The Berkeley College men's basketball team stayed perfect since the calendar switched to calendar year 2019, tonight dominating the Mighty Oaks of SUNY-ESF by a score of 113-59 in a Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest. With the victory, the Knights have now won 11 straight games, improving to 18-4 on the year (6-0 HVIAC). SUNY-ESF was eliminated from Regional playoff contention with the defeat, dipping to 6-12 overall and 2-4 in HVIAC competition.
The Knights clinched the HVIAC Regular season title for the fifth consecutive year with the victory. Berkeley now knows that it will play next Saturday in the 1-4 semifinal round game of the 2018-2019 HVIAC Tournament. The game will start at 5:00pm, and Berkeley will face an opponent to-be-determined.
Prior to the game, the Berkeley College Department of Athletics - including Director of Athletics Andy DeStephano, Head Coach Jonathan Pena, and the entire men's basketball program - honored five seniors, including Ricardo Ayuso, Darius Ward, Dequan Jones, Shamiek Sheppard, and Larence Horner, in a special ceremony celebrating service to the institution's men's basketball team. Those aforementioned student athletes were presented with commemorative plaques in a show of appreciation for their tenures at the institution.
Five players scored in double figures for Berkeley, including standout Ricardo Ayuso, who was playing in his final game at BMCC, where he turned in so many memorable performances during his three-year tenure with the squad. Today, he connected on seven of his 17 shots from the floor to finish with a team-high 19 points. He also recorded five rebounds and tallied four steals, as well. Shamiek Sheppard nailed seven of his 10 attempts from the floor to finalize his afternoon with 18 points and eight rebounds, and Anthony Hemingway scored 14 points. Dequan Jones and Foday Saccoh netted 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Despite the loss for the Mighty Oaks of SUNY-ESF, Zachary Dormer netted a game-high 21 points while pulling down four rebounds. Cole Hartman contribute nine points and three caroms, and Henry Pflaumer finished with seven.
The Knights connected on 49.4 percent of their attempts from the floor (44-89) while holding the Mighty Oaks to a 33.8 percent conversion rate (23-68). Berkeley dominated the glass, snatching 60 rebounds to 43 for the opposition. Berkeley forced 26 SUNY-ESF miscues while committing only 15.
Berkeley will wrap up the 2018-2019 regular season portion of the schedule tomorrow, as the Knights will face the Steels of Culinary Institute of America. The contest will take place at John Jay College, and game-time is scheduled for 6:30pm.