DIX HILLS, N.Y. — Led by Dontel Henry’s (Bronx, N.Y./Brooklyn Collegiate) 29 points, No. 1 seed Berkeley College defeated No. 2 seed Word of Life/Davis, 89-79, to claim the 2022 Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championship on Sunday afternoon at Five Towns College.
In addition to winning their seventh consecutive title and 13th overall, the Knights (13-4) receive the league’s automatic bid to the United States Collegiate Athletic Association National Championship.
Henry averaged 25.0 points on 50 percent shooting for the weekend and was named Tournament MVP. Kenny Pitt (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bushwick Leaders) added 17 points and five rebounds off the Knights’ bench in the final.
Making their first appearance in the championship, Noah Amet (Sevierville, Tenn.) paced Word of Life (16-8) in the title game and posted game highs of 31 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double. Cyrus Sprague (Hampton, Conn.) also turned in a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds as four Huskies finished scoring in double figures.
The tournament’s top seeds overcame slight halftime deficits in the Saturday semifinals. Berkeley defeated tournament newcomer and No. 4 seed King’s College (7-10) in a high-scoring 107-92 affair in the first semifinal. Word of Life upended tournament host and No. 3 seed Five Towns College (10-7), 71-59, in the second semifinal.
In the final, the Huskies hung tough with the perennial title contenders as the game featured five ties and four lead changes. Word of Life build a 13-10 lead six minutes in, but Berkeley used their depth to regain the lead for good and led 47-39 at the half.
The Knights led by as many as 18, 64-46, six-and-a-half minutes into the second stanza but the Huskies battled to the final buzzer and shrank the deficit to single digits with 3:30 to go and nearly brought a two-possession ball-game with a triple that rimmed out.
Berkeley will head Richmond, Virginia as the No. 10 seed for the USCAA National Championship and will face No. 7 Johnson & Wales - Charlotte in a first-round contest on Monday, March 7.
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2022 HVIAC Men's Basketball Championship
Hosted by Five Towns College
Semifinals
Saturday, February 26
#1 Berkeley def. #4 King's, 107-92
#2 Word of Life/Davis def. #3 Five Towns, 71-59
Championship
Sunday, February 17
#1 Berkeley def. #2 Word of Life/Davis, 89-79
Tournament & Regular Season Champions
Berkeley College
Tournament Runner-Up
Word of Life/Davis
Tournament MVP
Dontel Henry - Berkeley
Past Champions
- 2020: Berkeley
- 2019: Berkeley
- 2018: Berkeley
- 2017: Berkeley
- 2016: Berkeley
- 2015: Berkeley
- 2014: St. Joseph's
- 2013: Berkeley
- 2012: Berkeley
- 2011: Berkeley
- 2010: St. Joseph's
- 2009: Berkeley
- 2008: St. Joseph's
- 2007: Berkeley
- 2006: Berkeley
- 2005: Bard
