Haverhill, MA (February 28 , 2018) – The Northern Essex Community College men's basketball team has advanced to the NJCAA Region XXI semi-finals with tonight's 83-71 win over visiting MassBay in first round action. Five scorers in double figures helped to push the Knights to a 17-12 overall record on the year.  

Emir Alagoz (Istanbul, Turkey) was the games high scorer as he pumped in 23 points, while adding nine assists on the offensive end of the ball. Tom Jacobs (Tynsborough, MA) added 18 points.  Alexis Estrella (Lawrence, MA) tossed in 14 while DJ Greenhalgh (Dracut, MA) added 13 and Guney Kiliticglu (Istanbul, Turkey) poured in 11.

The Knights had a strong effort on the boards all night led by Kyle Martin's (Amesbury, MA) 10 rebounds. Alagoz, Estrella and Jacobs each contributed nine rebounds and Greenhalgh had eight. Northern Essex was stingy on the defensive side of the ball as the team combined for 12 steals on the nights led by Alagoz (4) and Martin (3)

MassBay was led offensively by Joe Sullivan who scored 16 points

The Knights will head to Bunker Hill Community College on Saturday where they will face off for the third time in as many weeks with Bristol Community College with a bid to Sunday's Regional Final on the line. Tip is set for 4:00pm. The other regional semi-final will be played between Massasoit and the winner of tonight's other first round contest between Springfield Tech and Bunker Hill.

Northern Essex Community College competes as a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and sponsors eight varsity intercollegiate sports including baseball, men's basketball, softball, women's volleyball, men's and women's cross country and men's and women's track and field. For more information on Northern Essex Community College Athletics please visit the official website of Northern Essex Athletics (http://athletics.necc.mass.edu).