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Men's basketball team suffers first opening night defeat in four seasons, falling to West Virginia Tech 91-72 on Friday evening

Men's basketball team suffers first opening night defeat in four seasons, falling to West Virginia Tech 91-72 on Friday evening

The Berkeley College men's basketball team dropped its 2019-2020 season opener on Friday evening, falling to the Golden Bears of West Virginia Tech by a score of 91-72. The game took place at the Waller Gymnasium on the campus of Shawnee State University, as part of the Sean Elliott Classic. 

The defeat served as the Knights first loss in a season opener since the 2015-2016 campaign. In what Berkeley hopes is an omen, the Knights also never lost again that year, finishing that campaign 24-1, winning HVIAC and USCAA titles along the way.

In what served as a rematch to the classic game the two teams played back on Saturday, November 10, 2018 (won by the Knights, 121-117, in double overtime), the Golden Bears benefited from a higher shooting percentage, while also only committing 10 turnovers on the evening. West Virginia Tech nailed 27 of their 62 attempts from the floor (43.5 percent), including a 47.6 percent conversion rate on shots from downtown (10-21). For Berkeley College, the Knights struggled from the floor, hitting just 35.9 percent of their attempts (23-64). Berkeley committed 18 turnovers on the night, as well.

Despite the loss for Berkeley, veteran Deylon Bovell put forth a strong performance to start his senior campaign, as he recorded a team-high 20 point while connecting on seven of his 15 attempts from the floor. He also drained six of his seven attempts from the charity stripe as well, while snatching eight rebounds and recording three assists. Sharpshooter Nigel Hemingway swished five three-pointers on his way to finalizing his night with 19 points, and newcomer Turray Bynum scored 11 points and snatched five rebounds in his first game as a Knight.

In the victory for West Virginia Tech, the Golden Bears were paced by Junior Arrey, as he put forth an incredible effort, posting game-highs of 25 points, nine assists, and six steals. He also collected seven boards, as well. Tamon Scruggs posted a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Andreas Jonsson and Andrew Work scored 13 and 10 points, respectively.

Berkeley will look to record its first victory of 2019-2020 tomorrow afternoon, as the Knights will take on Midway University at the Waller Gymnasium on the campus of Shawnee State University. Start-time is scheduled for 12:45pm.