The Berkeley College men's basketball team's quest for a fifth USCAA Division II title in six seasons ended on Sunday afternoon, as the No. 7 seeded Knights were defeated by the No. 10 seeded Nittany Lions of Penn State Greater Allegheny by a score of 79-67. With the defeat, Berkeley saw its 11-game winning streak ended, as the Knights slipped to 17-9 on the 2019-2020 campaign. On the flip side, the Nittany Lions improved to 19-9, and they'll advance to play No. 2 seeded Central Penn tomorrow evening at 6:00pm.
Penn State Greater Allegheny's victory served as a measure of redemption, as the Knights had defeated the Nittany Lions three years prior in the semifinals of the 2016-2017 USCAA Division II National Tournament. Following the Knights' defeat, Head Coach Jonathan Pena spoke.
"First and foremost, I want to congratulate Penn State Greater Allegheny on a job well done," Pena said. "They played a very sound game, remaining poised and aggressive throughout. I want to wish them the best of luck for the remainder of the tournament. As for our guys, we weren't able to execute the way we wanted to. We fought back valiantly after falling behind by 16 to pull to within three, but unfortunately, we weren't able to draw any closer. This hurts, but I think it'll serve as a learning experience for myself, our staff, and our student-athletes. I'm confident that through hard work, we can be right back in this tournament next season to give it another shot."
Despite the loss for Berkeley, the Knights were led by USCAA Second Team All-American Daquan Jackson, as he posted a double-double with a team-high 15 points and a game-best 13 rebounds. Deylon Bovell, playing for the first time in three calendar months (91 days), logged 18 minutes and finished with 10 points and four rebounds, and Robert Soriano finalized his afternoon with nine points, 10 rebounds, and game-highs of four assists and three steals.
In the victory for Penn State Greater Allegheny, the Nittany Lions were led by Kenny Rouse who played an incredible game. He drilled nine of his 13 attempts from the floor, including five of seven shots from downtown, to finish with a game-high 26 points. He also tied for the team-high of eight rebounds, tied for the game-high of four assists, and tallied two steals. Evan Miller converted on five of his seven attempts from the floor to finish with 13 points and five caroms, and Markel Sayles finished with 11 points and eight boards.
Penn State Greater Allegheny led by 16 (36-20) with 2:32 remaining in the opening half, but despite not playing their best basketball, the Knights were able to close the stanza on a 7-1 run to pull to within 10 (37-27) as the teams headed into the locker room at halftime.
In the second half, Berkeley continued to push, getting to within three points (42-39) with 14:31 remaining in the game. The Nittany Lions would answer in a big way, however, outscoring the Knights 15-6 over the ensuing 5:55 to catapult ahead by a score of 57-45 with 8:36 to go. The final six points of that aforementioned run came courtesy of a three-point basket apiece by Rouse and Sayles. Later, a converted three-pointer by Sayles with 4:04 remaining would appear to be the dagger, as that put Penn State Greater Allegheny ahead 70-54. Berkeley, however, refused to quit.
The Knights used an 11-2 run to get to within seven (72-65) with 1:17 to go. Berkeley had the basketball, down seven, and with a chance to cut it to a two possession game, but Jackson would misfire on a jumper, and that would turn out to be the last gasp for the Knights. Berkeley was outscored 7-2 from that point on, sealing the Knights' fate in the tournament and sending the Nittany Lions to the next round.
Three-point baskets and free throws served as the primary differences is this game. Penn State Greater Allegheny connected on 11 of its 23 attempts from long range (47.8 percent), while the Knights were only able to convert on one of 22 launches from beyond-the-arc (4.5 percent). The Nittany Lions drained 20 of their 28 attempts from the charity stripe (71.4 percent), while Berkeley misfired on an astounding 17 (18-35, 51.4 percent). It was the ninth time in 26 games this season that the Knights had missed 10 free throws or more. Berkeley hit just 24 shots for the afternoon (24-77, 31.2 percent), while Penn State Greater Allegheny also hit 24, but took 22 less shots (24-55, 43.6 percent). The Knights held a healthy 55-45 edge in the rebounding department (including a 27-8 difference on the offensive glass), while also registering 10 steals to the opponent's six. Penn State Greater Allegheny won the assists battle, piling 14 dimes compared to 10 for the Knights, and Berkeley committed four fewer turnovers on the day (13 to the Nittany Lions 17).
Tomorrow's consolation game will feature the Knights taking on the University of Cincinnati-Clermont at 12:00pm. The No. 3 seeded Cougars were upset by No. 6 seeded Vermont Tech by a score of 108-100.
