Herkimer, NY (March 12, 2026) – The top seeded Northern Essex Community College men's basketball team saw five players score in double figures as their fast pace subdued ninth seeded Genesee Community College on Thursday afternoon by a 99-78 final score. The Knights 31st win of the season sends them onto the programs first ever final four. NECC will play on Friday evening at 5:00pm against the winner of 12th seeded Joliet and 4th seeded Salem.
The Knights won the opening tip and went ahead 2-0 on a layup from Yunosuke Matsuda (Tokyo, JP) in the opening seconds and after a back and forth first four minutes of play an Alejandro Delgado (Haverhill) layup at the 16:12 mark of the opening half, gave the Knights a 10-8 advantage that would continue to grow through the half.
NECC went to the locker room with a 21-point halftime lead at 44-23 and led by as many as 25 points in the closing minutes of the first half.
Delgado led five Knights in double figures as he had team highs of 14 points and nine rebounds. Joan Vidal (Lawrence) and Johnarieus Davis (Waterbury, CT) each scored 11, while Alex Johnson (Worcester) and Jay'von Depina (Brockton) dropped 10 each.
Crisitan Moscat (Lawrence) added nine points on three of five shooting from behind the three-point arc. Matsuda also finished with nine points and a game high six assists.
NECC continued the explosive play in the second half as the lead grew to as many as 30 points before the teams eventually played even at 55 points apiece in the second half.
For the game, the Knights shot 54.9 percent from the floor including 47.4 percent from three (9-19). Genesee was held to 34.6 percent shooting and the Knights bench outscored Genesee 48-20.