The Berkeley College men's basketball team didn't miss a beat on Saturday afternoon, as the Knights recorded their 21st consecutive victory, defeating the Warriors of Vaughn College convincingly - and for the second time in a four day span - this time by a score of 92-28 in a semifinal round game of the 2017-2018 Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament. The game was played at the Wellness Center on the campus of the College of New Rochelle. With the victory, Berkeley improved to a mark of 24-1 on the season, while the Warriors finalized their campaign with a record of 10-10.
The Knights – who have won nine Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships – including the last three – will shoot for yet another regional crown tomorrow afternoon at 3:00pm, as Berkeley will take on the No. 2 seeded Blue Angels of the College of New Rochelle for the title in tomorrow's championship game at 3:00pm. Following the Knights' win today, Head Coach Jonathan Pena spoke.
"Our guys just came to work tonight and never really gave Vaughn College a chance to establish anything that resembled a rhythm," Pena said. "We were able to get many different players into the mix this evening, and that will only help our group over what we hope will be four more games in our season. I am very proud of these guys - and I know they'll be ready tomorrow in what we anticipate will be a pretty hostile crowd. We're all excited."
Leading the way for Berkeley College this evening was veteran Ricardo Ayuso, as he drilled four three-point baskets to finish with 19 points. He also added four rebounds and three steals. Foday Saccoh played 20 minutes and scored 14 points while snatching four rebounds and dishing three assists, and it was Demetri Stewart adding 10 points, three rebounds, and three steals. Johnnie Green and Darius Ward added eight points apiece, and Michael Taylor recorded a game-high eight assists.
Despite the loss for Vaughn College, the Warriors were paced by Kevin Catalino, as posted team-highs of nine points and seven rebounds. James Morel added eight points, and Kermarlie McLean contributed seven points.
The contest was close for a short time only, as Berkeley led 7-4 with 15:13 remaining in the opening half. That is when the Knights started to pull away. Over the ensuing 7:24 of play, Berkeley College would go on a 20-0 run to extend its lead to 27-4. The Knights led 43-8 at the half, and outscored the Warriors 49-20 in the second half to account for the 64-point victory.
Berkeley College connected on 48 percent of its shots from the floor (36-75) compared to 17.9 percent for Vaughn (10-56). The Knights out-rebounded the Warriors 63-29, while also dishing 27 assists compared to two for Vaughn College. Berkeley committed just 17 turnovers to the Warriors' 23, and the Knights scored 51 points in the paint, while Vaughn had 14.
