The Berkeley College men's basketball team posted a record of 1-2 in three contests this past weekend. In a Friday evening home game against Bryant & Stratton (Buffalo), the Knights picked up a hard-fought 89-86 victory. That game took place at CCNY's Nat Holman Gymnasium. Berkeley then dropped two consecutive road contests, falling to NHTI by a score of 85-76 on Saturday, and suffering a 77-72 defeat against Bryant & Stratton-Albany on Sunday. With that aforementioned 1-2 output, Berkeley is now 4-7 on the 2023-2024 campaign.
In the Knights' thrilling victory over Bryant & Stratton (Buffalo), four players scored in double figures for Berkeley, including veteran Karanja Bright, as he netted a game-high 21 points (7-13 FG, 6-8 FT) to go along with 10 rebounds, two steals, and a pair of swatted shots. Julio Wallace added 20 points, and Rickey Jones connected on all six of his attempts on the floor, finalizing his night with 16. Justyce Coleman scored 12 points, snatched eight boards, tallied three assists, and added two steals.
Despite the loss for the Bobcats, Armonee Felder and Nahshon Sylster tied for the team-high of 20 points apiece. Felder also snatched seven boards, tallied four steals, and dished three assists, while Sylvester contributed a game-high five steals to go along with four boards. Deric Jackson registered 19 points while collecting six boards, and Nymier Brooks' 10 rebounds were a team-high.
Berkeley College trailed Bryant & Stratton (Buffalo) 20-15 in the late stages of the first half, but the Knights would close the stanza on a strong 18-6 run to take a 33-26 advantage into the locker room at halftime. Bright, Coleman, and Wallace also contributed four points apiece during that ferocious run.
In the second half, the Knights held a seemingly-comfortable 10-point edge, 83-73, with 1:28 left, but the Bobcats refused to quit, pulling to within four (87-83) with 27 ticks remaining. Berkeley would misfire on four of six free throws during the final seconds, and the Bobcats, trailing 89-86 with six seconds remaining, had a chance to tie the game and force overtime. The Knights defense came through big, though, not allowing the Bobcats to get a shot off as Berkeley held on for a dramatic victory.
Both teams shot very well from the floor for the evening, with Bryant & Stratton (Buffalo) converting on 47.1 percent of its attempts from the floor (33-70), and the Knights connecting on 29 of 65 shots (44.6 percent). Berkeley held a slim 47-43 edge in the rebounding department, while also registering 17 assists to the visitors' 16. The Knights narrowly won the turnover battle, committing 28 miscues, while Bryant & Stratton (Buffalo) finished with 29.
In Berkeley's loss to NHTI, Bright led the way, as he tied for the game-high of 20 points (8-12 FG, 4-4 FT) and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds. Speller added 12 points, eight rebounds, four steals, and two assists, and Kenneth Hines finalized his evening with 11 points and nine rebounds. Finally, it was Wallace contributing 11 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
The Lynx' charge was led by Dahshan King, as King tied for the game-high of 20 points, connecting on four triples in the process. Joseph Cantey netted 16 points, led all players in assists with seven, grabbed three rebounds, and tallied three steals, and it was Rahsheen Caulk Jr. scoring 12 points, snatching five boards, and dishing five assists.
NHTI led by as many as 29 points in the opening half before taking a commanding 56-29 advantage into the locker room at halftime. The Knights spent the entirety of the second half battling back, slicing the Lynx's lead to six (80-74) with 1:36 left, but that is the closest Berkeley would get, as NHTI held on for a nine point win (85-76).
Both teams were very efficient shooting the basketball, as NHTI shot just a clip under 50 percent for the night (32-65, 49.2 percent), and Berkeley connected on 44.1 percent of its attempts (30-68). The Knights absolutely dominated the glass, snatching 45 rebounds, while the hosts pulled down 31, but NHTI shared the ball better, piling 19 assists, while Berkeley had nine. The Lynx won the turnover battle, finishing the evening with 21 turnovers, while the Knights had 26.
In the Knights' loss to Bryant & Stratton-Albany, Hines scored a team-high 13 points to go along with three rebounds, while Bright added 12 points and a team-best eight boards. Speller also chipped in with 11 points and a pair of dimes, and it was Rickey Jones contributing nine points, two boards, and two steals in limited action.
Pacing the Bobcats was Amari Scott, as he connected on nine of his 11 attempts from the floor to finish with a game-high 22 points. Devon Smith-Johnson added 17 points and a game-high nine boards, and Denali Burton finalized his afternoon with 14 points and seven caroms. Aaron Corker also scored 12 points, snatched three boards, and tallied three assists for the victorious Bobcats.
Berkeley trailed by as many nine in the opening half, but the Knights sliced their deficit to three points (34-31) before Bryant & Stratton-Albany scored four consecutive points to take a 38-31 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
The Knights used an 13-4 run to catapult ahead by a score of 46-42. Hines scored seven points during that spurt, with Bright and Wallace netting four points apiece. The pendulum then swung the hosts' way, as the Bobcats put together an 11-2 spurt to re-take the lead, going ahead 53-48. The teams would exchange the lead four more times for the remainder of the matinee contest, with Bryant & Stratton-Albany took the lead for good thanks to a pair of converted freebees by Devon Smith-Johnson. That put the home team up 64-63. The Bobcats led 72-63 with less than two minutes remaining, but the Knights put together one last charge, scoring seven consecutive points to pull to within two (72-70) with 36 ticks left. The Bobcats, though pushed to the brink, were able to hold on and win the game by five.
Both squads were incredibly locked-in shooting-wise, as Bryant & Stratton Albany hit on 28 out of 48 shot attempts (58.3 percent), and the Knights earned a conversion rate of 52 percent (26-50). Bryant & Stratton-Albany out-rebounded Berkeley 26-25, but the Knights earned a slim 10-9 edge over the hosts in assists.
Berkeley will return to the court on Saturday afternoon, as the Knights will take to the road to battle Southern Maine Community College. Start-time for that contest is scheduled for 2:00pm.
