The Berkeley College men's basketball team continued to roll on Thursday evening, silencing the Cannoneers of Pratt Institute by a score of 86-44 in a Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game played at the Pratt Athletic Recreation Center in Brooklyn, NY. With the victory, the Knights are now 14-5 through 19 games this season, including an impressive unblemished 5-0 record in league play. Pratt Institute dipped to 6-9 with the defeat, and the Cannoneers are still winless in conference competition – now at 0-4.
A swarming Berkeley College defense forced turnovers on Pratt Institute's opening five possessions as the Knights scored the game's first 11 points. Back-to-back Keenan Langston dunks extended Berkeley's lead to 21-2 before the Cannoneers rallied to cut the margin to single digits. An Adam Blufarb three-point basket pulled the Cannoneers to within 14 points, and later - a turnaround jumper and a layup from Ari Grant cut Pratt's deficit to nine points at to 27-18 at the 9:00 mark of the first. The Knights would finish the session strong, however, as Langston knocked down a triple to spearhead a 15-1 Berkeley College run. The Knights led 42-19 as the teams entered the locker room at halftime.
At the 17:58 mark of the second half, consecutive Langston layups started a 10-0 Berkeley College run that distanced the Knights for good. Pratt was held to only 27 percent shooting after halftime.
Only one player scored in double figures for Berkeley, but 12 different Knights scored at least two points in what was a complete team effort by Head Coach Chris Christiansen's squad. Langston led the way for Berkeley, as he netted a game-high 17 points while draining eight of his 14 attempts on the evening. Stephon Jennings converted on all four of his shot attempts, as he finalized his night with nine points, six rebounds, and three assists. Massiah Merritt added nine points and five boards, and Stanley Peacock and Floyd Moore dropping-in eight points apiece.
Despite the loss for Pratt Institute, Ari Grant led the Cannoneers with a double-double of 14 points and game-highs of 11 rebounds and two blocks, and Andrew Yaglenski added 11 points and four rebounds. Adam Blufarb scored seven points while snatching three rebounds and adding three assists.
The Knights shot well on the evening (38-86, 44.2 percent), but it was their defensive effort that opened eyes on this night. Berkeley College forced 27 opponent turnovers while limiting the Cannoneers to 29.8 percent shooting (17-57). The Knights also converted those Pratt mistakes into 37 points of their own. Berkeley out-rebounded the Cannoneers by a staggering margin of 61-36, and the Knights dominated on the break, scoring 24 points in transition compared to just two points for Pratt.
Berkeley has now won three consecutive contests and seven-of-eight, and the Knights will look to continue their winning ways when the team travels to Media, PA this Saturday for a game against Williamson. Start-time for that contest is scheduled for 1:00pm.
