Haverhill, MA (April 1, 2021) – The Northern Essex Community College men's basketball team concluded the home portion of its abbreviated COVID season Thursday evening dropping an exhibition contest to the Providence Pirates of the American Basketball Association by an 84-57 final.

Jeremiah Melendez (Lawrence) and Cristian Kinsley (Lawrence) both scored a team high nine points in the game.

The Pirates saw a balanced scoring attack as they placed three scorers in double figures and saw all 12 players record at least one basket.

The Knights struggled to match up with the Pirates size in the front court but saw strong defensive effort from Benammi Rodriguez (Lawrence) who recorded five blocks and two steals.

The Knights will conclude the season when they head to NHTI on Saturday in Concord, NH for a 12:00pm tip off. The two teams have split a pair of game son the season with each winning on their home court.

Note: The Providence Pirates are in their first year of play in the ABA and are led by NECC alum Sercan Fenerci who is the teams President and CEO. Fenerci played under NECC coach Darren Stratton in the 2003-04 season and earned All-Region honors before transferring to finish his career at Division II Angelo State in Texas.

Northern Essex Community College competes as a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and sponsors 12 varsity intercollegiate sports including baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, softball, women's volleyball, men's and women's cross country, men's soccer, Esports 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 (www.neccknights.com).