Basketball’s Asik, Cunningham, Almarante, Earn Region 21 Honors

Haverhill, MA (March 3, 2022) – The trio of Mehmet Asik (Anakra, TR),  Phillip Cunningham (Haverhill) and Daniel Almarante (Lawrence) of the Northern Essex Community College men's basketball team have earned end of the season recognition as selected by the Region 21 Men's Basketball Committee.

Asik, who earned Second Team honors, was the Knights leading scorer on the season as he averaged 12.9 points per game while shooting 49.8 percent from the floor and was second on the team in rebounding with 8.9 rebounds per game while appearing in 25 games making 23 starts.

Cunningham, a Third Team honoree, was the team's leading rebounder with 9.7 boards per game and ranked second on the team in scoring with 10.5 points per game while shooting 47.2 percent from the floor over 26 games in which he started 25.

Almarante, the Knights floor general earned Honorable Mention honors. He started all 27 games he appeared in averaging 10.2 points per game and led the team in steals with 2.2 steals per game.

The Knights finished the season with a 20-9 overall record and claimed the Massachusetts Community College Athletic Conference Championship, before falling to Community College of Rhode Island in the Region 21 Championship Final.  

Northern Essex Community College competes as a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and sponsors thirteen varsity intercollegiate sports including baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's golf, softball, men's soccer, women's volleyball, men's and women's cross country and men's and women's track and field and Esports. For more information on Northern Essex Community College Athletics please visit the official website of Northern Essex Athletics (www.neccknights.com).