The Berkeley College men's basketball team picked up a pair of home victories last week, defeating the Bobcats of Bryant & Stratton (Buffalo) by a score of 76-69 in an NACIA contest this past Wednesday, before turning around the next day and blowing out the Sound of Five Towns College by a score of 84-57. Both games took place at Achievement First Brooklyn H.S. With the victories, the Knights are now 8-8 on the 2024-2025 campaign (3-1 NACIA). Bryant & Stratton (Buffalo) dipped to 7-8 overall (2-3 NACIA), and the Sound fell to 2-8.
In the victory over the Bobcats, three Knights scored in double figures, including Julio Wallace, as he tied for the team-high of 17 points while leading all players with 10 steals. The standout also snatched three rebounds, as well. Ike Sheppard posted a double-double with 17 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, and Jesse Taylor netted 10 points and collected seven rebounds.
Despite the loss for the Bobcats, Bryant & Stratton (Buffalo) was paced by the stellar effort of Nahshon Sylvester, as his 28 points (10-19 FG, 6-6 FT) led all players. He also snatched five rebounds and added two steals. Galen Waters finalized his evening with nine points, and Cameron Watts and Justin Reed-Fouche scored seven apiece.
After the teams played a closely-contested opening half that saw the squads enter the locker room knotted at 34 apiece, the Knights outscored the visitors 42-35 in the second half, playing some tight defense in the final session to lock down the seven-point home victory.
Berkeley College won the game despite not shooting the basketball as well as the Bobcats. Bryant & Stratton (Buffalo) earned a conversion rate of 37.3 percent for the night (22-59), while the Knights connected on just 35.9 percent of their attempts from the floor (28-78). The Knights held a slim 43-38 edge on the glass, while also tripling the Bobcats in steals, earning 18 compared to six for Bryant & Stratton (Buffalo). The Knights won the turnover battle, committing just 14 miscues compared to 25 for the visitors, and each squad registered six assists apiece.
In the Knights' blowout triumph over Five Towns College, Justyce Coleman connected on 11 of his 17 shots from the floor, posting game-highs of 23 points and 17 rebounds. Sheppard (7-9 FG) added 18 points and nine boards, and newcomer DeMarco Watson finalized his evening with a double-double, netting 10 points and snatching 11 rebounds.
Berkeley College dominated the opening half, outscoring the Sound by a count of 52-36 in the game's opening 20 minutes. The Knights maintained that commanding advantage, as Five Towns scored just 36 points in the second half to the Knights' 45, as Berkeley advanced for a convincing 27-point margin of victory.
Berkeley has now won three consecutive games, and five of its past seven, and will look to continue its winning ways on Saturday evening, as the Knights will welcome Bryant & Stratton-Syracuse to Achievement First Brooklyn H.S. Start-time for the game is scheduled for 7:00pm.
