The Berkeley College men's basketball team started the stretch run of its season in winning fashion, defeating the Fighting Saints of the College of St. Joseph's (Vermont) by a score of 79-66 Sunday afternoon in a game played at the Borough of Manhattan Community College in New York, NY. With the victory, the Knights improved their mark to 12-5 this season, while the Fighting Saints fell to 14-10 on the year.
The Knights had the lead the entire afternoon with the exception of the early stages when the College of St. Joseph's held an early 2-0 edge. Trailing by a duce, Berkeley College put together an 8-0 run that featured a layup by Tasheen Carrow, and back-to-back baskets and a pair of free throws by standout Keenan Langston. The Knights gradually built their lead over the ensuing 4:36, sprinting out to a commanding 23-6 advantage with 13:09 remaining in the opening session.
Despite falling in an early hole, the Fighting Saints would spend the remainder of the first half chipping away at the Knights' big lead, as St. Joseph's (Vermont) would pull to within two points – 39-37 – with just over one minute left in the stanza. A pair of Kenton Chan-Man free throws put Berkeley up 41-37 as the teams headed into the locker room at halftime.
In the second half, the Knights didn't necessarily run away with the game, but Berkeley did a good job at keeping the Fighting Saints at bay. With the Knights leading 48-43, Chan-Man hit a driving layup to put his team up 50-43 with 14:22 remaining. From that point forward, the Knights never let St. Joseph's get any closer than seven points down. Berkeley led by 13 on three separate occasions in the period, and would end up winning the game by that margin.
Leading the way for Berkeley in a winning effort was Chan-Man, as he drained eight of his 13 attempts from the floor to finish with 24 points on the day. He nailed three shots from downtown, while also hitting on five of his eight attempts from the charity stripe. It was the eighth time this season that the senior finished with 19 points or more. In addition, Keenan Langston finalized his afternoon with 16 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals, and Massiah Merritt finished with 13 points and five rebounds.
The Fighting Saints were paced by Dre Anderson, as he knocked-down eight of his 18 shot attempts while scoring a team-high 19 points and snatching a team-best seven rebounds in a losing effort. He also contributed three assists and two steals, as well. Kyle Houston added 13 points and a pair of rebounds, and Steven Edwards contributed 12 points off the bench, draining four triples in the process. He also tallied a team-high three steals.
Both schools had a solid day shooting the basketball, with the Knights nailing 46.9 percent of their shots (30-64) compared to 43.3 percent for St. Joseph's (26-60). Berkeley dominated the boards, out-rebounding the Fighting Saints 46-28, and the Knights held a slim 12-11 edge in the assists department. Berkeley committed one more turnover than its opponent (18 for the Knights compared to 17 for St. Joseph's), and the Knights dropped-in 44 points in the paint to the Fighting Saints' 28.
Berkeley College will look to make it two victories in a row as the Knights take on Albany College of Pharmacy on Tuesday evening in a Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest at the College of New Rochelle. Start-time for that game is scheduled for 7:00pm.
