The Berkeley College men's basketball team put an exclamation point on another stellar regular season, as the Knights blasted the Steels of Culinary Institute of America by a score of 113-46 in a game that took place at John Jay College in New York, NY. With the triumph, the Knights wrapped-up the regular season at 19-4 overall, and 7-0 in HVIAC play. Culinary finalized its year at 2-10 (0-7 HVIAC).
Tonight's victory for Berkeley kept two streaks alive for the Knights. Berkeley has now won 37 consecutive home contests, as well as 12 games in a row overall. The Knights also scored a total of 226 points in consecutive games. Berkeley hadn't scored 110 points or more in two straight games since back in December of 2017, when they notched 120 points in a game at Five Towns College, and followed that up with 115 points in a home game against the College of St. Joseph's (Vermont).
Pacing Berkeley in tonight's triumph was Ricardo Ayuso, as he drained eight of his 10 attempts from the floor to finish with a game-high 20 points. He also grabbed seven rebounds, tallied three assists, and added two steals. Nigel Hemingway netted 18 points while grabbing nine boards and contributing a game-high eight steals, and Nicholas Cora posted a double-double with 16 points and a game-high 15 boards. Larence Horner also recorded a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds, and Stevaun Latouche and Shamiek Sheppard added 15 and 11 points, respectively.
Despite the loss for Culinary, Christian Castanho posted team-highs of 12 points, seven steals, and four assists. He also finished with three rebounds. Christopher Coley scored 10 points, and Demarco Broadus finished his night with nine points and six rebounds.
This game was never in doubt for Berkeley, as the Knights held a 44-11 lead with 5:12 remaining in the opening session, and took a 61-20 advantage into the locker room. Berkeley continued dominating the game in the second half, gradually building its edge before winning the contest by 67 points.
Berkeley shot 51.6 percent from the floor (47-91) while holding Culinary to just a 26.1 percent conversion rate (18-69). The Knights out-rebounded the Steels 64-32, and Berkeley recorded 33 assists on the evening compared to 11 for the opposition. The Knights committed just 14 turnovers while forcing 28 Culinary mistakes.
The Knights 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 either the College of New Rochelle or Albany College of Pharmacy.
