The Berkeley College New York men's basketball team continued to roll on Thursday evening, winning its third consecutive game by defeating the Lions of The King's College in a Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest by a score of 98-35. The game was played at the Wellness Center on the campus of the College of New Rochelle. With the win, the Knights are now 3-1 on the 2015-2016 season (1-0 HVIAC), while the Lions slipped to 4-2 overall (0-2 HVIAC).
The King's College held a 4-2 lead in the opening minutes of the half before the Knights took over. An impressive 45-0 Berkeley run – spanning 11:12 – put the Knights ahead commandingly by a score of 47-4 with 6:50 remaining in the opening half. Berkeley led by as many as 46 in the opening period before entering the locker room with a 60-16 lead. First-year Knight Dondre Simmons led all scorers in the first half with 11 points, knocking down four of his five attempts from the floor, including three shots from downtown. Keenan Langston added nine points in the half, with Massiah Merritt and Johnnie Green contributing eight apiece. Berkeley shot 54.6 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes (25-46), while holding The King's College to just six field goals and a conversion rate of 23.1 percent (6-26).
In the second half, the Knights continued to build their lead while also playing stingy defense. Berkeley outscored The King's College 38-19 in the second stanza, allowing the Lions just eight field goals in the second stanza while forcing 15 opposition turnovers. The Knights would go on to win the game by convincingly by 63 points. Following the victory, Head Coach Chris Christiansen spoke.
"It took us a couple of minutes to get things going, but once we did, I felt as though we established rhythm and never looked back," Christiansen said. "Tonight was a great team effort, as all 13 players who played in the game for us scored at least one basket. I was happy to see us get off to a good start in our conference portion of the slate, and we'll look to keep our winning streak going this weekend when we play road games at Davis and Culinary Institute of America."
Keenan Langston led all scorers in the game with 17 points. He knocked down four three-point baskets while snatching seven rebounds. Massiah Merritt connected on five of his seven attempts from the floor to finish with 12 points. Additionally, he added seven rebounds, and posted game-highs in steals with seven and assists with five. Simmons finalized his evening with 11 points, and Leonardo Salcedo added 10 points, five caroms, and three steals.
Despite the loss for The King's College, Trivette Knowles posted team-highs of 14 points, nine rebounds, six steals and four assists, and Michal Tomasiewicz netted nine points while snatching nine rebounds.
For the game, the Knights shot 45.9 percent from the floor (39-85) while holding the Lions to a 23.7 percent conversion rate (14-59). Berkeley dominated the glass, out-rebounding The King's College by a margin of 60-36, while also forcing 33 opposition turnovers.
Berkeley will look to continue its winning streak on Saturday, as the Knights take to the road to battle Davis College in another Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest. Start-time for the game is scheduled for 2:00pm.
