The Berkeley College men's basketball team picked won for the 12th consecutive time on Friday evening, turning back the Owls of the University of Maine at Presque Isle at the Borough of Manhattan Community College by a score of 78-57. With the win, the Knights are now 12-1 on the season, while the Owls dipped to 7-8.

It was a milestone evening for senior guard Keenan Langston, as the standout eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau for his career by finishing with 15 points. The accomplishment is a special one for the four-year standout who has been such a pivotal piece of the program's puzzle since the start of the 2012-2013 campaign. The Brooklyn, NY native also finished four rebounds and three assists.

Also contributing for the Knights was Massiah Merritt, as he finished with game-highs of 19 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds. It was the fourth consecutive game that Nia Prep High School product finished with at least 15 points and six field goals made. Stephon Jennings added a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, and newcomer Johnnie Green contributed 10 points and five caroms. Following the victory, Head Coach Chris Christiansen gave his thoughts.

"First and foremost, I'd like to congratulate Keenan Langston on etching his name in the men's basketball record books at Berkeley College by joining the 1,000-point club," Christiansen said. "Keenan works diligently to be the best he can be on the court, and he's done that since he arrived here four years ago. I could not be more proud of him for accomplishing this feat. As for the team itself, a dozen victories in a row is certainly eye-opening, and all I can say is that these student-athletes hate to lose. They are extremely hungry, and they believe in one another. We'll look to keep it going next weekend against MACU and Apprentice."

Despite the win, the University of Maine at Presque Isle made the Knights work in the opening half. Berkeley held a nine point lead on four different occasions in the opening 6:48 of the game, but the Owls scratched and clawed to stay in the game, eventually knotting the game at 26 in the latter stages of the session. The Knights did manage to grab a 32-29 lead as the buzzer sounded on the opening stanza.

Later – with Berkeley holding on to a 36-33 advantage with 16:44 remaining in the game, the Knights began pulling away. Berkeley put together a 15-0 run over a five minute span, a spurt that included a converted jumper by Green, a layup and a sunken free throw by Tasheen Carrow, a basket by Jennings, a triple by Mailk Brown, two made freebees by Alessandro DeAngelis, and a three-point basket by Mandrell Jefferies. At that point, the Knights led 51-33 with just under 12 minutes left in the contest.

A miniature 7-1 run by the Owls cut Berkeley's lead to 12, but that's the closest the University of Maine at Presque Isle would get as the Knights would eventually build a 22 point advantage before going on to win the contest by 21.

Despite the loss for the Owls, the University of Maine at Presque Isle was led by Chase Vicaire who finished with a team-high 12 points while snatching seven rebounds and collecting a pair of assists. Brandon McGill connected on five of his seven attempts from the floor and completed his night with 10 points and three rebounds, and Maurice Harris added eight points and six assists.

The Owls actually had a higher shooting percentage than the Knights on the evening, as they connected on 45.7 percent of their attempts from the floor (21-46), but Berkeley would attempt a whopping 28 more shots from the floor. The Knights shot 41.9 percent for the night, draining 31 of their 74 shots. Berkeley dominated the glass, out-rebounding the University of Maine at Presque Isle 46-31, and the turnover differential wasn't close, with the Knights forcing 32 opposition miscues and committing just 13 mistakes of their own.

Berkeley College will return to action next weekend, as the Knights will play two games in a span of 20 hours. On Saturday evening, January 23, Berkeley will take on Mid-Atlantic Christian at MACU's Chesson Gym. Start-time for that contest is scheduled for 5:00pm. A day later, the Knights will travel to Newport News, Virginia for a 1:00pm tilt with the Apprentice School.