The Berkeley College men's basketball team capped its best season ever – and perhaps the best campaign that any Knights team in any sport has ever had – by solidifying the school's first-ever USCAA Division II National Championship, defeating the Nittany Lions of Penn State Mont Alto by a score of 57-55 in overtime Saturday evening in the title game of the 2015 USCAA National Basketball Tournament. The thrilling triumph was the Knights' 11th straight win, and concluded a phenomenal three-day run through the tournament that included a triple-overtime victory over St. Joseph's College of Vermont just less than 30 hours ago.
The clock finally struck midnight on Penn State Mont Alto – the Cinderella team of the Division II tournament that had already recorded victories over higher-seeded opponents such as Southern Maine Community College (the top seed) and Johnson & Wales-Charlotte (No. 4 seed). Despite falling short in their bid for a National crown, the Nittany Lions made the Knights earn their spot on the top of the USCAA National Mountain.
Penn State Mont Alto jumped out to an early 4-0 advantage in the opening stages of the contest, but an 18-4 run that spanned 7:30 put the Knights up 10 – 18-8. That impressive stretch included six points from junior standout Keenan Langston. Italian product Alessandro DeAngelis and first-year sensation Stephon Jennings scored four points apiece during the spurt.
Later – with 7:42 remaining in the opening session, the Nittany Lions' Siele Johnson would convert on a layup – and those would be Penn State Mont Alto's first points in a total of eight minutes and 15 seconds. On the Nittany Lions' next possession, the sharpshooting Corey Meyers would drill a three-point basket to pull his team to within five points at 18-13. That is the closest the Knights would let Penn State Mont Alto get in the first half, though, as Berkeley would go up by as many as 11 (29-18) before eventually taking a 29-21 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Just as they did in the first half, the Nittany Lions started the second half hitting on all cylinders. On their third possession of the final period, Jeremiah Mitchell would drill a jumper, and 1:33 later Theophile Remy would knock-down a three-point basket to bring Penn State Mont Alto to within three points at 29-26. A 7-2 Knights run – capped by a layup by Kenton Chan-Man – put Berkeley back ahead by eight (36-28), but the Nittany Lions would answer by scoring seven consecutive points to inch to within one at 36-35 with 12:01 to play.
Over the ensuing 11:22 of action, the game would remain close, as the Knights would hold no larger than a four point lead during that time. The Nittany Lions were able to even the score, though, and the teams were knotted at 46-apiece with 39 seconds remaining. Following a timeout by the Knights, play resumed and Berkeley ran a play for Kenton Chan-Man who would sink a layup to push Berkeley in front by a pair at 48-46 with 11 seconds left on the clock. That prompted Penn State Mont Alto to call a timeout. When the action returned, the Nittany Lions were able to tie the game, as Devonte Merritt buried a layup at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
Despite being a whisker away from a National title and having it slip through their grasp in regulation, the Knights would overcome adversity once again. Berkeley netted four points in the opening 1:04 of overtime – with both baskets coming courtesy of Chan-Man. At that point, the Knights held a 52-48 advantage. Berkeley led by as many as six points in the extra period (56-50) before finding themselves leading 57-54 with seven seconds remaining.
With Penn State Mont Alto needing three points to tie, the team ran a play for three-point threat Corey Meyers who leaned into contact and drew a foul while attempting a game-tying trey. He was awarded three freebees, but misfired on the first attempt. He would connect on the second shot, and tried to intentionally miss the third, but the ball never hit the rim. Possession then went to the Knights with 1.7 seconds remaining on the clock and the Nittany Lions out of timeouts.
The ball was in-bounded to Langston, who was fouled with one second remaining. He then headed to the line for a one-and-one opportunity. With Penn State Mont Alto unable to stop the clock, Langston had two choices: He could attempt to knock down both free throws to make it a two-possession game, which would all but put things on ice, or he could intentionally miss his attempt, which would mean the only way the Knights could lose the game would be on a conversion of a full-court three-pointer by the opposition. Langston appeared to elect to miss the free throw on purpose, but the ball sprung right back at him as time expired. He then raised his arms in victory as the Knights gathered at mid-court to celebrate their title.
In the win for the Knights, Chan-Man scored 20 points (including Berkeley's final two in regulation, and seven in overtime) while grabbing eight rebounds and tallying three steals. Additionally, Langston was superb in the win – as he netted 15 points while snatching nine boards while playing 40 minutes, and Stephon Jennings contributed seven points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Finally, it was DeAngelis chipping-in with six points, five rebounds, and four blocks.
Despite the loss for the pesky Nittany Lions of Penn State Mont Alto, it was Meyers leading the way for his team, as he connected on four three-point baskets en route to scoring a team-high 16 points. He also added three rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Merritt posted a double-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks, and Remy finalized his night with nine points and seven boards.
The Knights won the game despite uncharacteristically not shooting the ball well, as Berkeley hit on just 22 of its 64 shot attempts on the evening (34.4 percent) compared to 39.7 percent for the Nittany Lions (23-58). Berkeley did shoot well from the charity stripe, converting on 11 of their 15 attempts there, while Penn State Mont Alto shot a dreadful 4-18 from the line. The Knights won the turnover battle, committing just 15 miscues compared to 20 for their opponents, and the Nittany Lions won the rebounding battle, snatching 49 caroms to Berkeley's 45.
It was a fitting finale for a Berkeley College Knights team that won 22 games this season (including 11 in a row). In addition to winning the school's first-ever USCAA Division II National title, the Knights also captured the HVIAC crown, and boasted two USCAA First-Team All Americans, one USCAA Academic All-American, one USCAA Honorable Mention All-American, three HVIAC All-Conference selections, and one HVIAC All-Academic selection. The Knights will enjoy this well-deserved title tonight and into the offseason, and will look to make a run at back-to-back National titles when the 2015-2016 season tips off in early November!
