The Berkeley College men's basketball team advanced to the championship game of the 2015-2016 USCAA Division II National Men's Basketball Tournament, defeating the Owls of Warren Wilson in the semifinals by a score of 82-66 on Friday evening. The game took place in the Main Gymnasium on the campus of Penn State Fayette. The win was the 23rd consecutive triumph for the Knights (23-1), who pushed into the National title game for the second straight season. With the loss, Warren Wilson finalized its season at 18-14.
"More than anything, I was very impressed with our intensity this evening," Berkeley College Head Coach Chris Christiansen said. "We knew what was at stake coming into this game, and although we had some challenging moments tonight, I felt we were able to once again battle through adversity to take control of the contest. Everything that we've worked so hard for since the summer is now right in front of us. It comes down to one more game against a very talented and equally-as-hungry Central Penn team. Not only do we play for a National championship tomorrow – we play for a memory that will last every single one of us a lifetime."
Leading the way in victory for Berkeley College was standout Massiah Merritt, as the Brooklyn, NY native paced his team with a game-high 26 points, connecting on five of his 10 attempts from beyond-the-arc in the process. Additionally, he recorded three assists and three steals. Senior Keenan Langston was nearly perfect from the charity stripe, drilling 14 of his 15 attempts from there and finalizing his evening with 22 points, five assists, and four rebounds, and Stephon Jennings contributed 16 points, eight rebounds, and three steals.
Both teams got off to a slow start, as the first points were not scored until the 17:26 mark when Warren Wilson's Tyler Triplett nailed a three point basket. That was followed by a Kenrick Nesbit layup at 16:52 to put the Owls ahead 5-0. Berkeley then scored eight consecutive points to grab the lead at the 15:11 mark of the opening session. After a Nesbit three-pointer tied the game at 8 at the 14:56 mark, the Knights went on an 8-2 run to take the lead 16-10 at 12:34.
Later - a Keenan Langston three-point play gave the Knights a 21-14 lead at the 7:41 mark, although Warren Wilson was able to cut into that lead with a pair of layups to make it a three-point ballgame with 6:35 to go in the half. Berkeley answered with an 11-1 run to go up 13 points before eventually taking a 37-26 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Merritt opened the second half with a three pointer give the Knights a 14-point edge, and Berkeley extended the lead to 18 over the next several minutes, as three-point baskets by Tasheen Carrow and Merritt out the Knights out in front 46-28 with 16:34 remaining in the game.
Warren Wilson was able to mount a run, cutting their deficit to single digits at 47-38 with 12:19 remaining in the contest, but the Knights responded to push their lead to 20 points with 6:21 to play 65-45. The Owls would get no closer than 13 points in the final minutes of the contest, though, as Berkeley would go on to win the game by 16.
Berkeley College converted slightly more consistently than Warren Wilson on the evening, as the Knights connected on 41.8 percent of their attempts from the floor (23-55) compared to 38.6 percent for the Owls (22-57). The Knights held a 42-37 edge on the glass, while also dishing 16 assists to Warren Wilson's 12. Berkeley committed 27 turnovers on the evening, while forcing 28 opponent mistakes.
Despite the loss for Warren Wilson, the Owls were paced by Kenrick Nesbit, as he scored 11 points while snatching eight boards and recording a pair of steals. Additionally, it was Timmy Johnson contributing 11 points, and Thomas Hay completed his night with eight points and five rebounds.
The Knights will now play for the National championship on Saturday afternoon at 3:15pm, as Berkeley will take on Central Penn. The contest will serve as a rematch of a game the teams played at the College of New Rochelle earlier in the campaign (November 23, 2015), when Berkeley rallied from a 17-point halftime deficit to prevail by a score of 109-90. Live stats and live video will be available, and those links can be accessed by visiting www.theuscaa.com, or by checking the men's basketball schedule page on www.BerkeleyCollegeKnights.com.
