The Berkeley College men's basketball team suffered a defeat on Saturday evening, falling to longtime USCAA rival Central Penn by a score of 85-67. The contest took place at the Borough of Manhattan Community College in New York, NY. With the defeat, Berkeley slipped to 3-6 on the year, while Central Penn continued its impressive play, improving to 7-3.

The defeat for Berkeley, the team's sixth, is the most the program has suffered in one season since the 2013-2014 campaign, when the Knights finished 15-10. Dating back to last season, Berkeley has dropped eight of its past 11 contests.

Despite tonight's loss for Berkeley, the team was paced by the versatile Joshua Hardy, as he put together a strong 36 minutes, connecting on 10 of his 17 attempts from the floor to tie for the game-high of 20 points. He also snatched nine rebounds, including seven on the offensive end, while adding a pair of dimes. Veteran Foday Saccoh was energetic all evening, knocking down seven of his 12 attempts from the floor and finishing with 16 points. He also tied for game-highs of five assists and three steals. Daquan Jackson scored 10 points and grabbed a pair of rebounds in 20 minutes of action, and Turray Bynum fell just short of a double-double, scoring eight points and snatching nine boards.

Central Penn had many contributors in its victory, as four players scored in double figures. Marqel Wansley tied for the game-high of 20 points, drilling eight of his 13 attempts from the floor. He also added four assists on the evening as well. Ryan Lawrence connected on five three-point baskets, eventually finishing with 19 points while tying for the game-high of five assists. He also snatched four rebounds and registered two steals. Noah Baylor posted a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds (to go along with five assists), and Tyler White finalized his evening with 11 points, five rebounds, four assists, and a pair of steals.

Berkeley College held the lead all of just 33 seconds in this one, going ahead when Bynum nailed a three-point basket 68 ticks in to push Berkeley ahead of Central Penn, 3-2. Tyler White gave Central Penn the lead back two possessions later, draining a three-point basket to put his team ahead, 5-3. Central Penn gradually built its lead from there, catapulting up by as many as 18 points in the opening session (38-20). As the teams entered the locker room at the half, Central Penn held a 43-27 edge.

Berkeley came out aggressive in the early stages of the second half, outscoring Central Penn 17-1 over the first 6:28 of the session. That aforementioned run included two baskets from Hardy, a converted three-pointer by Bynum, a made layup by Jackson, consecutive buckets by Saccoh, a layup by Robert Soriano, and two drained free throws by Tristan Polnitz. At that juncture, Berkeley trailed 47-44 with 13:52 remaining.

Berkeley hung around for a while, later trailing by just six, 60-54, with 7:59 remaining. Central Penn closed out ferociously, though, outscoring Berkeley 25-13 over the remainder of the game to solidify the 18-point victory.

Though the game wasn't dominated by Central Penn, it did control the tempo throughout. Central Penn connected on 49.2 percent of its attempts from the floor (30-61), compared to a 45.5 percent conversion rate for Berkeley (30-66). Central Penn won the rebounding battle by a slim 38-36 margin, while also committing 16 turnovers to Berkeley's 18. Both squads registered 18 dimes apiece, and Berkeley scored 50 points in the paint to Central Penn's 40.

Berkeley will now have three days off before returning to the court against HVIAC foe Vaughn College on Wednesday. The game will take place at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. Start-time is scheduled for 8:30pm.