Warwick, RI (February 27, 2022) - The Northern Essex Community College men's basketball team saw their season come to an end in the NJCAA Region 21/East Distrcit Championship Game on Sunday afternoon as they fell to CCRI by a 79-67 final. The Knights who were making their first championship game appearance since 2009 conclude the season with a 20-9 overall record. Their most successful season in more than a decade.

NECC fell behind early and trailed by 15 at the half, and got outrebounded by a CCRI team that ranks second in the nation in rebounding by a 50-37 margin. A day after surging back from a 14 point halftime deficit the Knights couldn;t keep thier legs to pull of a come back for a second day in a row.

The Turkish duo of Metin Yavuz and Mehmet Asik led the Knights offensivly with 15 and 10 points respectivly. Phillip Cunningham contributed nine reboounds and five assists in the game for NECC.