The Berkeley College men's basketball team finalized its regular season with three consecutive victories, registering a forfeit win (2-0) over HVIAC foe SUNY ESF this past Saturday, blowing out the Touro College Tornadoes this past Sunday, 95-43, and turning back Five Towns College, 82-64, yesterday evening. With those three triumphs, the Knights improved to a mark of 14-8, clinching the No. 1 seed in upcoming HVIAC Men's Basketball Tournament in the process.
After earning a victory over the Mighty Oaks when SUNY-ESF canceled the remainder of its season, Berkeley set its sights on Touro College this past Sunday, imposing its will on the Tornadoes throughout the afternoon. In the win over Touro, the Knights were paced by Kenneth Hines, as he posted a double-double with game-highs of 18 points and 11 rebounds. He also finished with three assists and three steals. Karanja Bright scored 17 points while collecting five rebounds, dishing two assists, swiping two steals, and blocking a pair of shots, and Justyce Coleman added 12 points and 10 boards. Josiah Mitchener scored 11 points while registering game-highs of eight assists and four steals, and Brian Fajardo and Kareem Butler scored 10 points apiece.
Despite the loss for Touro College, the Tornadoes' Danzel Langlaise led the way for his team, scoring a team-best 17 points while snatching four rebounds. Ari Allswang's 10 rebounds were a team-high for Touro.
Berkeley College held a commanding 45-24 edge after 20 minutes of action, before outscoring the Tornadoes 50-19 in the second half to record the emphatic 52-point victory (95-43).
In the Knights' pivotal HVIAC victory over the Sound of Five Towns College last night, Bright was stellar yet again, scoring a team-high 21 points (9-15 FG) to go along with six rebounds, two steals, and two blocked shots. Five other Berkeley College players scored in double figures, including Hines (13 points), Rickey Jones (12 points), Julio Wallace and Kareem Butler (11 points apiece), and Coleman (10 points). Mitchener only attempted three shots but contributed in other key ways, registering a game-high seven assists while tying for the game-high of three steals.
For Five Towns College, Elan Williams scored 23 points to lead all players, connecting on nine of his 20 attempts from the floor and three of his four shots from the line. He also grabbed seven rebounds, as well. Tyler Bond scored 16 points, dished a team-best five assists, and grabbed four rebounds, and Jan Filip Jagielski posted a double-double with 14 points and 12 boards.
The Knights led by as many as 23 points in this game, taking a 41-18 lead with 12 seconds remaining in the first half. Five Towns scored the final four points of the session, but Berkeley still had a sizeable edge, 41-22, at break.
In the second half, Five Towns sliced its deficit to eight points, 53-45, with 11:13 remaining in the contest, but Berkeley responded in a big way, putting together a 14-2 run over a span of 3:28 to take a 67-47 advantage. From that point on, the Knights never led by less than 13 points, winning the crucial HVIAC clash by 18 (82-64).
Berkeley will now look ahead to the 2023-2024 HVIAC Men's Basketball Tournament, as the No. 1 seeded Knights will play in Sunday's championship game (3:30pm) at Five Towns College after receiving a first-round bye. Berkeley is aiming to win its ninth consecutive Regional title, and will face the winner of Saturday's semifinal round contest between No. 2 seeded Villa Maria and No. 3 seeded Five Towns College. All games of the Tournament will take place at Five Towns College in Dix Hills, NY.
