The Berkeley College men's basketball team picked up its first victory of the 2015-2016 season on Saturday evening, as the Knights convincingly defeated the Nighthawks of Newbury College by a score of 107-75 in a contest played at the Pappas Gymnasium in Brookline, MA. With the win, Berkeley improved its mark to 1-1 on the year, while the Nighthawks are 0-1.
The Knights raced out to an early 5-0 lead in the opening 1:45 of action, thanks to three converted free throw attempts by standout Massiah Merritt and a layup by Keenan Langston. A 12-2 Nighthawk run over the ensuing 2:32 put Newbury College ahead by a score of 12-7. The Nighthawks maintained their lead – eventually going up by as many as seven points – 24-17 – following a pair of made free throws by Devin Johnson with 9:43 remaining in the opening session.
Berkeley stormed back over the next 2:12 of play, going on a 9-0 run to grab a 26-24 advantage. That run featured five made free throws (three by Johnnie Green and two by Mandrell Jefferies) and a basket apiece by Merritt and Jefferies. In what proved to be a first half defined by runs by each club, the Nighthawks answered with an 8-0 run that spanned 1:19 to catapult to a 32-26 lead with 6:12 left in the first half.
In the latter stages of the session, Berkeley scored 13 consecutive points to turn a 40-34 deficit into a 47-40 lead. That spurt was capped by a layup by Merritt who netted six points during that run. The aforementioned Merritt also drained a three-point basket with just six seconds remaining in the half, as Berkeley took a 50-41 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Berkeley used the momentum it gained late in the first half to pull away from Newbury College once the second half began. The Knights outscored the Nighthawks 24-6 to open the session, while not allowing a Newbury College field goal for the opening 7:42 of the half. At that point, Berkeley held a commanding 27 point lead, 74-47.
The Knights – determined to earn in a split during their season-opening two-game road trip – continued to build their lead – going up by as many as 40 points – 102-62 – with 4:15 remaining in regulation. Berkeley would eventually hang on to win the contest by 32.
In the victory for the Knights, Berkeley had four players score 16 points or more, including Merritt who led his team in scoring for the second evening in a row, as he netted 20 points while connecting on six-of-seven from the field. He also tallied four assists and added three steals. Langston drained all six of his free throw attempts and finalized his evening with 18 points, and the versatile Stephon Jennings added a double-double with 17 points and 13 caroms. Finally, it was Green dropping-in 16 points in 16 minutes off of the bench.
Despite the loss for the Newbury College Nighthawks, it was Jeduan Langston scoring a game-high 27 points on nine-of-13 shooting. He also snatched 11 rebounds and added three assists. Christian Sheridan netted 16 points and added three assists, as well.
Berkeley shot a tad better from the floor than its opposition, as the Knights connected on 43.6 percent of their shots for the evening (34-78) compared to a percentage of 42.6 for the Nighthawks (26-61). The Knights drained 10 baskets from downtown, compared to just two for Newbury College, and Berkeley drained 29 of its 41 attempts from the charity stripe (70.7 percent conversion rate), while Newbury College misfired on 17 freebees (21-38, 55.3 percent). The Knights held a 53-47 edge on the glass, while also scoring 35 points off of 33 Nighthawk turnovers.
Berkeley will return to action on Monday evening, November 23, as the Knights will play their home opener against Central Penn at the College of New Rochelle that evening. Start-time for that contest is set for 8:00pm.
