The Berkeley College men's basketball team dropped a pair of games over the weekend, falling to Clinton College by a score of 118-116 in overtime Saturday evening at the JW Martin Gymnasium, before losing Sunday to Johnson & Wales (NC) at the JW Wildcat Gymnasium, 99-95. With the losses, Berkeley dipped to 8-8 on the 2022-2023 campaign. 

 

Despite Berkeley's loss to the Golden Bears, five Knights scored in a double figures, including Julio Wallace (7-12 FG) and Marc Combs (7-14 FG, 6-7 FT), as those two aforementioned players tied for the game-high of 22 points. Wallace also snatched six rebounds and swiped two steals, and Combs grabbed three rebounds. Newcomer Malachi Faison posted a double-double, connecting on nine of his 14 attempts from the floor to finish with 20 points. He also collected 10 boards. Tahshon Moore (7-11 FG) added 19 points and eight rebounds, and Jihadu Brunner netted 11 points while grabbing five rebounds.

 

Clinton College was led by Paul Eromesele, as he connected on five trifectas and tied for the game-high of 22 points. Tyrik Ward-Hoyte scored 20 points while grabbing six boards, and Cameron Shannon finished with 19 points, three rebounds, and two steals. Jeremiah Anderson (8-11 FG) scored 18 points, collected five rebounds, and dished a game-high four assists, and Tyler Hammond and Jaden Clarke scorred 10 points apiece.

 

In what was a wild, high-scoring affair, the first half featured four lead changes and five ties, and the largest lead held by either club was 10 (by the Golden Bears). Clinton College held a 43-33 edge with 4:37 remaining in the first half, but Berkeley put together a strong 17-5 run to close the half, taking a 50-48 lead into the locker room at halftime. Combs led that aformentioned spurt with seven points.

 

The Golden Bears retook the lead early in the second on a converted layup by Ward. That put Clinton College up 56-54 with 17:50 to go. The Golden Bears gradually built their lead, eventually taking a commanding 16 point edge, 85-69, with 8:09 remaining. That is when Berkeley would make its run.

 

Over a span of 3:54, the Knights went on an incredible 22-4 run to catapult ahead by a score of 91-89 with 4:15 to go. Berkeley connected on eight of its 12 attempts from the floor during that massive run, while also converting on five of its six attempts from the stripe. Wallace netted nine points during the run, with Moore adding seven.

 

In the late stages of the regulation, Berkeley looked primed to solidify a win, holding a 103-97 edge with 51 seconds left. Seven consecutive Golden Bears points, however, put Clinton College back ahead by a point 104-103, before a Wallace converted free throw sent the game to an extra session.

 

One minute into the overtime period, with the game knotted at 106 apiece, Brunner connected on a trifecta, on Wallace would make a layup on the Knights' next possession to put Berkeley up 111-106 with 3:36 to go. An 8-1 run by the hosts put Clinton College up 114-112 with just over two minutes to play, but a Karranja Bright trifecta put Berkeley ahead 115-114.

 

Later, with the game tied at 116 apiece, and the Golden Bears in possession of the basketball, Eromesele drew a foul with 15 seconds remaining. He would proceed to connect on both freebees, and those would be the final points scored of the game, as Clinton College held on for a thrilling victory.

 

Both teams shot very well from the floor, with the Golden Bears hitting on 54.2 percent of their shots (45-83), and Berkeley nailing 48.3 percent of its shots (42-87). The Knights dominated on the glass, snatching 53 rebounds compared to 41 for the hosts. Clinton College won the turnover battle, committing just 12 miscues compared to Berkeley's 15. The Golden Bears held a 9-3 edge in assists, while also scoring 68 points in the paint to the Knights' 58.

 

Leading the way for Berkeley in its tough loss to the Wildcats of Johnson & Wales (NC) was Brunner, as he finished with a team-high 25 points (10-19 FG) while snatching six rebounds and four steals. He also added two assists. Faison finished with 16 points (7-9 FG), a game-high five steals, and five rebounds, and finally, it was Wallace and Bright scoring 15 points apiece. Wallace (6-6 FG) also snatched four rebounds, while Bright collected three boards and swiped three steals.

 

Anthony Bey paced the Wildcats with a game-high 29 points. He connected on 10 of his 18 attempts from the floor, while also nailing all seven of his freebees. His five assists were a game-high, and his four steals were a team-best. Fred Patterson posted a double-double with 26 points and a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with three assists. Nathan Meshida, DJ Williams, and Zyrion Wilkins all scored 12 points apiece in the victory, as well.

 

Johnson & Wales (NC) jumped out to an 8-4 lead, scoring on four of their first five possessions. Berkeley responded with a 15-0 run over the next four minutes to open up an eleven point advantage. The Wildcats chipped away at the Knight lead, getting within two at 23-31 on a three pointer by Ray at the 8:19 mark of the first half. Berkeley then took back control of the contest, building its advantage to as many as eight points before taking a 44-39 edge into the locker room at halftime.

 

Berkeley extended its lead to nine in the opening minutes of the second half, and maintained that lead for the next fourteen minutes of action. The Wildcats' Patterson and Ray combined for eight points as Johnson & Wales' 8-2 run knotted the game at 86 apiece with 3:34 to go.

 

Later, with the game tied at 94-all, the Wildcats converted three free throws in the final thirty seconds, and Berkeley only mustered one freebee in its final three possessions, as Johnson and Wales (NC) held on for a four point victory.

 

The Wildcats shot a blistering 55 percent from the floor (33-60), while the Knights were also extremely efficient, nailing 49.3 percent of their shots (37-75). Berkeley held a modest 39-34 edge in the rebounding department, while also winning the turnover battle, committing just 15 while the hosts had 22. Johnson & Wales (NC) did have 14 assists to Berkeley's nine.

 

Berkeley College will return to action on Friday evening, as the Knights will welcome Clinton College to CCNY's Nat Holman Gymnasium. Start-time for that contest is scheduled for 8:00pm.