The men's basketball team held a lead five separate times in the second half against Northampton, including a lead with under 2:30 left in the game, but fell just short 69-62.
Broome took to the road on Thursday night to face a Northampton Spartans team that was ranked 14th overall in the most recent NJCAA Division III men's basketball poll. Despite playing against such tough competition, the Hornets were never out of the game, trailing by just five points at halftime and then taking five leads over the Spartans throughout the second half. Broome once led by as many as five points, and held a lead for a time of 3:10 straight during the second half.
After a back and forth 14 minutes to begin the second half, Broome took a 55-53 lead over the Spartans at the 5:37 mark. They would hold their lead until the 2:27 mark, when back-to-back trips to the foul line allowed Northampton to tie the score at 62-62.
As fatigue set in late for the Hornets, Broome lost some control of the boards and allowed a few costly offensive rebounds to Northampton in the final minutes of regulation. The Spartans would use this advantage to score the final seven points of the game and outlast the Hornets in a contest that featured nine ties and six lead changes.
In an overall strong performance for Broome, holding Northampton to 69 points, the Hornets were led by Jean Senatus who had 17 points and nine rebounds. Senatus battled down low and played tough defense against the opposing forwards. Antonio Maria came on strong offensively in the second half with momentum-altering buckets. Maria finished with 14 points and five rebounds. Freshman forward Daniel Uribe provided a huge spark off the bench for Broome, shooting 71% from the field and scoring 11 points, nine of which came in the first half.
The Hornets return home on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. for a MSAC and Region III matchup with the Tompkins Cortland CC Panthers. Broome will enter the game with a 3-4 record on the year while the Panthers will bring a 3-1 record into the contest. They've not yet played another game since a thrilling 82-81 loss against a strong Genesee CC team on November 18. The Hornets and the Panthers should match up well and hopefully deliver an exciting one Saturday.
@BroomeAthletics
