The Northampton boys basketball team trailed Liberty for only 32 seconds throughout their EPC contest on Friday. Unfortunately for the K-Kids those were the final 32 seconds of the game as they suffered a 48-46 loss at the hands of the Hurricanes in Pete Schneider Gymnasium.

The Kids came out on fire in the first 8 minutes. They went up 7-0 to start the game and when Isaac Harris knocked down a three with time expiring in the quarter, the lead was 20-8 at the first break. Harris scored 10 of his game-high 22 in the period to pace the Northampton offense.

A five-point Liberty run in the first minute and a half of the second quarter reduced the lead to single digits and when the halftime horn sounded, the Kids held a 33-25 lead.

Northampton built the lead back to 11 points with 2 minutes left in the third quarter, but the Hurricanes scored the last 7 points of the period to cut the margin to 42-38 going into the fourth.

An Isaac Harris put back with 5:58 left in the game put the K-Kids up 46-40, but Liberty scored the final eight points of the game to claim the win. The eventual winning basket was scored with 32 seconds remaining when Liberty forced a steal and scored in transition.

Northampton had two possessions to tie or take the lead at the end of the game. They missed a shot from the low block on an inbounds play with 20 seconds left. The Hurricanes turned the ball over giving the Kids one final shot, but a three from near the top of the arc clanged harmlessly off the front of the rim.

Head coach Coy Stampone explained, “You can’t have all those turnovers. You have to give Nigel (Long, Liberty head coach) and that team credit. They could have folded. They played hard all the way to the very end. They’ve got some shooters and some big guys inside. It was a good win for them.”

Northampton turned the ball over 14 times in the final three quarters including 6 in the last period. Like in the Parkland game, the turnovers are mostly coming from the ball being stripped away directly from the ballhandler. The Kids have scored a total of 8 fourth quarter points in their first two EPC games.

In addition to Isaac Harris’ 22, Lucas Lesko scored 11, Cooper King 8, Isaiah Harris 3, and Jackson Fehnel 2. Fehnel also came up with 4 steals. Stampone praised the grit of his senior who often draws the assignment of low-post defender, “He played his butt off there’s no question about it. He played really well for us.”