The Berkeley College men's basketball team picked up two big victories this past weekend, sweeping a Maine trip by defeating Southern Maine C.C. by a score of 68-63 on Saturday, before turning back Central Maine C.C. 74-66 on Sunday. With those two victories, the Knights improved to a mark of 6-7 on the 2023-2024 campaign. The Seawolves dipped to 13-5 with Saturday's loss, and the Mustangs slipped to 5-10 with Sunday's defeat.
In the Knights' victory over the Seawolves, Justyce Coleman led all players with a game-high 21 points. He also snatched seven rebounds, registered three steals, and swatted a pair of shots. Julio Wallace contributed 17 points, a game-high four steals, four boards, and three assists, and Brian Fajardo finalized his afternoon with 10 points and a pair of rebounds.
Despite the loss for Southern Maine, Adam Savage and Thomas Martinotti tied for the team-high of 12 points. Savage also snatched a team-high nine rebounds while dishing a game-high five assists, and Martinotti finished with four dimes, two boards, and a pair of blocked shots. Luke Briggs also scored 11 points while snatching five rebounds.
In a first half that featured nine lead changes, Berkeley trailed by as many as eight (10-2) before heading into the locker room trailing by just two (32-30). Southern Maine then spent the opening 3:50 of the second half building a commanding edge, outscoring the Knights 16-5 to start the session, snatching a 48-35 lead.
Berkeley's defense settled down incredibly after that, allowing just five points for the Seawolves over the ensuing 12:08. Coleman nailed a pair of free throws to tie the score at 53 apiece with 4:24 left in the contest. Later, trailing 58-57, the Knights took the lead for good when Wallace converted on a layup to put the visitors in front, 59-58. Berkeley would outscore Southern Maine 9-5 the rest of the way to account for the five-point win.
Southern Maine connected on 40 percent of its attempts for the afternoon (26-65), while the Knights earned a conversion rate of 38.7 percent (24-62). The Seawolves held a slim 42-41 edge on the glass, while also tallying 18 assists to Berkeley's eight. The Knights did hold a 12-7 advantage in steals, while also winning the turnover battle, committing 19 miscues, while Southern Maine finished with 21.
Pacing Berkeley in its victory over Central Maine was veteran Karanja Bright, as he finished with a game-high 19 points while snatching six rebounds and blocking two shots. Freshman Rickey Jones connected on seven of his nine attempts from the floor, scoring 16 points, grabbing three boards, and adding a pair of steals, and Kenneth Hines posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. He also tied for the team-high of four steals.
The Mustangs were led by Cam Pollock, as he connected on five of his nine attempts from the floor to finish with a team-high 12 points. His five steals also led all players. Boston Caldwell scored 11 points while snatching two rebounds, and Jeremiah Simeon contributed nine points, four boards, and a pair of steals.
Just as they did a day earlier, Berkeley fell behind by eight points in the early stages of the game, as Central Maine raced out an early 8-0 advantage. The Knights battle back, and took the lead for the first time with 7:28 left in the session when Bright connected on a trifecta to give Berkeley a 19-16 advantage. From there, the Knights outscored the hosts 18-8 for the rest of half to take a 37-24 edge into the locker room at halftime.
In the second session, the Mustangs got as close as five points down (48-43), but Berkeley never let the game draw any closer than that, as the Knights went on to win their second consecutive contest in Maine, this time by eight (74-66).
Berkeley was very efficient shooting the basketball, connecting on 47.6 percent of its attempts from the floor (30-63), while the Mustangs hit on 25 of their 72 shot attempts (34.7 percent). Central Maine held a 39-34 edge on the glass, while also tallying nine assists to the Knights' five. Berkeley did tally 18 steals compared to 11 for the hosts, and the Knights won the turnover battle, committing 21 miscues, while the Mustangs had 26.
Berkeley will look to make it three consecutive victories on Saturday evening, as the Knights will take on the Bobcats of Bryant & Stratton-Syracuse. Start-time for the contest is scheduled for 5:00pm.
