Northampton Community College point guard Brent Maron was a key member in helping guide the Spartans to their first ever Eastern Pennsylvania Atheltic Confernce championship as a freshman.

Now, in his second season with the Spartans, Maron would like to reach that level of success once again.

Maron, a 2012 graduate of Salisbury High School, has taken on an even bigger role this season. Through 15 games, he is averaging 8.3 points, 6 assists (first on team), 3.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals (tied for first on team) per game.

More importantly, the Spartans are 10-7 overall (8-4 in the EPAC) as of Sunday, and are looking to produce a late surge with eight games remaining.

"I'm trying to put another banner up in Northampton's gym," Maron said. "Last year was a great first year, and we had a great team. It was an honor to have the first banner for men's basketball put up."

After securing that championship a year ago, Maron and the Spartans advanced to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XIX playoffs. The team came up just short in the title game to Brookdale Community College.

A year later, the Spartans also have their eyes set on an appearance in the Region XIX tournament.

"I feel like no matter what seed we have [in Region XIX tournament], I'm very confident in my team that we can push forward to get to another region championship," Maron said.

The Spartans won eight of 10 games to start the season, looked to have the team right where it left off a year ago.

But since then, the team has dropped three straight games by a combined six points, most recently a 61-58 loss to Montgomery County Community College last Thursday. Although the tough stretch has put the Spartans further back in the EPAC, they remain focused on ending the season on a positive note.

"The first half of the semester, we started off real good right out of the gate," Maron said. "We really came together as a team. We learned how to share the ball and play with each other early, which gave us momentum going into the season.

"The second half of the semester has been a little rocky for us. Right now we're on a three-game losing streak. But I'm very positive that our team is going to bounce back."

It's evident that Maron is a student and enthusiast of the game at all levels.

Since graduating from Salisbury, Maron tries to get to as many games as possible to see how his former team is competing amongst the competitive Colonial League ranks. He has played with a number of the players that were a part of his senior team that went 15-1 in the Colonial League and won the conference title.

"Going back and watching the team play really makes you miss high school basketball," Maron said. "The atmosphere and the student section is awesome. That was definitely one attribute that was great about high school."

During the offseason, Maron spent countless hours working on a number of facets of his game. One hard-pressed point of emphasis was his shooting form and technique over the summer months.

"Coming back as a captain and a sophomore, I know that my coaches were going to look for me to have the ball more in my hands, and be able to score and do everything else," Maron said.

"I really, really worked on my shot and my outside gamemid-range and three-pointer. I learned how to get my technique down, follow though, hold my shot, and lock my elbow for a mid-range shot."

Maron remains unsure if he'll want to continue his basketball career next year at a four-year school, or if he'd like to solely focus on his academics. He is majoring in business administration.