The Berkeley College of New Jersey men’s basketball team picked up an impressive victory Saturday evening in their final home game of the 2013-2014 campaign, as the Knights turned back the Mechanics of Williamson Free Trade by a score of 60-51 at the Fleisher Athletic Center on the campus of New Jersey Institute of Technology. With the win, Berkeley improved its mark to 14-9 on the year, while the Mechanics dipped to 11-13 on the season.
The victory was sweet redemption for the Knights – who
just two short weeks ago on January 25 suffered a double overtime defeat to
Williamson Free Trade in Pennsylvania by a score of 90-89.
Berkeley College trailed in this one early, falling
behind by a score of 9-6 with 12:29 remaining in the first half. Over the
ensuing 5:51 of action, the Knights would put together a 15-4 run to take a
21-13 lead with 6:38 left in the opening stanza. Berkeley eventually built an
11 point lead before heading into the locker room with a 10 point advantage, at
32-22.
The second half begin with a 6-0 run by the Knights,
thanks to a converted layup by sophomore guard Tasheen Carrow, a pair of made
free throws by junior forward Carl O’Neil, and a basket by freshman center
Thaddeus Dalton. Berkeley seemed ready to pull away, but the Mechanics refused
to go away. Williamson Free Trade would put together a 15-0 run over the next
4:50 of action to pull to within a point at 38-37.
Knights freshman center Vince Richmond halted the
Mechanics’ run with a layup to put Berkeley College back up by three points.
Following a basket by Williamson’s Jake Eisenhart, the Knights’ Dukens Germain
would nail a huge three-point basket to increases his team’s lead to four
points at 43-39.
Williamson stayed close in this one, trailing by just
three – 52-49 – with 2:23 left on the clock. The Knights would convert on two
field goals and knock down four free throws while holding the Mechanics to just
one field goal the rest of the way, as Berkeley held on for a nine-point
victory.
Germain led the way for the Knights, as he posted
game-highs in points with 19 and rebounds with 12 (including seven on the
offensive glass) while dishing three assists and tallying two steals. O’Neil
added 10 points, seven rebounds, and three steals, and Carrow finalized his
evening with 10 points and a pair of assists.
For the Mechanics, Justin Swift lead the way for his
team, netting a game-high 14 points to go along with five rebounds and three
assists, and Debro Curtis also contributed with 12 points, seven rebounds, two
assists, and two blocks.
The shooting percentages were nearly even, with the
Knights connecting on 39.7 percent of their attempts from the floor (23-58)
compared to 39.1 percent for Williamson Free Trade (18-46). Berkeley held a
41-29 edge on the glass, while also dishing 15 assists to the Mechanics’ 11. The
Knights also had 11 steals, while Williamson Free Trade finished their evening
with five.
Berkeley College returns to action Wednesday evening as
the Knights take to the road to battle Davis College. Start-time for the
contest is scheduled for 7:00pm.
