The #1 seeded Berkeley College Knights won the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title this weekend, as they defeated the #2 seeded Vikings of Villa Maria College earlier today, 68-57. With that output, the Knights won their eighth consecutive regional crown, improving to 19-9 in the process and earning an automatic bid to the USCAA Men's Basketball Division II National Tournament. Villa Maria College dipped to 19-9, and will now await word on a possible at-large bid to the USCAA National Tournament.
The Knights have competed in the HVIAC Men's Basketball Tournament for 17 years, and the team has won the championship 14 times, including eight years consecutively. Berkeley has an astounding 29-2 record in the tournament, and has only failed to qualify for the Regional postseason once.
In the Knights HVIAC victory over Villa Maria College, Berkeley College won the game despite only having one player score in double figures. That player was Marc Combs, as he scored a game-high 20 points, connecting on three trifectas in the process. He also collected a pair of rebounds, and swiped two steals. Jihadu Brunner and Tahshon Moore scored nine points apiece, with Brunner pulling down four boards, and Moore snatching three rebounds. Kenneth Hines netted eight points and seven rebounds, and Malachi Faison led all players with 10 rebounds.
For the Vikings, Master Radford scored a team-high 16 points while snatching seven boards, and Jeriah Williams netted 12 points, grabbed four rebounds, and added two steals. Rhalon Bragg scored 11 points, swiped a game-high four steals, collected three rebounds, and dished three assists, and Nolan Shephard scored seven points, grabbed six rebounds, piled three dimes, and picked up a pair of steals.
The Knights held a 20-10 lead early, but the Vikings stormed back to outscore Berkeley College 24-11 over the final 12:20 of the first half to take a 34-31 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Berkeley College held a modest 51-46 advantage with 8:01 remaining, put together a 12-2 run over the ensuing 4:32 to take a commanding 63-48 edge with just 3:29 left. The closest the Vikings would get from that point forward is 11 points down, and the Knights ended up defeating the #2 seeded Villa Maria College by 11.
Marc Combs of Berkeley College was named Tournament MVP for his outstanding play over the course of both days.
With the victory, the Knights have received an automatic bid to the 2022-2023 USCAA Division II National Men's Basketball Tournament. Berkeley College The Knights will learn who their opponent/potential opponents will be during the USCAA Division II selection show, which will air on Sunday, March 5th, at 5:30 pm.
Recap written by: Stephen Spagnoli
