The two-time defending Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and United States Collegiate Athletic Association champions – the Berkeley College Knights – made their 2016-2017 debut this weekend, picking up a pair of victories over the University of Maine at Fort Kent and SUNY Delhi. The wins were the 25th and 26th consecutive triumphs for the men's basketball team overall, and the squad has now won 37 of 38 contests overall dating back to the 2014-2015 campaign.
Senior forward Stephon Jennings opened the scoring on a jump shot for an early 2-0 lead but Maine Fort Kent went on an 18-4 run capped off by a layup from Bengal forward Benson Arogbo that would put the Knights into an early 18-6 hole. Berkeley would counter with a 17-5 run of its own. Junior guard Ricardo Ayuso connected on a three-point basket to even the game at 23 apiece with 5:24 remaining in the first half. Maine Fort would eventually take a 35-30 advantage into halftime.
Berkeley opened the second half on a 22-4 run as their defense turned up the pressure and allowed the Knights to score in transition. Senior guard Massiah Merritt knocked down a corner trey to give the Knights a 38-37 lead with 17:59 remaining, a lead that they would not relinquish for the rest of the game. The Bengals would hang around and cut their deficit to only five points on a layup by Bobby Syvanthong at 56-51 with 8:35 to play in the game. Berkeley, however, would put the Bengals away with an impressive 28-13 blitz highlighted by four consecutive three-point bombs by junior guard Reynaldo Eloy for a twenty point advantage 84-64 with 2:43 remaining in the contest. Berkeley would eventually settle for the fifteen point victory.
Jennings led all Berkeley scorers by compiling a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds. Eloy finished with 15 points with a perfect 5-for-5 shooting night, all his points coming from beyond the arc. Senior guard Dondre Simmons added 13 points while Merritt closed out the double-figure scoring with 12 points and five steals.
For Maine Fort Kent, guard Stephon Bell came off the bench to lead the Bengals with 19 points on 7-for-8 shooting from the field while Syvanthong chipped in with 14 points and four assists.
Overall, the Knights forced 25 Bengal turnovers while committing 21 on their own. Maine Fort Kent held a slight edge in rebounding at 42-38 while Berkeley edged out in assists (17-11) and steals (11-7).
In the Knights' victory over SUNY Delhi, three players scored in double figures, including Jennings, as he netted 24 points to go along with 16 rebounds. First-year standout Paul Johnson recorded 23 points and three caroms off of the bench, and Merritt added 19 points.
Berkeley College committed just 12 miscues in the victory while forcing 19 Broncos turnovers. The Knights scored 52 points in the paint compared to just 32 for SUNY Delhi, and Berkeley dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Broncos 56-38.
David Haye had a fantastic game for SUNY Delhi in a losing effort, scoring a game-high 36 points to go along with nine rebounds and five assists.
The Knights will return to action Saturday, as Berkeley will take to the road to battle Central Penn in a rematch of the 2015-2016 USCAA National Championship game. Start-time for that contest is scheduled for 2:00pm.
