Northern Essex dueled Roxbury Community College, the second-ranked team in the nation in NJCAA Division 3, to the bitter end but lost 63-57.
Battling through 13 lead changes, the game was tied with 19 seconds left when Paul Becklens sank a 3-pointer with Knight defender Matt Sifferlen in his face to give Roxbury (13-1) a lead it wouldn’t lose.
Sifferlen, who hit a 3 to tie the game with 2:00 left, had 10 points and five assists in the setback while Kyle Davis led NECC (7-8) with 26 points, 21 rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocked shots.





