NJ MEN'S BASKETBALL FALLS TO DREW UNIVERSITY

The New Jersey Men’s Basketball team dropped a hard-fought contest on Wednesday evening, falling to the Rangers of Drew University by a score of 81-69 in non-conference action at the Fleisher Athletic Center in Newark, NJ. With the victory, the Rangers improved their record to 4-4 on the season, while the Knights dipped to 4-5 on the 2013-2014 campaign.




Despite the loss for Berkeley College, the Knights were paced by sophomore guard Dukens Germain who score a game-high 22 points while connecting on nine of 18 shot attempts, snatching a team-high eight rebounds and collecting two steals. Freshman center Vince Richmond opened some eyes with an impressive effort, coming off the bench to contribute 18 points hitting on nine of 12 attempts from the floor, grabbing five rebounds (including three on the offensive glass) and swatting a pair of shots in 17 minutes of action.



In the victory for Drew University, senior guard John Ford led the way for his team, dropping in a team-high 20 points drilling a game-high of four three-pointers. The 6’5, Holbrook, NY native also collected a game-high nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Mike Klinger added 19 points converting on all eight of his attempts from the charity stripe.



Berkeley College held an edge in the shooting percentage department, converting on 39.7 percent of their field goal attempts (27-68) while the Rangers hit on 38.3 of their shots (23-60). The Knights also won the turnover battle, committing just 16 miscues compared to 23 for the Rangers. Drew University held significant margins in rebounds (53-36, including a 22-14 difference in offensive rebounds) and free-throw’s made (29 conversions compared to 13 for the Knights).



The game was tightly contested in the first half, as the opening 20 minutes of action featured 12 lead changes, with neither squad taking more than a five point lead. As the teams headed into the locker room at halftime, the game was knotted at 28.



In the second half, Drew University came out of the locker room hitting on all cylinders, opening the session on 11-4 run that was highlighted by a pair of three-point baskets by Ford. With 17:05 remaining in the game, the Rangers held a 39-32 lead. The Knights refused to go quietly, fighting back and answering Drew University’s surge with an 11-2 run of their own that include three made baskets from Richmond.



With the game tied 47 apiece with 11:18 remaining in the game, the Rangers took the lead for good thanks to a pair of made free throws by Ford. From that point forward, Drew University would never trail again. The Rangers, leading 49-47 at that point, would eventually build a nine point lead, 58-49, with just eight minutes left in the contest.

Berkeley College used one final mini run to keep things close, going on an 8-2 run to pull to within three points at 60-57 with just under 5:30 remaining. The score would never get any closer than that with the Rangers closing out the game strong and eventually winning the game by 12 points.

The Knights have now alternated wins and losses over the past five contests. Berkeley College will return to action on Friday evening, as the team will travel to Glassboro, NJ to participate in the Rohrer College of Business Classic at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ. The Knights will take on the College of Faith (AR) at 6:00pm.



Those interested in following live statistics of this Friday’s contest can click the link below:



http://www.sidearmstats.com/rowan/mbball/



Those interested in watching live video of this Friday’s contest can click the link below:



http://helix.rowan.edu/clients/events/sports/live1.html