BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The nationally ranked Northampton Men's Basketball team battled their way to a hard fought, 96-86, win over visiting NJCAA DII Mercer County Community College on Thursday evening at the Arthur L. Scott Center.

The Spartans held the visitors to 46.9% (30-64) from the field and dominated the boards by grabbing 44 rebounds against the Mustangs. The Spartans shot 55.9% (38-68) and were 77.8% (14-18) from the charity stripe to help fuel the non-conference win.

"The little things that matter," explained Spartans Head Coach Brennan McCarthy, "We did a real nice job tonight controlling the boards and giving ourselves chances to score inside and we also took care of things on the free throw line. We played strong defense down the stretch and did a did nice job spreading out our offense and getting multiple players involved. This was a good win against a very good opponent as we start to hit the stretch run. Proud of our effort tonight."

Both teams were in a back and forth tilt from the start and the Spartans were able to carry some late first half momentum and the lead into half-time, 42-38. The Mustangs answered back in the second half and were able to build a 63-58 lead with 11:08 remaining in the contest. Mekhi Shillingford (Philadelphia, PA/Penn Wood High School) hit a running layup for the Spartans to cut the lead to 63-60 and the home team started to claw back into the game. The tide finally turned for the Spartans when with just over 6 minutes to play and the score knotted at 72 apiece, Shillingford again came through with an inside basket and a foul to convert a 3 point play, putting the Spartans on top for good, 75-72. Northampton was able to extend the lead down the stretch and close out the contest for the win.

Sophomore point guard Terrence Cobb (Chester, PA/STEM Academy) led the Spartans in scoring with 23 points while dishing  out 3 assists and shooting 5-9 from three point range. Sophomore forward Kevin Rucker (Philadelphia, PA/Monsignor Bonner Prendergast) chipped in with 20 points along with 4 rebounds and shooting 4-5 from the free-throw line. Sophomore Lamaj Mapp (Darby, PA/Penn Wood High School) recorded the double-double with 18 points and a game-high 19 rebounds and 1 block. Jahad Marable (Philadelphia, PA/Science Leadership Academy - Beeber) scored 12 points with 3 rebounds and was 4-5 from the free-throw line. Mekhi Shillingford (Philadelphia, PA/Penn Wood High School) contributed 14 points and 3 rebounds while Anniel Pichardo (Reading, PA/Downey Christian School) scored 7 points with 4 assists and 2 steals, both off the bench.

Northampton, back up to 5th in the most recent NJCAA DIII national poll, improve to 19-2 overall.

NJCAA DII Mercer County Community College slips to 9-11 overall following the loss.

The Spartans are back in action on Saturday when they host Union College of New Jersey in a Region 19 match-up at 2pm at the Arthur L. Scott Center.