NECC Observer

The student news website of Northern Essex Community College, Haverhill and Lawrence, Mass.

Knights wrap up December games

In December the NECC Knights played 5 games, 4 away and 1 home. They played Roxbury, Bunker Hill, Springfield Tech, Southern Maine CC and Gateway (Conn).

On Dec. 1 at Roxbury, the Knights won 83-79. Roxbury outscored the Knights in the second half, 44-36, but that was not enough to reel in the “W.” Knights player Kevin Brito scored the most for NECC with 18 points. Matt Jameson and Bryan Morales were close behind, both with 13 points.

Roxbury did top the Knights in 3-point field goal percentage, with 30 percent compared to NECC’s 27 percent. They also beat the Knights free throw percentage and made more rebounds than the Knights.

After Roxbury, the team traveled to Bunker Hill and was handed their only loss in December and their first road loss of the season. Bunker Hill defeated the Knights 122-102.

The high scoring game saw Knights, Morales score 22 points, Dominic Dar with 19, and Jonathan Paulino scored 14 points.

On the other side of the court, Bunker Hill players Fredens Deneus and David Stewart scored 21 and 22 points respectively and both made 4 out of 5 of their free throw attempts.

NECC then traveled to Springfield Tech and won 99-64. Jameson and Matt Lynch shined in this game. Jameson scored 16 points and Lynch had his best game of the season, scoring 15 points and made 3 out of 5 of his 3-point attempts. Each team recorded 38 rebounds.

When NECC came home after their 3 games on the road, they faced Southern Maine Community College in one of the most exciting games of the season. The Knights won the really close game 81-76.

The Knights and Southern Maine traded the lead multiple times in the second half. Morales was once again the star for NECC, he scored 25 points and made 7 out the 14 3-point attempts. Dar scored 19 points.

In the final game of December, the Knights traveled to Gateway (Conn.) and capped off the month with a close 80-72 win. The game was in Gateway’s hands after the first half, up on NECC 35-25. This didn’t stop the Knights though, who scored 55 points in the 2nd half to get the win. Morales scored 21 points and made 100% of his free throws.

The Knights play 10 games in January, 6 home and 4 away.