The Berkeley College men's basketball team won its seventh consecutive game on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Fighting Saints of St. Joseph's College of Vermont by a score of 86-61 at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. The game between the two squads served as a rematch of last year's thrilling triple overtime game during the semifinal round of the 2015 USCAA National Men's Basketball Tournament – a contest in which the Knights won by a score of 115-111. With the victory this afternoon, Berkeley is now 7-1 on the season, while the Fighting Saints – who are the No. 4 team in the Nation in the USCAA – fell to 8-4.
Four players scored in double figures for Berkeley College in its victory, including senior standout Keenan Langston who dazzled, continuously connecting on difficult shots during his 25 minutes of action. The guard finalized his afternoon with a game-high 23 points while hitting on nine of his 15 attempts from the floor. He also grabbed four rebounds and tallied a game-high four steals.
Also putting forth an impressive effort was newcomer Johnnie Green, as he logged 22 minutes and dropped-in 18 points while grabbing four rebounds. Stephon Jennings hit on all five of his attempts from the hardwood to finish with 10 points. He also snatched a game-high eight rebounds. Finally, it was Malik Brown adding 10 points, four rebounds, two assists, and a pair of steals.
The Knights set the tone for the game in the opening 2:25, racing out to a 6-0 lead thanks to baskets by Massiah Merritt, Jennings and Green. Later – Berkeley used an 11-0 run to catapult to a commanding 15 point edge at 19-4 with just under 14 minutes remaining in the opening session. The Knights continued to build their lead, eventually grabbing a 28 point lead during the period before entering the locker room at halftime with a 52-27 lead. In the second half, the Knights went up by as many as 36 points before eventually hanging on to win the game by 25. Following the victory, Head Coach Chris Christiansen gave his thoughts.
"Our guys came out with plenty of energy this afternoon and did a fantastic job of establishing themselves in the early stages," Christiansen said. "It's very encouraging to see these student-athletes entrust in one another and have confidence in each other. We realize that we have a lot of work ahead of us as we get ready for the calendar to flip over to 2016, but we feel as though we can compete with anybody. It was an excellent team-win for us today."
Despite the loss for St. Joseph's College of Vermont, the Fighting Saints were led by Kyle Houston who posted a team-best 12 points to go along with three rebounds and three assists. Anthony Paul, Jamiu Oladimeji and Antonio Gordon each contributed nine points in a losing effort.
The shooting percentages were nearly identical for the clubs despite the Knights attempting almost 30 more shots. Berkeley was 32-74 from the field (43.2 percent), while the Fighting Saints connected on 19 of their 45 attempts from the hardwood (42.2 percent). The Knights dominated the glass, out-rebounding their opponents 46-29, and Berkeley also forced 32 Fighting Saints turnovers (turning that into 39 points).
Berkeley will return to action on the weekend of January 2 and January 3, as the Knights will travel to Center Valley, PA to participate in the DeSales University Tournament. On January 2, the Knights will take on DeSales University at 2:00pm, before participating in either the championship or consolation games the following day.
