Recap courtesy of Sarah Lawrence College Athletics
BRONXVILLE, N.Y.—In the biggest comeback of SLC's team history, Sarah Lawrence College men's basketball rallied from a 17-point deficit to overthrow Berkeley College (N.Y.), 84-76, in a Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at Noyes Court at Campbell Sports Center on Thursday.
Sarah Lawrence (9-12, 4-1 HVIAC) outscored Berkeley (10-8, 4-2 HVIAC) in the second half to the tune of 58-36, knocking off the defending HVIAC regular-season and tournament champions. The win is SLC's first over a nationally-ranked opponent, as Berkeley entered the game No. 11 in USCAA Division II.
Marking the Gryphons' first time scoring more than 78 points, the triumph is another success SLC's historical 2013-14 campaign. In six prior seasons in the Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference, the Green and White totaled two conference wins, while they now stand on the precipice of their first-ever postseason berth.
In the opening minutes, the game looked as if it would be another victory for the Knights, who had beaten SLC on each of the teams' previous meetings. After seven and a half minutes, Berkeley's advantage reached double digits at 18-8. The lead swelled to its largest, 39-22, with three minutes in the period, and the visitors went into halftime with a comfortable, 40-26 edge.
The Gryphons' fortune turned quickly in the second period, as rookie Wyatt Rocheleau (San Jose, Calif./Christopher) sank a pair of three-pointers to open the scoring in the half. Captain Josh Niebloom (Livingston, N.J./Golda Och Academy)converted a fast-break layup and trey, slicing the deficit to 44-37.
After Berkeley responded with four points, another Niebloom three-pointer kick-started a 15-0 rally by the Gryphons. SLC'sStevan Radosavljevic (Lazarevac, Serbia/Grammar School Lazarevac) put away a pair of layups, while Rocheleau fired off two more three-pointers to take control, 52-48.
A three-point play by Radosavljevic bolstered the Gryphons' confidence, while the defense stonewalled the Knights, who were held to two points in a nearly-five-minute span.
As time leaked off the clock, a layup by Graham Gilleran (San Francisco, Calif./Archbishop Riordan) gave the Gryphons a stunning double-digit lead at 70-59. Back-and-forth scoring by the conference rivals left SLC on top, 75-68 with 1:10 to play. From there, SLC preserved the lead on 9-for-12 shooting from the foul line, icing one of the most memorable games in team history, 84-76.
Shooting percentage told the tale of the game. After shooting 10-for-27 (37%) in the opening half, SLC rebounded to fire 18-for-30 (60%) from the field in the second period, including 7-for-12 (58%) from beyond the arc.
At the other end, Berkeley converted 15-of-31 (48%) and 7-for-13 (54%) in the opening 20 minutes, only to suffer disastrously in the second half, making just 15-of-51 (29%) and 1-of-14 (7%) from downtown.
Radosavljevic picked up his 12th double-double of the season with team-highs of 20 points and 11 rebounds. Rocheleau finished with 15 points, including four three-pointers, scoring all his points in the second half.
Gilleran pitched in 14 points and eight rebounds. With five blocks, the rookie center improved his season total to 47, moving him into second-place all-time in HVIAC history. Niebloom also hit double figures with 11 points, all in the second period.
Guards Brendan O'Connell (Andover, Mass./Phillips Academy Andover) and Niko Yuvienco (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King)each tallied eight points in the game, while Mat Gerak (Monroe, Conn./Masuk) scored eight points while dishing out a game-high five assists.
For Berkeley, Keenan Langston led the Knights with 19 points. Ahmed Dickerson contributed 10 points, and Elijah Craig collected 11 rebounds. While Berkeley committed only nine turnovers, their 56 missed shots proved fatal.
The Gryphons are one HVIAC win from clinching their first-ever postseason berth. Failing that, SLC would still have a chance to earn a spot by way of tie-breakers.
Sarah Lawrence prepares its next showdown, a visit to HVIAC foe Albany Pharmacy on Saturday. The Gryphons will then round out their conference slate by travelling to Vaughn College on Tuesday. SLC concludes the regular season at home on Thursday, Feb. 13, against Cooper Union at 7:30 p.m.
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Release courtesy of Berkeley College
The Berkeley College of New York men's basketball team suffered a tough loss Thursday evening, as the Knights fell to the Gryphons of Sarah Lawrence College by a score of 84-76 in a Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game played at the Noyes Court at Campbell Sports Center in Bronxville, NY. With the loss, Berkeley dipped to 10-8 on the season, and finalized their HVIAC portion of the schedule at 4-2, while Sarah Lawrence improved to a mark of 9-12 on the year, including a 4-1 mark in conference play.
Six days after rallying from 11 points down in the final 1:37 to beat Valley Forge Christian College, the Knights found themselves on the other side of a missed opportunity, as Berkeley relinquished a 17-point first half lead as the Gryphons scored 58 second half points to pull off the biggest comeback in their program's history.
Things looked promising for the Knights early on, as Berkeley held leads of 18-8 and 39-22 before entering the locker room with a commanding 14 point lead, 40-26. In the second half, Sarah Lawrence College came out a completely different team. Back-to-back three-point baskets by freshman guard Wyatt Rocheleau kick-started an 11-4 run for the Gryphons who pulled to within seven points (44-37) with 17:18 remaining in the game.
Following that run from Sarah Lawrence, the Knights responded with a mini 4-0 run over the ensuing 1:04 of play thanks to a pair of layups by senior forward Danzel Whyte. That increased Berkeley's lead to 11 points at 48-37. The Gyphons answered that in a big way, however, putting together a 15-0 run over the next 4:22 of action to take a 52-48 lead with 11:52 remaining on the clock.
After taking the lead, Sarah Lawrence College would never trail in the game again, as the Gryphons eventually went up by as many as 11 points before finally winning the game by eight. Sarah Lawrence College – which won only two HVIAC games in their first six seasons in that conference – now have four wins in league play on stand on the precipice of their first-ever postseason berth. The Knights have already clinched a return trip to the HVIAC Tournament after winning it all last year – but their seed for this season's tourney is still to-be-determined.
Despite the loss for Berkeley College, the Knights were paced by sophomore guard Keenan Langston, as he scored a team-high 19 points (while connecting on six of his 10 shots from the floor) to go along with four rebounds and a pair of steals. Freshman center Ahmed Dickerson added 10 points and five rebounds, as well.
In the victory for Sarah Lawrence College, the Gryphons had four players score in double figures, including freshman forward Stevan Radosavljevic, as he posted game-highs with 20 points and 11 rebounds to go along with three assists. Rocheleau finalized his night with 15 points and five caroms, and freshman forward Graham Gilleran sophomore guard Josh Niebloom scored 14 and 11 points, respectively.
Sarah Lawrence College connected on 49.1 percent of their shots for the evening (28-57), while the Knights struggled, hitting on just 36.9 percent of their attempts (30-82). The Gryphons held an 18-11 edge in the assists department, and Sarah Lawrence also swatted six shots compared to three for Berkeley. The Knights held a slight 43-40 edge on the glass, while also committing eight fewer turnovers than their opponent (Berkeley – 9, Sarah Lawrence – 17).
The Knights will look to bounce back on Saturday afternoon, as Berkeley College takes to the road to battle SUNY ESF. Game-time for that contest is scheduled for 2:00pm.
