The Northampton boys basketball team suffered its third loss of the season on Tuesday night inside Pete Schneider gymnasium.

It was a close fought battle that saw Northampton lead the game in the first half, but Central Catholic put together a valiant effort in the second half to win 49-43.

Northampton came out swinging in the first period outscoring Central Catholic 10-5, but an 8-0 run by the Vikes to start off the second period put them right back into the thick of it. Northampton stayed strong, though, outscoring Central 21-14 at halftime.

The third period saw a change in scoring though as Central would outscore Northampton 17-7 in the third period as they dominated in rebounds and possession to give the team a 31-28 lead going into the fourth period.

The final period saw the most action in the game as the lead changed hands multiple times, but with one minute remaining in the game Central gained the lead. With a two-point deficit, Central was able to steal the ball and gain foul shots for Chris Ocasio, who would sink both, leaving a four-point lead for the Vikings with 28.9 seconds remaining. That lead proved to be enough as Central would win the game 49-43.

“We played extremely well, just on the losing side,” said Northampton coach Coy Stampone. “We played a good game in the first half and had the lead but we gave up too many three pointers in this contest and we missed a decent amount of free throws, that didn’t help us. Overall though we’re only three games in, it’s a tough league and we have a long way to go so we’re going to get better.”

Aidan Ellwood and Cory Weisenberger led Northampton in points with 14 each, both scored two three-pointers, while Joseph Tocci notched 12 points and two three-pointers.

“Ellwood had a great game out there,” said Stampone. “He’s going to get double covered a lot by different teams and we saw that happen tonight but he stepped up because that’s the type of player he is.”

Three players led the team in points for Central Catholic as Ocasio, Jay Vaughan, and Jordan McChristian scored 11 points. Central would make 16 field goals, 9 of which were three pointers while going 8-12 from the free throw line. Northampton would make 20 field goals, 7 of which were three pointers while going 6-11 from the free throw line.

Northampton’s next home game will be next Tuesday, Dec. 27, against Saucon Valley at 5:30 p.m.