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Men's basketball team uses incredible team effort to defeat Division II representative Mercy College 91-84 Wednesday evening at Nyack College

Men's basketball team uses incredible team effort to defeat Division II representative Mercy College 91-84 Wednesday evening at Nyack College

The Berkeley College men's basketball team recorded a huge victory on Wednesday evening, as the Knights defeated Division II institution Mercy College by a score of 91-84 in a contest that took place at Nyack College. The victory – the 12th consecutive triumph for the Knights – improved Berkeley College to a record of 15-1 on the season. The Mavericks fell to a record of 8-11 with the loss. Following the big win, Head Coach Jonathan Pena spoke about his team's passion for the game.

"This group has amazing collective heart, determination, intensity, and passion, and tonight, all of that culminated in us picking up a team-defining victory here tonight," Pena said. "We knew coming into the game this evening that this would be our toughest test, and I feel we did a great job of answering the challenge. The bottom line is that these guys believe in one another, and their confidence is continuing to grow with each passing win. We'll enjoy this one for a little while before getting ready for Villa Maria and SUNY ESF this weekend."

The Knights have so many incredible victories this season, and it has been difficult to pinpoint which triumph has stood alone as the "season-defining" win up to this point. On three separate occasions already on the 2017-2018 season, Berkeley has battled back from 14 points or more down in the second half to claim victory. Those triumphs came on opening night against Stratford University (11/3/17), and earlier this month against HVIAC Albany College of Pharmacy (1/14/18) and Johnson & Wales Charlotte (1/20/18). The Knights recorded thrilling home victories on back-to-back days against Florida National (12/2/17) and Central Penn (12/3/17). This win – a seven point statement triumph over Mercy College – might be the one that confirms that the Knights are far and away the favorite to once again cut the nets down from the hoops on the first Saturday of March in the Main Gymnasium at Penn State Fayette.

For the past three seasons, the Knights and Mavericks have put on a show for the fans, with Berkeley College coming out on top in two of those three meetings. Mercy College defeated Berkeley 85-80 back on November 13, 2015 in the Knights' 2015-2016 season opener, a loss that would serve as their only one during that campaign. Last season – two days before Thanksgiving on November 22, 2016 – Berkeley outlasted Mercy by a score of 74-70. This season – as previously mentioned – the Knights used an incredible 40-minute effort to defeat the Mavericks by seven.

Leading the way for the Knights in their win was Michael Taylor, as he scored a game-high 30 points while connecting 11 of his 21 shots from the floor. He also added four rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and two steals. Ricardo Ayuso drained all seven of his attempts from the charity stripe – and eight of his 16 attempts from the field – to finalize his evening with 26 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Johnnie Green added 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, and Teyvon Bussey netted six points.

Despite the loss for Mercy College, the Mavericks were led by Richard Dequawne, as he scored a team-high 14 points to go along with five rebounds. Sal Barbetto would add 10 points, a game-high six assists, and a pair of rebounds, and Marko Kozul contributed 13 points and three rebounds.

The first half of action saw the teams play very competitive basketball, as the opening session featured five tied scores. Berkeley College would get on the scoreboard first thanks to a basket by Taylor.The Mavericks answered back with six consecutive points to get Mercy College's offense going. The Knights answered that with seven straight points to catapult ahead by a score of 9-6. A three pointer from the Mavericks Kelvin Howard followed by a layup from Richards as Mercy College retook the lead with 16:12 to go in the opening half. The half remained a back-and-forth affair until the Berkeley College was able to once again record seven unanswered points to take a 28-23 advantage.

The Mavericks were able to get their offensive momentum at the four minute mark, as Chris Myers was able to set Richards up for a dunk that was followed by a converted jump shot from Barbetto, giving Mercy College a slim 35-34 lead. The Mavericks continued to battle offensively, and eventually entered the locker room at halftime with a 47-43 lead.

The Knights scored six consecutive points to start the second half to take the 49-47 lead. Later - a pair of three pointers and two successful free throw shots would put Berkeley College up 60-51 with 15:39 to go. The Knights would build a lead as large as 13 points (64-51), but Mercy College refused to go away. The Mavericks would cut their deficit to two points on three different occasions (73-71, 78-76, and 82-80), but Berkeley College would never let Mercy tie the game. The Knights would go on to win the contest by seven.

Berkeley College converted on 43.6 percent (34-of-78) of its shots from the floor, 38.1 percent (8-of-21) of its attempts from beyond the arc, and 83.3 percent (15-of-18) from the charity stripe. Mercy shot 47.8 percent (32-of-67) from the floor, 40.0 percent (8-of-20) from downtown and 52.2 percent (12-of-23) from the foul line. The Knights also dominated on the glass, out-rebounding Mercy College by a margin of 52-34, and the teams also recorded six steals apiece.

Berkeley College will look to make it 14 straight wins on Friday evening, as the Knights will travel to Buffalo, New York to take on Villa Maria. Start-time is to-be-announced.