Strong 2nd half propels Knights to season opening win
The Northern Essex Community College men’s basketball team used a strong second half shooting performance to pick up their first win in the NHTI Tap-Off Classic since an overtime win on November 3rd 2017 and open the 2022-23 campaign in the win column with an 81-69 victory over the tournament host Lynx.
Concord, NH (November 4, 2022) – The Northern Essex Community College men's basketball team used a strong second half shooting performance to pick up their first win in the NHTI Tap-Off Classic since an overtime win on November 3rd 2017 and open the 2022-23 campaign in the win column with an 81-69 victory over the tournament host Lynx.
Trailing by one at the break (36-35), the Knights outscored NHTI by a 46-33 margin in the second half to pull away in the game's final minutes.
Luis Reynoso (Lawrence) was the game's high scorer as he dropped in 21 points on 5-11 shooting from the floor and knocking down 11 of his 13 free throw attempts. He also grabbed a game high eight rebounds and added five blocked shots in his debut for the Knights.
Jeremiah Melendez (Lawrence) and Ryan Pacy (Salem, NH) both joined Reynoso in double digits with 12 and 10 points respectively.
Edwin SamMbaka (Paris, FR) and Peter Lopata (Groveland) led a strong defensive effort off the bench that frustrated the home team and propelled NECC to a second half lead that got to as much as 15 points with just under two minutes remaining in the game.
Northern Essex will have a quick turnaround as they return to the NHTI campus on Saturday afternoon for day two of the Tap-Off Classic where they will face Central Maine at 12:00pm