NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — Top seed and regular season champion Berkeley College (25-0, 8-0) captured their third straight Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men’s basketball title withstanding a challenge from No. 3 seed College of New Rochelle (13-14, 6-2) for a 98-75 victory on Sunday afternoon at the CNR Wellness Center.
For the Knights, the triumph was their 50th straight victory dating to last season and it was their ninth overall league title and sixth in the last seven years.
The Blue Angels—who earned a spot in the title game upending No. 2 Vaughn College, 90-83 in the semifinals—proved to be up to the challenge early racing out to an 11-point lead, 23-12, midway through the opening half and held the lead for over 14 minutes. But Berkeley—who cruised into their seventh straight final bypassing No. 4 SUNY ESF—outscored New Rochelle 19-8 over the final six minutes of the half to lead 45-39 at the break.
The Knights extended out to a double-digit advantage early in the second stanza before the Blue Angels used an 8-0 run to pull within two, 60-58, with 12 minutes to play. But New Rochelle couldn’t get any closer and Berkeley later scored 13 straight over a three-minute span to jump ahead 81-65 and put the game out of reach of the Blue Angels, who finished as runner-up in their inaugural season.
Berkeley senior forward/center Johnnine Green (Brooklyn, N.Y.) recorded an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double and was named Tournament MVP, also scoring 14 points in the semifinals. Senior Massiah Merritt (Brooklyn, N.Y.), who took home Tournament MVP honors last season, scored 22 points to share game-high honors with New Rochelle freshman Glen O'Loughlin (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.). Named HVIAC Rookie of the Year at the start of the tournament, CNR freshman forward Hunter Schenkel (Sayville, N.Y.) added 20 points and drained five three-pointers.
With the victory, the Knights claim the league's automatic bid to the upcoming USCAA National Championships from February 28-March 4 in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, where they enter as back-to-back national champions. The full tournament field and seeding for the 10-team championship will be announced on Tuesday, February 21st at 4 p.m. on www.theuscaa.com
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2017 HVIAC Men's Basketball Championships
Semifinals
Saturday, February 18
at The College of New Rochelle
#1 Berkeley def. #4 SUNY-ESF, 97-47
#3 New Rochelle def. #2 Vaughn, 90-83
Championship
Sunday, February 19
at The College of New Rochelle
#1 Berkeley def. #3 New Rochelle, 98-75
Tournament & Regular Season Champions
Berkeley College
Tournament Runner-Up
College of New Rochelle
Tournament MVP
Johnnie Green - Berkeley
Past Champions
- 2016: Berkeley
- 2015: Berkeley
- 2014: St. Joseph's
- 2013: Berkeley
- 2012: Berkeley
- 2011: Berkeley
- 2010: St. Joseph's
- 2009: Berkeley
- 2008: St. Joseph's
- 2007: Berkeley
- 2006: Berkeley
- 2005: Bard