In what was a rematch of the last two HVIAC championship games, the Knights of Berkeley College defeated the Blue Angels of the College of New Rochelle by a score of 113-102 in a game that took place at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. With the victory, Berkeley won its ninth consecutive game to improve to 16-4 on the year. The team also remained unblemished in HVIAC action, improving to 4-0 in league play. The Blue Angels dipped to 13-9 on the 2018-2019 campaign, including 4-1 in HVIAC contests.
The Knights, who won their 34th consecutive home contest tonight, did so thanks in large part to their success from beyond-the-arc. Berkeley has accomplished many impressive feats since its string of four consecutive HVIAC and USCAA championships began (2014-2015), but the team found yet another way to make the box score glow, connecting on an astounding 19 three-point baskets.
Berkeley was led by guard Nigel Hemingway in its victory. The veteran guard was all smiles all evening long, and for good reason. He connected on all seven of his attempts from the floor, including all six of his launches from beyond-the-arc. Hemingway also added a pair of assists, as well. Deylon Bovell drained all five of his attempts from downtown, finishing with 21 points, five rebounds, and a pair of blocked shots. Shamiek Sheppard contributed 16 points, seven rebounds, and two assists, and Ricardo Ayuso, Anthony Hemingway, and Dequan Jones all added 10 points apiece.
The Knights also recorded 12 blocks as a team, including five by Stevaun Latouche, two apiece by Bovell, Jones, and Nicholas Cora, and one by Sheppard.
Despite the loss for the College of New Rochelle, the Blue Angels' charge was led by Hunter Schenkel, as the standout continued his ridiculous dominance during the 2018-2019 campaign by scoring 40 points. He connected on 13 of his 23 attempts from the floor, including nine of his 15 shots from three-point territory. It was the second time this year that Schenkel reached the 40-point mark, and sixth time this season that he has scored 29 points or more.
Elijah Harris also had a quality game for New Rochelle, as he contributed 20 points, seven rebounds, and three steals, and Glen O'Loughlin and Anthony Turnbow netted 11 points apiece.
Berkeley College held early commanding leads of 9-0 and 16-2 before going up by as many as 18 points, 39-21, with 10:15 remaining in the opening session. A modest 9-0 run in a span of 90 seconds by the Blue Angels pulled New Rochelle to within nine points at 39-30, but the Knights answered with a 7-0 run to catapult back up by 16, 46-30, with 6:55 to go in the session. The Blue Angels would keep things close, pulling to within nine (57-48) as the teams headed into the locker room at halftime.
In the second half, the Knights would lead by as many as 19 (68-49), and would never let the Blue Angels inch any closer than 10 points down (77-67). Berkeley College would eventually advance for an 11-point triumph.
Berkeley College connected on 53.4 percent of its attempts from the floor (39-73), including a 51.4 percent conversion rate from downtown (19-37). On the flip side, the Blue Angels hit on 38 of their 79 shots from the floor (48.1 percent) and 59.1 percent of their attempts from long range (13-22). The Knights dominated the glass, snatching 52 rebounds compared to 35 for the opposition. Berkeley recorded 28 assists to the Blue Angels' 17, and the College of New Rochelle won the turnover battle, committing 11 miscues compared to 19 for the Knights.
The Knights will look to extend their winning streak to 10 games on Thursday evening, as Berkeley will face Albany College of Pharmacy in HVIAC action at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. Start-time is scheduled for 8:00pm.
