Playing for the first time in a week, the Berkeley College men's basketball team dropped a game on Sunday afternoon, falling to Engineers of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute by a score of 81-61 at the ECAV Arena in Troy, NY. With the loss, the Knights dipped to a record of 1-2 on the 2014-2015 campaign, while the Engineers improved to a mark of 1-1.

The contest was tightly contested in the opening stages of the first half, but after the Knights tied the game at 17 thanks to a three-point basket by Massiah Merritt, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute put together an 8-0 run to take a 25-17 lead. The Engineers were able to increased their lead to as many as 11 points on two occasions, and eventually held an eight point advantage - 40-32 - as the teams headed into the locker room at halftime.

RPI junior Chase Almond - who led the Engineers with 18 points - scored 10 of those in the second half, connecting on four of his eight shots from the floor. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute out-rebounded Berkeley College 18-13 in the second session, and snatched 44 caroms for the game compared to 32 for the Knights.

After a lay-up by Knights senior Kenton Chan-Man brought Berkeley to within 47-39 with 16:46 to play, a triple and lay-in from RPI's Nate Kane and sophomore Jonathan Luster put the Engineers up by 13 points at 52-39. RPI was able to maintain a double-digit lead the rest of the way, thanks in part to junior Brian Hatcher who scored all 11 of his points in the second half.

Despite the loss for the Knights, Merritt scored a game-high 18 points while connecting on three triples. He also tallied a game-high five steals, grabbed four rebounds, and dished two assists in 28 minutes off the bench. Keenan Langston added 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals, and Chan-Man contributed with 12 points.

For the Engineers, Chase Almond led his team by posting a double-double, as he scored 18 points and snatched 12 rebounds. Brian Hatcher and Josh Dugas contributed with 11 points apiece in the victory, as well.

The Knights will now have six days off before returning to action on Sunday, November 23, as Berkeley will play its home opener against Vermont Tech at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. Start-time is scheduled for 2:00pm.