The Berkeley College men's basketball team solidified the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season title for the sixth consecutive season on Wednesday evening, turning back the Sound of Five Towns College by a score of 97-75. The game took place in Dix Hills, NY. With the triumph, Berkeley won its eighth contest in a row, catapulting to a mark of 14-8 on the year and improving to an unblemished 6-0 in conference competition. Five Towns College slipped to 8-11 on the season, and 5-2 in HVIAC action.
Pacing the Knights in their victory was Joshua Hardy, as he was masterful, posting game-highs of 27 points (12-20 FG) and 12 rebounds (seven on the offensive side). His three steals also tied for the game-high. In addition, Daquan Jackson netted 16 points while grabbing five boards, and Tristan Polnitz contributed 16 points and six rebounds. Turray Bynum posted a double-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, and it was Denzel Bush finalizing his evening with 13 points and six caroms.
Despite the loss for Five Towns College, Lloyd Middlebrooks and Damani Merritt registered 20 points apiece of the sound. Middlebrooks also added a game-high nine assists to go along with four rebounds, and Merritt collected six caroms of his own. Kyree Sawyer contributed 13 points, seven rebounds, and a pair of dimes, and Eric Romero finished with 13 points and two boards.
Berkeley College held a 16 point advantage on three different occasions in the opening half, holding edges of 33-17, 35-19, and 38-22 before taking a 41-31 lead into the locker room as the teams entered the locker room at halftime. Five Towns College was able to score six of the first eight points of the second session to close the gap, cutting the Knights lead to six (43-37). That would be the closest the Sound would get, however, as Berkeley held a double digit lead for the final 17:17 of action. The Knights built a lead as big as 26 points, before eventually going on to win the contest by 22.
Both teams shot incredibly well from the field, as Berkeley drilled 38 of its 80 attempts from the floor (47.5 percent), while the Sound connected on 29 of 62 shots (46.8 percent). The Knights held a commanding 45-35 edge in the rebounding department, while also registering 16 assists compared to 14 for Five Towns College. Berkeley also won the turnover battle by a slim margin, committing 16 miscues compared to 18 for the Sound. The Knights also made the most of their attempts from the charity stripe, misfiring on just two all evening (13-15, 86.7 percent), while Five Towns College struggled, converting on just 61.9 percent of its attempts from the line (13-21).
Berkeley will wrap up its regular season portion of the schedule on Sunday afternoon, as the team will take to the road to battle Culinary Institute of America in a Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest. Start-time for the game is scheduled for 1:00pm.
