NJ LOSES FOURTH STRAIGHT

After starting off the season a promising 2-0, the New Jersey men's basketball team has lost four straight, two of which were buzzer beating losses to Central Penn College and City College of New York.

The latest loss came at the hands of Drew University Wednesday night. The Rangers took an early 8-0 lead and never lost the lead throughout the game, hitting 15 of 31 from three point range, to defeat the Knights 95-88.

Drew took a 46-31 lead into the half before the Knights made a run in the second to close within six with 11:44 left in the game. Drew would respond to take a 17-point lead before the Knights would again get it down to eight with less than two minutes to play.

The Knights were led by freshman guard Dukens Germain (Columbia/Maplewood, NJ) who went 12 for 16 from the field to score 31 points while adding 11 rebounds. He as joined by Isaac Robinson (Conwell Egan Catholic/Trenton, NJ) with 25 points on 5 for 10 shooting from three point range.

"It's disturbing," said head coach Anthony Calabrese. "This is the third game in which we've given up more than 90 points and all three were losses. That's not how we play Berkeley basketball."

The Knights return to action this Saturday at NJIT against Apprentice at 6 P.M.

KNIGHTS FALL IN SHOOTOUT AT RPI

In the first ever meeting between the two programs, the New York men's basketball team was defeated by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 102-85 in a non-conference game in Troy, NY. Berkeley fell to 2-2 for the season with the loss.

The Knights managed to weather an initial assault of three point shots by the home team and built a six point cushion. A layup by junior center Elijah Craig (Brooklyn, NY/Seward Park) gave Berkeley a 29-23 lead with 8:42 in the first half. But the lead quickly evaporated as the RPI shooters began to find their range and the home team took a 50-43 lead into halftime.

RPI would extend their cushion to 15 points by beginning the second half on a 10-2 run before Berkeley would begin its comeback. Junior forward Danzel Whyte (Brooklyn, NY/Teachers Prep) converted two free throws to cut the margin to 13, then a steal by senior guard Kaseem Williams (Brooklyn, NY/Boys & Girls) turned into a three-point play to slice the deficit to 60-50. Following a missed RPI shot, senior forward Jose Stable (Brooklyn, NY/EBC High School) fed a pretty pass to Craig for a dunk to trim the lead to eight. Stable then stole the ball on the next RPI possession for a layup to end the 9-0 Berkeley run to cut the lead to six at 60-54. Berkeley managed to keep within single digits for most of the second half but free throws down the line would extend RPI's margin of victory to double digits.

Williams led all Berkeley scorers with 28 points while adding three assists and three steals. Stable added 25 points while pulling down 16 rebounds and dishing out six assists. Craig notched his second double-double of the season with 10 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks. Whyte also was a force inside grabbing 15 rebounds. Overall the Knights outrebounded RPI 70-58 but were plagued by a season high 33 turnovers and poor three-point shooting (1-14 overall).

Berkeley's next game will be Sunday, December 2nd at 3:00 PM at Sarah Lawrence College in an HVMAC matchup.

NJ MEN'S BASKETBALL BEATEN BY MONTCLAIR

Five Montclair players reached double figures as Montclair State bounced back from a tough loss on Tuesday with an 87-62 win over Berkeley College at the Panzer Athletic Center on Saturday.


Freshman guard Dukens Germain (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia) was the lone bright spot with 18 points, six rebounds and four steals for the Knights, who fell to 2-3 with the loss.

The game would be close up until 23-19 before Montclair exploded for 12 unanswered points and never looked back leading by more than 20 points for most of the game. Montclair State finished the game 28-of-52 from the field in the worst defensive effort of the season for the Knights.

The Knights hope to bounce back on Wednesday against Drew University at 7 P.M.

ARCE NAMED USCAA HONORABLE MENTION ALL-AMERICAN

Junior forward Ramon Arce (Bernards/Bernardsville, NJ) was named to the United States Collegiate Athletic Association All-American Honorable Mention Team for men's soccer for the Fall 2012 season. Arce led the Knights in scoring for the 2012 season.

BERKELEY ATHLETES ACHIEVE ACADEMIC DISTINCTION

Several Berkeley College athletes received academic honors recently.

The following athletes were named to the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Fall All-Academic Team:

Sarah Celin (Cross Country)
Lacey Garnett (Cross Country)
Paul Logan (Soccer)
Joachim Moe (Soccer)
Noemi Saldivar-Torres (Cross Country)
Raymond Scalfani (Soccer)

The following athletes were named to the President's List for the Summer 2012 Quarter:
Amanda Bostrom (Cross Country)
Lacey Garnett (Cross Country)
Alexander Loniakan (Basketball)
Rony Luna (Soccer)
Gustavo Moreno (Soccer)
Noemi Saldivar-Torres (Cross Country)
Mouhamadou Sarr (Soccer)
Janay Thomas (Basketball)

The following athletes were named to the Dean's List for the Summer 2012 Quarter:

Dare Aniyikaye (Soccer)
Kayla Batista (Soccer)
Ben Mohamed Dembele (Soccer)
Mamadou Diallo (Soccer)
Jasmine Foster (Basketball)
Michele Gonzalez (Cross Country)
Abdourahmane Gueye (Soccer)
Terry Gutierrez (Soccer)
Abdelwahab Mohamed (Soccer)
Camilo Montes (Soccer)
Ibrahima Ndiaye (Soccer)
Lucas Pucheta (Soccer)
Xhuljano Shala (Soccer)
Ellinor Simonsson (Soccer)
Jacob Tafur (Soccer)
Daniel Timi (Basketball)

NY MEN'S BASKETBALL DEFEATS VERMONT TECH

In a rematch of the semifinals of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association National Tournament, the Berkeley Knights defeated the Vermont Tech Knights 83-68 in Manhattan Tuesday night.

The Knights jumped out to an early 20-12 lead sparked by a couple of three pointers by junior guards Mario Guzman (West Oaks Academy/New York, NY) and Alex Loniakan (Frolunda/New York, NY), which capped a 12-3 run. Vermont Tech would cut the lead to five with 11 minutes to play in the first, but Berkeley would answer back with a 9-3 run, powered by two more three pointers from Loniakan. The Knights led 49-38 at the half maintaining their lead from the beginning.

The second half would prove to be more of the same for Berkeley as they went up by as many as 17 points in the first four minutes of play. A three pointer by junior guard Jovan Bovell (Jamaica/Jamaica, NY) and back-to-back lay-ups by senior forward Jose Stable (EBC for Public Service/Brooklyn, NY) put the Knights up 63-46 with 15 and change to play. Vermont would fight back behind Alex Tyrrell’s 22 points. However, Berkeley maintained their double-digit lead throughout the second half and won by a final score of 83-68.

Berkeley was led by junior center Elijah Craig’s (Seward Park/Brooklyn, NY) double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds to go along with his six blocked shots. Bovell added 17 while senior guard Kaseem Williams (Boys and Girls/Brooklyn, NY) chipped in with 16 and Loniakan went 4 for 7 from three point range for 12 points.

The Knights return to action Sunday against RPI at 4 P.M.

WOMEN LOSE FIRST GAME OF THE SEASON

The United States Merchant Marine Academy Mariners (1-0) upended the Knights of Berkeley College (0-1) by a score of 57-54 Saturday afternoon in Kings Point, NY.

Berkeley controlled play early, never relinquishing their lead in the first half, leading at the half 28-26. Berkeley came out firing in the second, scoring seven of the half's first nine points to open up a seven point in lead in the first five minutes of play. Capitalizing on Berkeley turnovers, the Mariners slowly began to chip away at the deficit before taking the lead late in the game.

On their final chance down the floor, Berkeley junior forward Milan Germany (Bronx, NY) heaved a potential game-tying three pointer at the buzzer from the top of the arc that looked as though it had a chance of dropping; only to spin around the hoop and rim out, giving Merchant Marine the 57-54 victory.

Despite only holding the lead for 1:12 seconds, the Mariners were able to outscore the Knights 14-1 in the final 4:47 of play to come out on top.

For the Knights, Germany had a stellar double-double performance, scoring 22 points and nabbing 14 rebounds; both game highs.

The Knights return to action today against Vaughn College.

 

NJ LOSES SECOND IN A ROW

The New Jersey men's basketball team lost to City College of New York 68-66 to fall to 2-2 on the season.

The Knights were dominated on the boards being outrebounded 54-40 for the game and from the charity stripe, with CCNY shooting 44 free throws to the Knights 19.

The Knights had their best three point shooting in their history, hitting 11 of 22 from three-point land.

Freshman Isaac Robinson (Conwell Egan Catholic/Trenton, NJ) led the Knights with 18 points and 12 rebounds. He was joined in double figures by freshman Dontae Jones (Ewing/Ewing, NJ) with 14 points.

The Knights seek to end their two-game losing streak against Montclair State University on November 24 at 2 P.M.

NY MEN'S BASKETBALL EARNS SPLIT

The Berkeley College New York men’s basketball team earned a split in the North Country Invitational Tournament by defeating SUNY-Potsdam 95-85 in the consolation game. Berkeley (1-1) lost in the opening game against host Clarkson University, 84-74.

In the opening game Berkeley would start sluggishly, committing ten turnovers and missing several easy layups, yet trailed the host Golden Knights only by six at halftime 39-33. With 17:54 remaining and Berkeley still down only by five, 45-40, Berkeley would get blitzed by a 13-0 run to trail 58-40 before slowly mounting a second half comeback and would eventually get the Knights to within four points before clutch outside shooting by Clarkson would ice the game for the home team. For Berkeley, senior Jose Stable (EBC/Brooklyn, NY) led with 22 points with fellow senior Kaseem Williams (Boys & Girls/Brooklyn, NY) adding 18 points.

In the consolation game, the Knights led the entire game, storming out to a 9-0 lead before Potsdam would climb back. On several occasions the Bears pulled within three before the Knights would go on a run. With the score 40-37, Berkeley went on a 12-2 run over the end of the first half and the start of the second half to up the lead to thirteen points at 52-39. Stable scored eight of his 31 points during this stretch. Yet the Bears would hang tough eventually pulling within three 75-72 before another 10-3 run would put the Knights ahead for good. Williams scored eight of the ten points, including a clutch three pointer from the corner to up the lead back to ten. Williams led all scorers with a career high 36 points on 10-17 shooting and hitting 13-16 from the charity stripe while also dishing out eight assists. Stable finished with 31 points on 11-17 shooting while grabbing eight rebounds and netting five assists. Junior guard Jovan Bovell (Jamaica/Jamaica, NY) chipped in 15 points on 6-8 shooting. Berkeley overall shot a blistering 59% from the field as a team and owned a slight edge in rebounds by a 35-31 margin.

The Knights next game will be Tuesday, November 20, at 7:00 PM as they host Vermont Tech at Borough of Manhattan Community College.

GERMAIN NAMED ASAC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Freshman forward Dukens Germain (Columbia/Maplewood, NJ) was named the Atlantic States Athletic Conference (ASAC) Rookie of the Week.

In three games Germain averaged 14.6 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game in two wins and a loss in the first week of the season for the Knights.

MEN WIN 2ND TITLE

The Berkeley College New York men's soccer team defeated Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, 5-1, to win their second Hudson Valley Conference championship.

The Knights opened the game with a fury, attacking early to post four shots in the first nine minutes of play, one of which went in for a goal. In the 9^th minute of play, after an initial shot by junior defender Ulises Bravo (Graphic Communication Arts/New York, NY) hit the post, sophomore forward Dare Aniyikaye (Nigeria) got his foot on it and stuck it into the net to go up 1-0.

The Knights continued their attack adding another goal in the 16^th minute of play. Freshman forward Hasan Sezer (Istanbul, Turkey) took a long shot from the top of the box extended that went into the top left corner of the net to put the Knights up 2-0.

The Knights added one more goal before the half ended at the 42^nd minute mark on another rebound shot by freshman forward Ahmet Colak (Istanbul, Turkey) to go up 3-0. 

In the second half it was more of the same for the Knights as they would add two more goals. One at the 56^th minute of play on a beautiful fast break goal for Sezer (his second of the game) and the second at the 63^rd minute of play which came off a corner kick where Colak headed it in.

The Knights outshot Albany 20-9 and were led by Sezer and Colak, who together had 11 shots (eight on goal), and four goals.

WOMEN LOSE CHAMPIONSHIP

The Berkeley College New York women's soccer team lost 2-0 to St. Joseph's College of Brooklyn in the Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference championship game earlier today.

The Lady Bears took the lead early on a goal in the first half at the 13:58 marker on a direct kick by Pam Chernykhovsky. The Knights looked to retaliate, but the Lady Bears defense would keep them ahead, 1-0, entering the second period.

In the second frame the Knights would attack early with Tiffanie Vargas and Kerryann Haughton taking shots on goal within the first six minutes. Although the Lady Bears played conservatively, they would add a late goal to seal the game.

The Knights were outshot, 11-5, while the Lady Bears were led by Daniela Semilia’s four shots on goal (one goal).

NJ FALLS TO CENTRAL PENN

The Berkeley College New Jersey men’s basketball team lost a key Atlantic States Athletic Conference game to Central Penn College in overtime by a score of 94-93. The loss dropped the Knights to 2-1 on the season while Central Penn College improves to 2-0.

The pace of the game would be decided on the tip as both teams pushed the ball on the fast break several times trading baskets in the early going. From then on, it was a game of runs. With the game tied 13-13, the Knights went on an 8-0 run, sparked by Darryl Robinson (Franklin/Somerset, NJ), to take a 21-13 lead with 11:14 remaining in the first half. Central would answer with a mini 5-0 run to take the momentum away and later tie the game at 25-25 with a lay-up from Devon Dorsey. The Knights were up 37-32 with only 2:15 left to play in the first half, until Central went on a 10-2 run to closeout the half and go into the locker room up, 42-39.

In the second half, Central would extend their lead to eight with a 60-52 score with 12:30 reaming in regulation. The Knights answered with a lay-up from Isaac Robinson (Conwell Egan Catholic/Trenton, NJ) and a three ball by Darryl Robinson, which capped a 7-0 run, cutting Central's lead down to one, 60-59. The Knights would eventually take the lead, 63-62, on a put back by Isaac Robinson with under 10 minutes to go in regulation. Both teams would exchange leads for more than five minutes when suddenly the Knights were up 85-81 with only 1:40 remaining. However, Central did not back down as they struck back with a three pointer by Montez Lacy that cut the lead to one, 85-84. In the end of regulation, the game was tied, 86-86, due to free throws.  

In the extra period, Central would take a 90-86 lead in the opening minute of play. The Knights had an answer again with a three-point goal by Dukens Germain (Columbia/Maplewood, NJ). After a few free throws, Central had a one-point lead, 92-91 with only 2:02 remaining. Off a turnover, a quick lay-up by Dontae Jones (Ewing/Ewing, NJ) gave the Knights a 93-92 lead with exactly a minute remaining. The Knights had a chance to go up three, but Devon Dorsey of Central had other plans, with a blocked shot and defensive rebound. After the timeout, 10 seconds remained for Central to try to win the game; Dorsey would not disappoint as he slashed to the basket just in time to lay it up as the buzzer sounded to win the game.

Dukens Germain’s 23 points led the Knights on 9-13 shooting while Isaac and Darryl Robinson both chipped in with 15 apiece. 

CROSS COUNTRY COMPETES AT USCAA

The Berkeley College men's and women's cross country teams competed at the USCAA National Championships in Lake Placid, NY, this week.

Sophomore Sarah Celin was the top finisher on the women's side for Berkeley College, finishing 41st overall out of 144 runners in a time of 27:15. Freshman Sindre Skogan was the top finisher on the men's side for Berkeley, finishing 129th overall out of 164 runners in a time of 35:09.

The championships mark the end of the third season in program history for the teams and the first season in which the teams competed in multiple college invitationals and the USCAA National Championship. This season the teams competed in the Bard College Invitational, the College of Staten Island Invitational, and the York Invitational, as well as the Hudson Valley Conference Championships and the USCAA National Championship.

NJ IMPROVES TO 2-0

The New Jersey men's basketball team defeated Central Maine CC by a score of 75-64 to improve to 2-0 on the season, the best start in program history.

The Knights were led by freshman guard Isaac Robinson (Conwell Egan Catholic/Trenton, NJ) who led all scorers with 26 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals. The Knights had 18 steals in all for the game.

The Knights return to New Jersey for their first home game of the season against Central Penn College on November 10 at 6 P.M.

NJ MEN'S BASKETBALL GOES 1-0

The New Jersey men's basketball team defeated Southern Maine Community College in the first round of the SMCC Tip Off Tournament by a score of 71 to 65. The Knights fell behind early, 8-0,  before going on an 11-3 run to tie the score.

The Knights then dominated the rest of the half to take a 40-31 halftime lead. They would increase their lead in the second half to 13 points, but the SeaWolves wouldn't go away quietly and the game was close throughout the second half with the Knights holding them off at the free throw line to start their season 1-0.

The Knights were led by freshman guard Dukens Germain (Columbia/Maplewood, NJ) who finished with 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 steals. Senior guard Gary Williams Jr. (Marist/Jersey City, NJ) came off the bench to score 12 points, nine of which came from the free tthrow line, and sophomore center Terah Mingo (Kearny Christian Academy/Newark, NJ) added 10 points and 7 rebounds for the Knights.

The Knights face Central Maine Community College today at noon.