Berkeley College's men's basketball team split a pair of games recently, falling to Villa Maria by a score of 80-76 at Achievement First Brooklyn High School this past Thursday, while coming back two days later to defeat the Lynx of NHTI on the road by a score of 101-84. With that output, the Knights improved to 11-9 on the 2024-2025 campaign, and 4-2 in NACIA action. The Vikings improved to 18-4 (4-2 NACIA), and the Lynx dipped to 5-13.
Prior to the Knights' game against Villa Maria, the Berkeley College Department of Athletics took the time to honor four seniors who have given so much to the men's basketball program at the institution. Those seniors included Kawaya Usungu, Brian Fajardo, Justyce Coleman, and Julio Wallace. Each senior was presented with special gifts as tokens of appreciation for their hard work and diligence during their tenures on the team.
Despite Berkeley's setback to Villa Maria, the Knights were led by Wallace, as he posted team-highs of 22 points (8-15 FG) and five rebounds, while his eight assists were a game-high. Ike Sheppard scored 19 points, snatched four rebounds, and swiped four steals, and DeMarco Watson finalized his evening with 12 points, four boards, an assist, and a steal.
In the victory for the Vikings, Villa Maria was paced by Bryant Rosa, as he scored a game-high 24 points (8-17 FG, 5-6 FT) while snatching four boards, swiping three steals, and dishing two assists. Juston Johnson added 18 points, eight caroms, and three times, and Bryan Adams posted a double-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Villa Maria held a 43-38 advantage at halftime, and Berkeley was able to keep the game close, but ultimately couldn't secure the comeback victory, as the Vikings held on for a four-point win (80-76).
The Vikings connected on 37.3 percent of their shots from the floor for the evening (25-67), while nailing 80 percent of their opportunities at the free throw line (24-30). On the flip side, Berkeley earned a conversion rate of 43.1 percent (28-65), but missed free throws haunted the hosts, as the Knights connected on just 13 of 28 freebees for the night (46.4 percent). Villa Maria dominated the glass, snatching 49 boards compared to 46 for Berkeley, but the Knights held advantages in assists (23-18) and steals (14-11). Berkeley also won the turnover battle, committing 21 miscues, while Villa Maria finished with 22.
In Berkeley's blowout victory over NHTI, three players scored 17 points for the Knights, including Sheppard, Karif Isaacs, and Watson. Sheppard also added seven rebounds, while Isaacs finalized his evening six a team-high six assists, a game-high five steals, and three rebounds. Watson pulled down six boards in addition to his quality scoring output. Wallace finished with 12 points, five dimes, and four steals, and Coleman's nine rebounds led all players.
Despite the loss for the Lynx, NHTI was paced by the stellar effort of Donald Brown, as he connected on five three-point baskets and finished with a game-high 36 points on the night while snatching five rebounds, dishing five assists, and tallying a team-high four steals. Isaiah Ayers added 13 points, six rebounds, and two steals, and Joseph Cantey finalized his evening with 12 points, and a game-high eight assists. He also added six boards and three steals, as well. Finally, Mark Lual recorded 11 points and four rebounds.
Berkeley never trailed in its victory over NHTI, as the Knights raced out to an early 9-1 advantage in the opening 2:02 of competition. Sheppard contributed four points in that opening run, with Isaacs adding three. The Knights extended their advantage to 13 (15-2), but NHTI outscored Berkeley 20-12 over a span of 6:05 to slice the Knights' advantage to five (27-22) with 8:49 remaining in the half.
The Knights responded to the Lynx's surge with a run of their own, scoring eight of the next 10 points of the evening to go back up by double digits, 35-24, with 7:05 to go in the session. Sheppard scored half of Berkeley's points during that spurt. NHTI closed to within eight multiple times for the remainder of the half (35-27, 37-29, 39-31, and 43-35), but the Knights closed the half on a 14-7 run over a span of 3:41 to take a commanding 15-point edge (57-42) into the locker room at halftime.
The Lynx scored the first bucket of the second half on a converted layup by Lual, but the Knights scored 22 of the next 28 points to take a 79-50 advantage with 14:36 to go in the game. Isaacs netted nine of Berkeley's 22 points during that run.
NHTI made one last-ditch effort to come back, rattling off 12 consecutive points over a span of 2:48 to close to within 17 (79-62). Cantey accounted for four of those points during that aforementioned run, with Brown adding four. That would be the closest NHTI would get, however, as the teams would score 22 points apiece for the remainder of the game, as Berkeley went on to win the game comfortably, by 17.
The Knights were the far more efficient team shooting the basketball, earning a 48.1 percent conversion rate for the game (37-77), and the Lynx connected on 33 of their 88 shots for the night (37.5 percent). Berkeley shot 74.1 percent from the line (20-27), while NHTI earned an 80 percent conversion rate from the stripe (8-10). Berkeley snatched 49 rebounds while the hosts grabbed 40, and Berkeley held a slim 14-13 edge in steals. Both teams had 19 assists, and the Lynx won the turnover battle, committing 21 miscues, while the visitors had 22.
Berkeley will return to action tomorrow afternoon, as the Knights will stay on the road to battle Great Bay Community College. Start-time for that contest is scheduled for 4:00pm.
