 remaining on the clock, Terrence Cobb (Chester, PA/STEM Academy) converted a layup to put the Spartans up, 70-65, and that would be it for the Spartans the rest of the way. Thaddues Stevens was able to cut the lead to 70-69 with 9 ticks remaining and one last opportunity to try and steal the upset. The Spartans defense cut off all angles in the final seconds and prevented Thaddues Stevens from taking a game winning shot as time expired.

The Spartans improve to 11-0 overall and 7-0 in Region 19.

Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology is 5-6 overall and 2-3 in the Region.

Northampton will be back in action on Thursday, December 11th when they take on 10th ranked Montgomery County Community College in a Top-10 showdown at 7pm at the Arthur L. Scott Center.