On Dec. 6, the NECC Knights defeated Massasoit Community College 73 to 69 in Julie Muluey Court in Brockton. The Knights picked up another nail-bitter win similar like three days prior in Springfield.
The Knights won the tip off against the Warriors and the game started at 6:32 pm.
The Knights were up 4 to 1 before the Warriors answered back to make this a 5-4 game.
The Knights then followed quickly with a 9-2 run to put the game 13 to 7 in favor of the Knights.
The Warriors made it interesting as they were creeping closer but Ryan Pacy of Salem, New Hampshire, hit a three to make this 24 to 19 in favor of the Knights.
Mehmet “R2”Asik of Ankara, Turkey, got the rebound and made it inside the bucket that increased the Knights’ lead after Warriors hit a three. Asik scored a 2 pointer with a layup.
Edwin SamMbaka of Paris, France, scored a 2 pointer. Luis Reynoso of Lawrence made one of two free throws in.
Cristian Kinsley of Lawrence shot a three and the Knights had a 16-point lead. Reynoso increased that lead to 18, which was the largest lead for the Knights.
The game was then 40-22.
The Warriors made things interesting at the end of the first half going on a run against the Knights as the Knights went into their locker room 49 to 37 with a 12 point lead over the Warriors.
The Knights started the second half with a 5-0 run but then the Knights got lazy and really were playing undisciplined basketball as the Warriors went on a 16-6 run against the Knights before Pacy banged in a two pointer.
“I think tonight we came out to play, it’s just we don’t know how to continue to play like that,” Head Coach Darren Stratton said. “We have spurts that we play great and we have spurts that an eight grade basketball team can beat us, so we got to find some kind of consistency and hopefully it starts in practice where these kids buy in and start practicing harder because Thursday night Roxbury is coming in and if we play like this Roxbury will wipe the floor with us.”
“Yes, real undisciplined basketball we started going more one on one, guys were jacking shots, it just can’t happen, we got away from everything that we do, we just totally got away from and hopefully do some kind of correction tomorrow,” Stratton said.
Darlin Santiago of Salem, Mass., was called from the bench. It was the first time that Santiago was in action after he missed a few amount of games because of injury.
After the Warriors tied at 57 they took their first lead of the game since early on in the first half.
The game was tied again at 61 before the Knights pushed them a four point lead as the score was 65 to 61.
Kinsley hit a two pointer to cut the defect to two as the Knights were down 67 to 65.
After the game Asik told me why the past two games were battles until the end. “I feel like mentally we need to focus and finish strong because we started strong but maybe we are being lazy when we (are)up like 15 to 20 points then at the end of the game is like two or four point game and we just need to keep it strong and keep it serious all game,” Asik said.
Kinsley again this time knocked down a three and a foul as he went hard into the floor in the barricade where the fans sit in the front row of the stands with just 32.7 second left in the game as the Knights went on to defeat Massasoit 73 to 69.
