The Berkeley College men's basketball team wrapped-up its 2019-2020 season on Monday afternoon, falling to the University of Cincinnati-Clermont by a score of 92-79 in the consolation game of the USCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament. The game took place in the ARC Gym on the campus of Penn State Fayette. With the loss, the Knights completed their season at 17-10, while the Cougars ended their campaign at 24-6.
Today's loss for the Knights was the team's fourth straight on the National stage following an incredible 13 consecutive triumphs in the USCAA Division II Tournament from 2014-2018. Berkeley College also finished the 2019-2020 season on a two-game losing skid, its first losing streak since falling in consecutive games against NHTI and Fisher College in early January.
Despite the loss for Berkeley, the Knights were paced by Joseph Caraballo, as he played 24 minutes and connected on seven of his 14 attempts from the floor (including three of his seven launches from downtown) to finish with 19 points. He also snatched five rebounds, tied for the game-high of three steals, and added two assists. Deylon Bovell turned in a solid effort, netting 16 points, tying for a team-best six rebounds, and tying for the team-high of three assists, and it was Amir Assani contributing 10 points while drilling four of his five attempts from the floor. He also tied for the team-high of six rebounds, while registering three steals.
In the victory for University of Cincinnati-Clermont, Kort Justice and John Aicholtz tied for the game-high of 26 points. Justice nailed 10 of his 15 attempts from the floor (6-10 3PT FG) while pulling down six rebounds and adding a pair of steals, and Aicholtz converted on 11 of his 20 attempts while snatching a game-high 10 rebounds and dropping three dimes. Clay Spivey netted 11 points on the afternoon, as he hit thee shows from downtown, and Alec Kegan contriburted 10 points, six rebounds, and two steals. Greg Marsh compiled 11 assists, which was a game-high.
The Knights kept this one close in the early stages, as Berkeley trailed by just four (26-22) with 8:40 remaining in the first half. The Cougars would score 27 of the next 32 points of contest, catapulting ahead to a score of 53-27. Berkeley scored the final four points of the session to pull to within 53-31 as time expired on the half.
Berkeley trailed the game 77-46 with 11:51 to go, and despite the weight of the deficit, the Knights refused to quit. Over the next 5:08, the Knights put together a 15-2 run to pull to within 18 with 6:43 remaining. Despite the push, Berkeley wasn't able to draw any closer than 11 points down, eventually losing the consolation contest by 13 points.
The University of Cincinnati-Clermont converted on 52.9 percent of its attempts from the floor (37-70), while Berkeley hit on 30 of 75 attempts (40 percent). Three-point accuracy was once again a huge factor, as the Cougars shot 53.8 percent from beyond-the-arc (14-26), compared to 22.7 percent for the Knights (5-22). The University of Cincinnati-Clermont snatched 48 boards to Berkeley's 37, and the Cougars tallied 21 assists to the Knights 14. Berkeley won the turnover battle, committing just 16 while forcing 26 opposition mistakes.
Despite not capturing their fifth USCAA Division II National crown in the last six years, Berkeley College still accomplished plenty this season. For the Knights, they won their sixth consecutive HVIAC crown, qualified for their 10th consecutive USCAA Tournament appearance, and recorded their sixth straight season of 17 victories or more. In addition, Daquan Jackson was tabbed as a USCAA All-American, with Tristan Polnitz earning a National Academic All-American distinction. Three players were tabbed to the HVIAC All-Conference team (Jackson, Joshua Hardy, and Turray Bynum). The team will reload, regroup, and refocus its efforts on next season, as Berkeley will aim to win its seventh consecutive Regional crown, and the program's fifth National title.
