3/9/14

Slow start too much for Berkeley College (NY) women's basketball team to overcome as Knights fall to Mustangs 56-48 in semifinals of 2014 USCAA National Basketball Tournament



The Berkeley College (NY) women’s basketball team’s push for a return trip to the USCAA National Basketball Tournament Championship Game was cut short, as the No. 4 seeded Knights fell to the No. 1 seeded Mustangs of Central Maine C.C. by a score of 56-48 Friday evening at the Main Arena in Uniontown, PA.

A slow start doomed the Knights in their loss to the Mustangs, as Berkeley missed its first nine shots from the floor and fell behind 9-0 just 4:46 into the game. Knights junior forward Patricia Patterson got her team on the board when she nailed a three-point basket to pull Berkeley to within six points at 9-3.

Unfortunately for the Knights, Patterson’s three-point basket would account for one of only seven shots Berkeley would sink in the game’s first 20 minutes, as the Mustangs held the Knights to 18.4 percent shooting in the opening stanza (7-38) and took a 32-22 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The early stages of the second half saw Central Maine C.C. expand its lead, as the Mustangs increased their edge to 19 points – 43-24 – with 15:58 remaining in the game. Just as it appeared the Knights were going to go quietly, they began their run.

Junior forward Milan Germany converted on a layup with 15:00 remaining, and the All-American standout later drilled two free throws to bring her team to within 15 points at 43-28 with 14:32 left on the clock. The Knights spent the ensuing 6:26 of the game chipping away, as Berkeley eventually would slice the Mustangs’ lead to seven at 47-40 with just over eight minutes remaining.

Central Maine C.C. sophomore guard Susie French would connect on a three-point basket with a little under seven minutes remaining to put the Mustangs back up by double figures – 50-40. The Knights - despite keeping the game close and giving themselves a chance – were only able to convert on two fields in the closing eight minutes of game – and never got closer than seven points down – as the Mustangs held on for an eight point victory.

Despite the loss for Berkeley College, it was Germany pacing the Knights with a team-high 20 points, and game-highs in rebounds with 16 and blocks with three. Patterson added seven points, 12 rebounds, and three steals, as well.

In the victory for the Mustangs, Central Maine C.C. was paced by the hot shooting of French, as she nailed nine of her 20 attempts from the floor en route to finishing with a game-high of 22 points. She also snatched nine rebounds, dished five assists, and collected three steals. Sophomore forward Laura Soohey added 12 points and a team-high 12 rebounds, as well.

Neither team shot well from the floor, as the Mustangs hit on just 30.8 percent of their attempts (20-65), while the Knights were only able to nail 15 of their 74 shots (20.3 percent). The Mustangs held a slight edge in the rebounding department, grabbing 57 caroms to Berkeley’s 54, and Central Maine C.C. dished 14 assists to the Knights’ seven. Berkeley scored 25 points off of 26 Mustang turnovers, while Central Maine C.C. netted 21 points off of 21 Knights mistakes.

With the loss, Berkeley’s season finalized at 14-7. Central Maine Community College – who improved to a mark of 28-2 with Friday’s triumph – lost the title game to Cincinnati-Clermont on Saturday evening, 69-51.

3/7/14

Berkeley College (NJ) men's basketball team wraps-up 2013-2014 season with 84-72 victory over Central Penn in consolation game of 2014 USCAA National Basketball Tournament



The Berkeley College (NJ) men’s basketball team finalized their season in winning fashion Friday morning, turning back Central Penn by a score of 84-72 at the Maltho Gymnasium in the consolation bracket of the 2014 USCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. With the win, Berkeley capped their 2013-2014 campaign with a 19-11 overall record.

A three-point basket by sophomore guard Dukens Germain gave the Knights their biggest lead of the first half – a 34-28 edge – with 4:24 remaining in the opening session. Central Penn would then finish the half strong, going on a 10-4 run to knot the game at 38 apiece as the teams headed into the locker room at halftime.

In the second half, Berkeley College took control of the contest. The Knights built a 12 point lead – 61-49 – and never let Central Penn get any closer than seven points down.

Five players scored in double figures for Berkeley College, including freshman guard William Morton who played 26 minutes off of the bench and posted a team-high 18 points and a game-high seven steals. Sophomore guard Andrew Tomlin netted 13 points, grabbed four rebounds, dished three assists, and collected three steals. Additionally, freshman center Thaddeus Dalton dropped-in 13 points, snatched six caroms and blocked two shots, and Germain and sophomore guard Hassan Abdullah scored 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Central Penn was paced by Devon Dorsey who posted game-highs in points with 22 and rebounds with 14 in a losing cause. Maalik Rochester added 12 points, nine rebounds and two steals, and Rafeeg Bush netted 10 points and snatched four rebounds.

Berkeley’s defense was phenomenal all game, as the Knights forced 27 Central Penn turnovers while collecting 20 steals. Additionally, Berkeley held Central Penn to just 35.7 percent shooting (25-70), and the Knights’ bench outscored Central Penn’s 39-10.

Jubilation after Midnight: Berkeley College (NY) women's basketball team punches ticket to USCAA National Tournament semifinals with 77-75 overtime victory over Penn State Beaver in quarterfinals



For the second consecutive season, the Berkeley College (NY) women’s basketball team will be playing in the semifinals of the USCAA National Basketball Tournament, as earlier this morning, the No. 4 seeded Knights outlasted the No. 5 seeded Nittany Lions of Penn State Beaver in the quarterfinal round by a score of 77-75 in overtime at the Maltho Arena in Uniontown, PA. With the victory, the Knights now advance to play No. 1 seeded Central Penn tomorrow evening in the Main Arena at 9:00pm, with a chance to qualify for the National Championship Game. With the loss, Penn State Beaver will battle Warren Wilson in the consolation bracket tomorrow at 4:00pm.

In a game that lasted two hours and six minutes and concluded at 12:56am, the Knights took their fans on a roller coaster ride. At the half, Penn State Beaver led Berkeley by a score of 39-30, and the Nittany Lions ballooned their lead up to 14 – 52-38 – with 14:14 remaining in the contest. At that point, the Knights began storming back.

Senior guard Aiyesha Brown started Berkeley’s push by nailing a three-point basket. Following a turnover by Penn State Beaver’s Cassandra Flowers, junior guard Janay Thomas drilled a triple to bring the Knights to within eight points at 52-44. The Nittany Lions would then turn the ball over again, which led to Brown driving in for a layup to cut her team’s deficit to six points. With 12:39 remaining in the game, the Knights found themselves trailing 52-46.

Penn State Beaver then responded with a modest 5-3 run to push back ahead 57-49, but a 9-0 Berkeley College run – capped by a three-point basket by junior forward Milan Germany – put the Knights up one – 58-57. It was the first time the Knights held a lead since being up 23-22 with 7:12 remaining in the first half.

After a basket by Nittany Lions guard Natalie Gamble gave Penn State Beaver the lead again at 59-58, Berkeley scored the next eight points (a spurt that included a basket and two converted freebees by Thomas, a pair of made free throws by Brown, and a layup by Germany) to go back up 66-59 with 4:15 remaining in the game.

Penn State Beaver – despite relinquishing a 14 point lead earlier in the stanza and finding themselves in between a rock and a hard place – didn’t quit. A layup by flowers, a pair of free throws by sophomore guard Morgan Kurtz, and another two freebee conversions by Flowers pulled the Nittany Lions back to within a point – 66-65 – with just under two minutes remaining.
Later, with the Knights holding a 69-67 lead, Penn State Beaver sophomore guard Khalia Adams would convert on a layup to tie the game. With only five seconds remaining in regulation, Thomas took the inbounds pass and began to dribble before giving the ball up to Germany. Germany only got to half court before heaving a desperation shot that was off, sending the game into an extra session.

The Nittany Lions scored the first four points of the extra session – all at the line – as Penn State Beaver held a 73-69 lead. A layup by Thomas brought Berkeley to within two points with 1:28 to go, but the Nittany Lions responded with a converted layup by Adams. With 1:13 remaining, the Knights found themselves down four points.

On Berkeley’s next possession, Germany nailed a three pointer from the corner to pull her team to within a point at 75-74. On Penn State Beaver’s next possession, Thomas came up with a huge steal, snatching the ball away from Nittany Lions freshman guard Mason Depetro and driving all the way to the hoop before laying it in, giving Berkeley a 76-75 edge.

The Nittany Lions still had a chance to take the lead, but on their next possession, freshman guard Sydnee Abernathy would miss a layup. The ball was rebounded by Flowers, who would then turn the ball over. On Berkeley’s next possession, Germany would turn the ball over, as Abernathy would come up with the steal and feed Kurtz, who would have her layup blocked by the Knights’ Tiera Williams. Williams then grabbed the ball and was fouled.

Williams then went to the charity stripe, where she knocked down the first of her two attempts. The second attempt was off, and the rebound was grabbed by Flowers. Penn State Beaver would turn the ball over in the front court, though, and Aiyesha Brown would run out the clock to give Berkeley an exhilarating two point overtime victory in the quarterfinal round.

Thomas and Brown were tied for the game-high in points scored, as both standouts netted 25 points. Thomas also tallied four steals, grabbed three rebounds, and dished three assists, and Brown had a game-high six steals while pulling down three rebounds. Germany posted a double-double with 16 points and a team-high 11 rebounds, and forward Patricia Patterson dropped-in nine points while snatching 10 boards.

In a losing effort for Penn State Beaver, the Nittany Lions got 22 points from Kurtz, who connected on 11 of her 15 attempts from the charity stripe. She also grabbed 10 rebounds as well. Flowers put together one of the more stellar performances in recent quarterfinal round history, as she posted a double-double with 20 points, and game-highs in rebounds with 23 and blocks with four. Adams struggled with her shot, nailing just four of 16 attempts from the floor, but she did finish with 11 points.

The Knights won the game despite missing 17 free throws (15-32, 46.9 percent), and getting out-rebounded by an astounding margin of 68-35. Berkeley College’s defense was fantastic, however, as the Knights forced 30 Penn State Beaver turnovers, and swatted nine shots compared to six for the Nittany Lions. Finally, Berkeley held an 18-9 edge in the steals department.

Keep it posted to Berkeley College’s athletics website - http://berkeleycollege.edu/athletics/ - for all of the latest 2014 USCAA National Basketball Tournament information.

3/6/14

Knights can't capitalize on fast start as Berkeley College (NJ) men's basketball team's National title push ends with 91-86 loss to Penn State York



The No. 7 seeded Berkeley College (NJ) men’s basketball team fought valiantly, but ultimately fell in the quarterfinal round of the 2014 USCAA National Basketball Tournament, losing to the No. 2 seeded Nittany Lions of Penn State York by a score of 91-86 Thursday afternoon at the Main Arena in Uniontown, PA.

Things looked promising for the Knights in the first half, as Berkeley opened up a 16-point first half lead – 44-28 – with 3:47 remaining in the opening stanza. A 12-3 run by Penn State York cut the Knights’ lead to seven points at 47-40, but a layup by freshman center Vince Richmond at the buzzer gave the Knights a 49-40 edge as the teams entered the locker room at halftime.

The Nittany Lions completed their comeback and took the lead for good when freshman guard Lucas Jewell would hit a jumper to put Penn State York up 58-56 with 14:31 left. From there, the Nittany Lions would go up by as many as 10 points, and Penn State York led by as many as seven – 87-80 – with just under a minute remaining in the game. Berkeley – however – continued to battle. A layup by sophomore guard Dukens Germain was followed by a turnover by Jewell. The Knights inbounded the ball to junior forward Carl O’Neil who dropped in a layup to pull his team to within three points with 45 seconds left.

Five seconds later, Nittany Lions junior guard Tyler Martin would turn the ball over, and junior guard Josh Jamison would commit a foul, hacking O’Neil. That would send O’Neil to the line for a one-and-one opportunity, but he would misfire on the attempt. From there, Penn State York would connect on all eight of their free throw attempts, eventually hanging on to win the game by six points.

Despite the loss for the Knights, Germain led the way for Berkeley, scoring a team-high 20 points to go along with seven rebounds and four steals. O’Neil added 17 points and seven rebounds, and sophomore guard Hassan Abdullah scored 12 points off of the bench.

In the win for Penn State York, the Nittany Lions were led by Jewell, as he scored a game-high 22 points off of the bench. He also added seven assists and three rebounds as well. Martin finalized his afternoon with 21 points a game-high nine assists, and Jamison connected on nine of his 12 shots and finished with 19 points.

The Nittany Lions shot 75 percent from the floor in the second half (21-28), while connecting on 57.4 percent of their attempts for the game (35-61). On the flip side, Berkeley College hit on 34 of their 75 shots (45.3 percent). The teams each pulled down 39 rebounds apiece, and Penn State York dished 21 assists to the Knights’ 12.

With the loss, the Knights dropped to 18-11 on the season, and will finalize their 2013-2014 campaign tomorrow with a game against Central Penn College at 10:00am. Penn State York advances to the semifinal round of the tournament, where they will battle No. 6 seeded Andrews University at 3:00pm.

Fast start propells Berkeley College (NY) men's basketball team to 87-67 win over Penn State Fayette on day two of USCAA National Basketball Tournament




The Berkeley College (NY) men’s basketball team wrapped-up its season on a positive note, defeating the Roaring Lions of Penn State Fayette by a score of 87-67 in the consolation bracket of the play-in round of the 2014 USCAA National Basketball Tournament at the Maltho Arena in Uniontown, PA.

The Knights were hitting on all cylinders from the start. Sophomore guard Keenan Langston began the scoring with a pair of free throws before following that up with a three-point basket as Berkeley grabbed a 5-0 lead in the opening 2:23. Following a pair of converted freebees by Roaring Lions junior forward Matt McKenna, the Knights put together a 16-1 run (a spurt that included nine points by senior guard Jovan Bovell) to take a 21-3 advantage with just over 14 minutes remaining the session.

Berkeley grabbed its biggest lead of the first half when senior guard Mario Guzman connected on a jumper to give the Knights a 39-13 edge with 4:38 left in the opening stanza. The Roaring Lions were able to close the half on a 15-5 run, but the Knights were still in the driver’s seat, holding a 44-28 lead as the teams entered the locker room at halftime.

In the second half, Penn State Fayette closed the gap to 13 points – 50-37 – with 14:36 remaining in the game. The Knights kept the Roaring Lions at bay, though. Freshman center Ahmed Dickerson would slam the ball home to stop the bleeding, and following a converted free throw by Penn State Fayette’s Darius Mack, back-to-back baskets by senior guard Richard Rampersad and Bovell put the Knights ahead by 18 – 56-38 – with 12:46 left on the clock.

From there, the Knights never let Penn State Fayette get any closer than 12 points down. Berkeley ultimately built its lead back up to as many as 21 points before eventually going on to win the game by 20 points.

In the victory for the Knights, Berkeley was paced by Bovell, who connected on nine of his 15 attempts from the floor en route to finishing with a team-high 24 points. Additionally, the senior grabbed four rebounds and dished four assists as well. Dickerson nailed eight of his 10 shots and finalized his afternoon with 19 points, a game-high nine rebounds, and three assists, and senior guard Alexander Loniakan drilled four three-pointers and contributed 12 points.

Despite the loss for Penn State Fayette, the Roaring Lions got a tremendous effort from McKenna, as he netted a game-high 26 points while grabbing seven rebounds and tallying two steals. Sophomore guard Luke Williams added 14 points, and junior forward Jacob Bronder and freshman guard Dominick Jackson each contributed 11 points.

Berkeley was absolutely stellar shooting the basketball, as the Knights connected on 62.5 percent of their shots from the floor for the afternoon (33-53) compared to 45.3 percent for Penn State Fayette (24-53). The Knights hit 13 of their 18 attempts from the charity stripe (13-18), while the Roaring Lions misfired on 12 freebees (17-29, 58.6 percent). Berkeley held a 33-27 edge in the rebounding department, and also dished 19 assists to Penn State Fayette’s 14. Finally, Berkeley scored 26 points off of 19 Penn State Fayette turnovers.

With the win, the Knights finalized their season with a record of 15-10, while Penn State Fayette’s campaign closed at 13-16.