The Berkeley College men's basketball team started off the month of February, capturing the first three games of the month by defeating Apprentice, 77-66, this past Friday, Virginia Peninsula Community College, 73-69, this past Saturday, and HVIAC foe Five Towns College, 95-71, last night. With the three triumphs, the Knights are now 13-9 on the 2022-2023 campaign.  

 

Jonathan Pena, the USCAA Division II National championship-winning Head Coach who stepped into the position prior to the 2017-2018 season, has paced Berkeley to a 33-0 record in the month of February during his tenure. Additionally, since starting this season 0-4, the Knights have won 13 of their last 18 games.

 

In the victory over Apprentice, Berkeley had at least seven players scored nine points, and five players scored in double figures, including Jihadu Brunner and Karranja Bright, who each netted 12 points. Brunner also added six rebounds, while Bright collected three. Kenneth Hines finalized his evening with 10 points and eight boards, while Justyce Coleman contributed 10 points and seven rebounds. Finally, it was Julio Wallace scoring 10 points, snatching three rebounds, swiping three steals, and swatting a pair of shots.

 

Leading the way for the Builders was CJ Highsmith, as he posted a double-double by tying for the game game-high 13 points, and pulling down a team-best 10 boards. He also swatted three shots, as well. Avin Hawkins tied for the game-high of 13 points while collecting four rebounds, and Karree Smith finished with 11 points and four caroms. Jayden Eason narrowly missed a double-double, scoring nine points and grabbing nine rebounds.

 

Berkeley trailed 12-6 in the opening 6:31 of the contest, but the Knights used an 8-2 run over a span of 5:34 to tie the game at 14 apiece. That run featured four points apiece from Coleman and Bright. Apprentice then scored five straight points to jump back ahead 19-14, but a converted layup by Wallace, and a made trifecta by Bright tied the game at 19-all.

 

The game was later tied at 26 with 3:06 remaining in the opening half, before Berkeley finished the session on an 8-2 run to take a 34-28 edge into the locker room at halftime. Hines netted six of the Knights' eight points during that run.

 

Apprentice scored the first seven points of the second half to snatch a 35-34 lead, but a converted trifecta by Marc Combs gave Berkeley the lead for good, 37-35, with 18:12 left in regulation. The Knights took their first double digit lead of the evening 3:23 later, snatching a 49-38 edge. 

 

Berkeley's lead grew to 17 twice, as the Knights held advantages of 67-50 and 70-53. The Builders refused to go quietly, using an 11-3 run over a span of 4:01 to slice Berkeley's edge to nine, 73-64, with 2:04 left. The Knights' defense would come through late, though, allowing just one field goal over the final 124 seconds of regulation and solidifying an impressive 77-66 victory.

 

The teams had nearly identical shooting percentages, with Berkeley registering a 37.5 percent conversion rate (30-80) compared to Apprentice's 37.3 rate (25-67). The Knights held a slim 54-47 edge on the glass, while also holding their turnovers in check, committing only 12, while the hosts had 21. The Builders held a 14-5 edge in the assists category, but Berkeley netted 46 points in the paint, while Apprentice scored 38.

 

A day after defeating Apprentice, Berkeley defeated the Gators of Virginia Peninsula Community College by a score of 73-69.

 

Last night, the Knights dominated the Sound of Five Towns College, picking up a 95-71 victory to stay unblemished in HVIAC competition. Bright led the way for Berkeley, as he scored a game-high 21 points while snatching four rebounds and swiping three steals. Wallace connected on eight of his 14 attempts from the floor, finishing with 18 points, four assists, a game-high four steals, and three rebounds, and Tahshon Moore and Rashid Abdullin netted 11 points apiece. Moore dished a game-high six assists while grabbing six reboundsm while Abdullin pulled down 3 boards.

 

Five Towns Colledge was paced by Tyler Bond (7-11 FG, 4-4 FT), as he netted a team-high 18 points while leading his squad in assists with five. He also collected three boards, as well. Eian Williams scored 12 points and grabbed four rebounds, and Paul Allen and Damani Merritt contributed 10 points apiece. Allen grabbed seven rebounds, in addition to scoring in double figures.

 

Berkeley raced out of the gate in dominant fashion, netting the game's first 13 points, courtesy of Wallace's five points, Abdullin's four, and two apiece by Hines and Kawaya Usungu. The Sound responded in a big way, outscoring the Knights 25-11 over the ensuing 7:24 to snatch a 25-24 lead. Berkeley then used a 12-0 run to catapult back ahead 36-25 with 5:24 remaining in the session. Five Towns closed that gap to four, 40-36, with just over 1:00 left in the half, but Hines nailed a jump shot to give the Knights a 42-36 lead, and that score would hold steady as time expired on the session.

 

The Knights used an 18-4 run during the opening 6:29 of the second half to grab a commanding 20 points lead, 60-40. Berkeley would eventually go up by as many as 27 (75-48), and Five Towns would never get any closer than 18 points down, as Berkeley College advanced for a 24-point blowout win.

 

Berkeley College connected on 48.8 percent of its shots from the floor (41-84), while Five Towns shot a respectable 23-56 (41.1 percent). The Knights owned the boards, snatching 47 while the hosts collected 33, and Berkeley committed just 13 turnovers, while the Sound had 21. The Knights held large edges in points in the paint (60 to Five Towns' 34) and points off turnovers (25 to the Sound's eight).

 

Berkeley will look to continue rolling on Saturday afternoon, as the Knights will welcome the Lions of The King's College (NY) to CCNY's Nat Holman Gymnasium for an HVIAC contest. Start-time is scheduled for 2:00pm.