The Berkeley College men's basketball team had its four-game winning streak snapped on Friday evening, falling to the Patriots of the University of Valley Forge by a score of 74-68 in a contest played at the College of New Rochelle's Wellness Center in New Rochelle, NY. With the loss, the Knights slipped to 11-5 on the year, while the Patriots improved their mark to 9-7.
In what was a very fast-paced game from the start, things look promising for the Knights early as Berkeley College raced out to an early eight point lead (17-9) in the opening 5:31 of the contest. The University of Valley Forge answered that strong start by the Knights with a 10-0 run over the ensuing 1:29 to pull ahead by a score of 19-17. Later in the half, with the Patriots leading 30-28, the Knights would put together another run, outscoring the University of Valley Forge 9-2 in a three minute span to grab a 37-32 advantage before eventually heading into the locker room with a slim 41-39 edge.
The Patriots came out hitting on all cylinders to start the second stanza, netting eight points in the opening 70 seconds of the period to clutch a 47-41 lead. A converted layup by Kenton Chan-Man, a basket by Massiah Merritt, and another lay-in by Chan-Man helped the Knights tie the game at 47-apiece. Following turnover by Jerome Stanley on the University of Valley Forge's next possession, Merritt drained a jumper to give the Knights the lead once again at 49-47.
The momentum swung once again at that point, as the Patriots ran off nine straight points to take a 56-49 lead with 13:29 remaining in the game. A modest 6-0 run by Berkeley College (fueled by converted baskets by Tasheen Carrow, Merritt, and Keenan Langston) brought the Knights to within a point at 56-55, but a 9-0 University of Valley Forge run over the ensuing 3:50 gave the Patriots their biggest lead of the game – a 10 point edge at 65-55.
Langston nailed a three-point basket to halt the Patriots' run at the 4:52 mark, stopping a span that saw the Knights scoreless for 5:36. Two possessions later, Merritt would convert on a layup to bring his team to within five points at 65-60 with 4:15 remaining in the contest. The teams continued to battle back and forth, Berkeley College actually found itself down one point – 69-68 – with 1:30 left on the clock. On the University of Valley Forge's next possession, Thorne McIntosh would convert on a layup to give his team a 71-68 lead. From there, Berkeley would fail to score another point, as the Patriots eventually would hold on for a six-point victory.
Despite the loss for the Knights, Berkeley College was paced by Merritt, as he netted a game-high 23 points, as he connected on nine of his 19 attempts from the floor. He also grabbed eight rebounds, tallied two assists, and added two steals. Daquan Seymour contributed eight points, a game nine rebounds, two assists, and two steals, and Kenton Chan-Man finalized his night with eight points.
Pacing the University of Valley Forge in its victory was Thorne McIntosh, as he scored a team-high 14 points on seven-of-11 shooting. In addition, it was Joseph Taylor scoring 11 points and tallying four assists, and Jean LeBlanc knocked-down two three-point baskets while finishing his night with 10 points and five rebounds.
Both teams shot very well from the floor, with the Patriots connecting on 50 percent of their attempts from the floor (29-58), and the Knights hitting on 26 of their 55 shots (47.3 percent). The Knights controlled the rebounding department, grabbing 42 caroms to the University of Valley Forge's 29. The Patriots forced 27 Knights turnovers, and converted that hustle into 25 points. Berkeley College forced 19 University of Valley Forge miscues, netting 12 points off of those. The Patriots also held edges in the assist (17-13) and bench points (43-34) departments, as well.
The Knights will return to action on Sunday afternoon, as Berkeley will take on St. Joseph's (Vermont) at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. Start-time for that contest is set for 12:00pm.
