The Berkeley College men's basketball team wrapped-up its regular season and headed into the USCAA Division I National Basketball Tournament with plenty of momentum, winning four of its final five games to improve to 17-10 on the 2024-2025 campaign.

The Knights defeated Bryant & Stratton-Ohio in an NACIA game back on Saturday, February 15, defeating the Bobcats by a score of 90-88 in overtime. A day later, Berkeley outlasted Bryant and Stratton (Rochester), 84-76. On February 18, Berkeley blew out the Sound of Five Towns College by a score of 107-70 in NACIA action, before turning back Cheyney by a score of 70-67 (February 22). Berkeley's only defeat in the five-game stretch to conclude the regular season came against Washington Adventist, as the Knights were edged by the Shock, 76-73.

In what was a tightly-contested game against Bryant & Stratton-Ohio, Berkeley trailed by three point at the half, before outscoring the Bobcats 36-33 in the second stanza to send the contest to the extra session. Once there, the Knights edged the hosts 16-14 over a five-minute span to snatch the win.

Leading the way for the Knights in the triumph was Julio Wallace, as he scored a game-high 26 points (9-14 FG, 6-7 FT) to go along with a team-high four assists. He also snatched three rebounds and swiped two steals. Ike Sheppard posted a double-double with 19 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, and DeMarco Watson (4-6 FG, 3-3 FT) finalized his evening with 11 points, six rebounds, and two assists.

Despite the loss for Bryant & Stratton-Ohio, James Moore (9-11 FT) netted a game-high 22 points while leading all Bobcats with nine rebounds. The standout also dished two assists while swiping two steals. Detric Hearst scored 16 points, tied for the game-high of eight assists, and collected seven rebounds. Tareeq Roper netted 14 points, tied for the game-high of eight assists, collected eight rebounds, and tallied two steals, and Daylen Patterson (5-8 FG, 2-2 FT) contribute 13 points and five rebounds in 20 minutes of action.

Berkeley shot the ball more efficiently on the evening, connecting on 44.1 percent of its attempts from the floor (30-68), while the hosts converted on 39.2 percent of their shots (31-79). The Knights dominated the glass, snatching 49 boards to the Bobcats' 32. Bryant & Stratton-Ohio held advantages in assists (22-13) and steals (13-5), and the Bobcats won the turnover battle, committing just 10 miscues, while Berkeley finished with 21.

The marathon contest against Bryant & Stratton-Ohio didn't affect the Knights the following day, as Berkeley traveled to Rochester, NY and took care of business with an eight-point triumph over Bryant & Stratton (Rochester), 84-76.

The Knights held a 49-38 lead over Five Towns College at halftime before completely dominating the second half, outscoring their NACIA foe 58-32 over the final 20 minutes to account for the 37-point margin of victory.

Seven Berkeley players scored in double figures in the victory for the Knights, including Yasin Abdur-Rashid, as he finalized his evening with 25 points (8-13 FG, 4-4 FT) to go along with three assists and a pair of steals. Jesse Taylor netted 14 points while collecting five boards, tallying two assists, and swiping two steals, and Wallace (6-8 FG) capped his evening with 13 points, a game-high six assists, and two steals. Justyce Coleman, Javion Kemp, Karif Isaacs, and Brian Fajardo all scored 10 points apiece, with Coleman and Kemp each snatching six boards.

Despite the loss for Five Towns College, Malik Moore posted a double-double with team-highs of 21 points and 10 rebounds. He also dished three assists, as well. Patrick Harrington scored 18 points while collecting three boards and swiping two steals, and Elan Williams added 12 points, five boards, and team-highs of four assists and three steals.

Both teams shot well from the floor, with Berkeley earning a conversion rate of 50.6 percent, and Five Towns connecting on 43.1 percent of its shot attempts (28-65). The Knights dominated the glass, collecting 54 rebounds to the Sound's 29, and Berkeley held advantages in assists (20-13), steals (12-9), and blocks (4-3). Five Towns College won the turnover battle slightly, committing 18 miscues, while Berkeley had 19.

In its final road trip of the regular season, Berkeley earned a hard-fought 70-67 victory over Cheyney. The following day, the Knights were defeated by the Shock of Washington Adventist by a score of 76-73.

The Knights held a slim 42-41 halftime edge over the Shock, but Washington Adventist outscored Berkeley 35-31 in the second half to win the game. Three players scored in double figures for Berkeley despite the loss, with Coleman pacing his squad with a team-leading 14 points. He also snatched eight rebounds and swatted a pair of shots, as well. Abdur Rashid and Isaacs netted 11 points apiece, and Sheppard snatched 10 rebounds.

Berkeley connected on 40.3 percent of its attempts for the game (25-62), but missed free throws doomed the Knights, as Berkeley connected on just 16 of 37 attempts (43.2 percent). The Knights collected 37 rebounds, dished 10 assists, blocked five shots, swiped four steals, and turned the ball over 14 times.

The Knights will enter the 2024-2025 USCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament as the No. 8 seed, and will take on No. 1 seeded Bryant & Stratton-Syracuse on Tuesday, March 11, at 4:45pm.