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Knights Win First-Ever National Championship

Submitted by on March 14, 2026 – 9:30 pm

team poses together with championship trophy, many hold up their fingers to indicate number 1

Herkimer, NY (March 14, 2026) — The Northern Essex Community College men’s basketball team has made history: they are the first college athletic team to win a national title. The Knights defeated Dallas Richland College (Dallas, TX) 68-62 Saturday night to claim the NJCAA DIII National Championship. The win was also a program-record-tying 33rd win of the season.

darren stratton talks to a player as two players sneak up behind him with a Gatorade bucket

Head coach Darren Stratton celebrates takes a Gatorade bath

NECC got off to a hot start and jumped out to a 17-9 lead in the opening minutes before a brief cold shooting streak allowed Richland to tie the game at 17, and it remained a one-possession contest for the remainder of the half, with the Knights trailing at halftime 30-28.

Until the final two minutes of the half, when the Knights began to extend the advantage, neither team led by more than 5 at any point in the second half.

With the game tied at 50, a Yunosuke Matsuda (Tokyo, JP) layup gave the Knights a 52-50 lead with 4:58 remaining, and following a defensive stop, Cristian Moscat (Lawrence) three-point basket gave the NECC a five-point advantage.

Alejandro Delgado (Haverhill) scored a game high 16 points along with eight rebounds as he was named to the All-Tournament team, as he led a trio of scorers in double figures. National Tournament MVP Alex Johnson (Worcester) followed up his 39-point performance in the semi-final with 12 points, and Jay’von Depina (Brockton) added 12 points off the bench and was named the tournament’s Small Man of the Tournament.

Christian Sanders (Boston) was also named to the All-Tournament team and finished the championship game with eight points and eight rebounds.

Head coach Darren Stratton was named Coach of the Tournament.

The Knights had already made history leading up to the National Tournament. They were the first college team to earn a No. 1 seed in a postseason tournament. And, with their earlier NJCAA Region 21/East District Championship win, they tied the Region 21 and New England record for consecutive men’s basketball championships.

Read more about the Knights’ historic season and learn more about the team by visiting the website.