The Berkeley College men's basketball team picked up its signature victory on the 2019-2020 season up to this point, defeating the No. 1 team in the USCAA's recent Division I Coaches Poll, Washington Adventist University, by a score of 106-98 in overtime. The contest took place at the Borough of Manhattan Community College in lower Manhattan. With the victory, the Knights won their fifth consecutive game, improving to 11-8 on the year, while the Shock lost its second consecutive game, dipping to 17-6.
Prior to the start of the game, the Berkeley College Department of Athletics instituted a 24-second moment of silence to pay respects to NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven other people who perished this past Sunday in a plane crash in Calabasas, CA. The 24 seconds, which counted down from the shot clock in BMCC, represented Bryant's jersey number that he donned during his final 10 NBA seasons.
Following the Knights' incredible victory, seniors Nigel Hemingway and Jerell McLeod were honored in a special ceremony celebrating their service to the institution's men's basketball program. Both student athletes were presented with commemorative plaques in a show of appreciation for their tenures at the institution.
Berkeley's triumph served as sweet redemption, as Washington Adventist had defeated the Knights convincingly back on Saturday, November 23, 2019, by a score of 106-68. What a difference 67 days makes, as the Knights were up for the task this evening, putting together a championship performance to derail the Shock in impressive fashion.
Leading the way for the Knights was Daquan Jackson, as the standout scored a season-high 24 points, connecting on 10 of his 17 shot attempts from the floor. He also snatched nine rebounds, registered five assists, added three steals, and swatted a pair of shots. Tristan Polnitz drilled nine of his 10 free throw attempts to finish with 19 points. He also snatched six rebounds and tallied a game-high four steals, and Turray Bynum looked strong with 17 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Joshua Hardy, Robert Soriano, and Joseph Caraballo scored 14, 13, and 11 points, respectively.
Despite the loss for Washington Adventist, the Shock was paced by Mastadi Pitt. The standout drilled nine of his 11 attempts from the charity stripe, eventually finishing with a game-high 27 points. His seven assists also led all players, and he also snatched three rebounds. Jayy Davis netted 20 points while grabbing six rebounds, and it was Dwayne Garner nearly shooting perfectly from the floor, as he connected on six of his seven attempts from the hardwood to finish with 12 points and four caroms.
The Knights raced out to an early 16-6 edge over the opening five minutes of play. The dangerous Shock rallied back quickly, going on a 14-2 run over a short span of 3:07 to jump ahead by a score of 20-18. The two teams played extremely competitive basketball over the ensuing 7:07, with neither squad taking more than a three-point lead. Berkeley finally took a four point advantage (36-32) on a Soriano layup with 4:46 left in the opening session. A 13-6 Washington Adventist run to close the half gave the shock a modest 45-42 lead as the buzzer sounded on the opening half.
Washington Adventist took the momentum it built towards the end of the first half into the second session, as the Shock scored 10 of the first 14 points of the second stanza to take its biggest lead of the game, 55-46, with 18:26 to go. The Shock maintained its decent lead, holding on to a 71-63 advantage with 11:43 remaining, but a ferocious 25-9 run by Berkeley over a span of 6:34 put the Knights ahead 88-80.
The Shock battled back, and Washington Adventist found itself down just two (95-93) with time winding down. Pitt would convert on a layup to tie the game at 95-all with four seconds left. Berkeley College was unable to get a shot off at the end of regulation, and the game headed into overtime.
Despite it seeming like Washington Adventist had just taken the wind out of Berkeley College's sail, the Knights dominated the extra session, outscoring the Shock by a count of 11-3 in the overtime to win the game by eight points. Berkeley held Washington Adventist to just one converted field goal in extra time.
Both teams shot very efficiently from the floor, with Berkeley hitting 38 of its 72 attempts (52.8 percent), and the Shock converting on 50 percent of its attempts for the evening (35-70). The Shock held a 41-34 edge on the glass, but the Knights registered 26 assists on the evening to Washington Adventist's 20. Berkeley held a ridiculous 27-6 edge in fastbreak points, while also scoring 30 points off 20 Shock turnovers. The Knights took care of the ball well, committing just 12 miscues on the night.
The Knights will look to continue their winning ways this weekend, as Berkeley will take to the road to battle Villa Maria. The two teams have met three consecutive years at the USCAA Division II National tournament, and will renew their rivalry Saturday afternoon in Buffalo. Start-time is scheduled for 1:00pm, and live stats can be accessed by clicking the link below:
https://villavikings.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
The following day, Berkeley will face HVIAC foe SUNY-ESF in a Superbowl Sunday matinee. Game-time for that one is scheduled for 12:00pm.
