Knights storm back and hang on for thrilling win in home opener
Trailing by 11 points at halftime (46-35) and as many as 17 in the early stages of the second half the Northern Essex Community College men’s basketball pulled off a thrilling come from behind victory over the Granite of Quincy College on Thursday evening with an 83-81 victory.
Haverhill, MA (November 17, 2022) – Trailing by 11 points at halftime (46-35) and as many as 17 in the early stages of the second half the Northern Essex Community College men's basketball pulled off a thrilling come from behind victory over the Granite of Quincy College on Thursday evening with an 83-81 victory. With the win, the Knights improve to 6-1 on the season and remain unbeaten in conference play 3-0.
Trailing 81-79 and having never led since the 17-minute mark of the first half, freshman Ryan Pacy (Salem, NH) drilled a three pointer from the left side with just over a minute to play to give NECC the lead 82-81. A strong defensive effort on the ensuing possession that included a block from Edwin SamMbaka (Paris, FR) and steal from Luis Reynoso (Lawrence) sealed the win for the Knights.
For the fifth time in seven games this season Reynoso led the Knights in scoring with 24 points and recorded his fourth consecutive double-double with 17 rebounds and added 4 steals.
Pacy added 19 points all of which came in the second half and Cristian Kinsley (Lawrence) tossed in 12 points as the three led the Knights in double figures.
Peter Lopata (Groveland) and Tre Fite (Washington, OH) provided NECC solid minutes of the bench and provide a boost as the Knights cut Quincy's early 17 point lead down to 2 points in just over three minutes.
Looking to remain unbeaten in conference play, the Knights will remain home on Saturday as they play host to MassBay Community College at 12:00pm