#5 Knights surge past visiting D2 Essex County (NJ) in closing seconds
On Saturday afternoon in front of a full crowd, a Darlin Santiago (Salem, MA) jumper with 23 seconds remaining gave Northern Essex a one-point lead and Edwin SamMbaka (Paris, FR) stole the ensuing inbound pass to seal the victory for the Knights.
Haverhill, MA (November 11, 2023) – On Saturday afternoon in front of a full crowd, a Darlin Santiago (Salem, MA) jumper with 23 seconds remaining gave Northern Essex a one-point lead and Edwin SamMbaka (Paris, FR) stole the ensuing inbound pass to seal the victory for the Knights. Following SamMbaka's steal, he handed the ball off to Gabriel Zorilla (Lawrence) who converted a pair of free throws after being fouled with 22.6 seconds remaining to secure a 65-62 win for the Knights.
The win over the Division 2 Wolverines improved the #5 nationally ranked Knights to 4-0 on the season. With the score 31-26 and the Knights trailing by five at the halftime break, Luis Reynoso (Lawrence), went on a second half explosion where he scored 23 of his game high 27 points in the game's final 20 minutes.
SamMbaka joined Reynoso in double digits as he recorded 13 points, 11 of which came in the first half.
Kyoya Sasaki (Tokyo, Japan) provided solid defensive minutes off the bench as he picked up four steals, while Reynoso added 13 rebounds and 5 assists.
NECC will stay home and return to Region 21 play on Thursday night when they play host to Quincy College at 6:00pm from the Sport and Fitness Center.