The Berkeley College men's basketball team's quest for its first USCAA Division II National title came up short this week, as the No. 4 seeded knights lost to the No. 5 seeded Golden Eagles of Kent State Tuscarawas by a score of 96-88 Tuesday afternoon at Virginia State University. The Knights did finish their season with a victory, defeating the Nittany Lions of Penn State Greater Allegheny 83-75 in a consolation contest on Wednesday. As for Kent State Tuscarawas, the Golden Eagles were eliminated in the semifinals by Penn State Wilkes-Barre, 77-72.

 

In the Knights' loss to the Golden Eagles, the Knights were led by Tahshon Moore, as he connected on all six of his attempts from the free throw line, finalizing his afternoon with a team-high 17 points to go along with four rebounds, a team-high three assists, and two steals. Jihadu Brunner posted a double-double, netting 16 points while snatching a game-high 10 boards, and Marc Combs drilled six of his 12 attempts from the floor, finishing with 14 points and six boards. Karranja Bright (4-4 FG) contributed 12 points and four rebounds, and Kenneth Hines put forth a terrific all-around performance, scoring 11 points, collecting nine rebounds, and tying for the game-high of four steals. Finally, it was Julio Wallace adding 10 points.

 

For Kent State Tuscarawas, Kameron Shockley led all scorers with 27 points connecting on eight of his 11 attempts from the floor in the process, while also drilling 10 of 13 shots at the charity stripe. He also grabbed seven caroms, dished out five assists, and swatted a game-high three shots. London Cobbs scored 21 points (7-12 FG, 7-9 FT), collected five rebounds, and tied for the game-high of four steals. Braden Rostad added 16 points and drilled five trifectas. He also contributed with six rebounds and four assists. Finally, it was Kyle Shockley scoring 15 points to go along with a game-high six assists, and five rebounds.

 

Despite falling behind 4-0 in the opening 64 seconds, Berkeley College ran off 11 consecutive points to catapult ahead by a score of 11-4. Bright netted four points during that run, with Brunner nailing a triple, and Combs and Moore adding a bucket apiece. The Knights gradually added to that advantage, going up by 11 (21-10) with 12:54 remaining in the first half.

 

After the Golden Eagles went on a 7-0 run over a span of 2:02 to cut Berkeley's advantage to four points (21-17), the Knights ran off five straight points to distance themselves momentarily, snatching a 26-17 edge with 10:06 remaining in the session. Then, just as Berkeley did in the very early stages of the contest, Kent State Tuscarawas went on an 11-0 run (capped by a three-point basket by Ethan Bower) to take a 28-26 lead.

 

Berkeley went on an 11-3 run to jump ahead again, 37-31, but that would be the Knights' largest lead for the remainder of the half, and Berkeley found itself clinging to a 45-42 edge as the teams entered the locker room at halftime.

 

In the second session, Berkeley started the half on a 10-2 run, highlighted by Moore's four points, as the Knights equaled their largest lead of the game, going up 55-44. The Golden Eagles spent the ensuing 7:11 battling back, though, eventually tying the game at 66 apiece on a converted freebee by Grant Haynam. Moments later, with the contest tied at 68-all, Kent State Tuscarawas would take the lead for good, 69-68, thanks to a made free throw by Cobbs.

 

The Golden Eagles' lead grew to eight, 78-70, with 5:54 to play, but Berkeley refused to go quietly, using a 9-2 run over a span of 1:42 to pull to within a point, 80-79, with 4:12 remaining. Unfortunately for the Knights, they would only convert two more field goals the rest of the way, shooting two-for-seven down the stretch, while the Golden Eagles nailed eight of their 11 free throw attempts. Kent State Tuscarawas went on to win the quarterfinal round game that featured a plethora of pendulum swings, sending Berkeley to its fourth consecutive USCAA Division II National Tournament quarterfinal round defeat.

 

The teams had nearly identical shooting percentages, with the Knights connected on 48.6 percent of their attempts from the floor (34-70), and Kent State Tuscarawas nailing 48.3 percent of theirs (29-60). Berkeley held a solid 48-40 edge on the glass, but the Golden Eagles won the turnover battle, committing just 19 miscues while Berkeley had 23. Kent State Tuscarawas piled 23 assists compared to 13 for the Knights, and the teams were nearly even in points scored in the paint, with the Golden Eagles holding a slim 44-42 edge there.

 

A day later in the Knights' consolation game victory over the Nittany Lions, Rashid Abdullin led the way for Berkeley, as he connected on five shots from downtown, finishing with a team-high 15 points. Moore and Combs scored 13 points apiece, with Moore adding four rebounds and two steals, and Combs swiping two steals, and Malachi Faison posted a double-double, netting 10 points while snatching a game-high 16 rebounds.

 

Penn State Greater Allegheny's Christopher Killings led all players with 23 points. He also snatched four rebounds and tallied a game-high three steals. Jeremiah Miller and Devin Green netted 10 points apiece, with Miller also grabbing five rebounds and dishing four assists, and Green contributing four assists and pulling down three boards. Bryce Phillips added eight points and a team-high seven rebounds, and Brandon Graham and Michael Drew scored eight points apiece.

 

Despite falling behind 7-0, 11-2, and 18-9 in the early stages of the contest, Berkeley showed grit, battling back to eventually take the lead, 25-24, when Abdulling drained a triple with 5:48 remaining in the first half. The Knights built their lead to as many as seven points (36-29) before taking a slim 36-33 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

 

In the opening 4:52 of the second half, the teams exchanged the lead five times, with the latter of those pendulum swings coming when Green converted on a layup to put Penn State Greater Allegheny ahead by a score of 48-47. The Nittany Lions eventually boosted their lead to six, 54-48, with 13:15 to go, before a 10-3 Berkeley run put the Knights back ahead 58-57. 

 

After the Nittany Lions' Michael Drew converted on a pair of freebees to put his squad up 59-58, the Knights outscored Penn State Greater Allegheny 12-5 over the ensuing 3:51 to snatch a 70-64 advantage. That aforementioned run was highlighted by Moore, as he accounted for seven of Berkeley's 12 points during that spurt.

 

In yet another swing of momentum, the Nittany Lions scored the next 11 points to catapult ahead 75-70 with 4:15 left. That run was capped by a trifecta made by Killings. Remarkably, that would be the final point that Penn State Greater Allegheny would score, as the Nittany Lions misfired on all five of their attempts down the stretch. Berkeley netted the game's final 13 points, seven of which came from Combs, who capped his Berkeley's career with a stellar "crunch-time" performance.

 

Berkeley connected on just 39.7 percent of its shots from the floor (31-78), while Penn State Greater Allegheny lost the game despite draining 43.1 percent of its attempts (28-65). The Knights absolutely dominated on the glass, snatching 61 rebounds compared to 31 for the Nittany Lions. Penn State Greater Allegheny won the turnover battle, committing just 12 miscues while the Knights had 17, and the Nittany Lions had 17 assists to Berkeley's 11. Berkeley was very efficient from the free throw line (13-18, 72.2 percent) and from downtown (8-20, 40 percent), while Penn State Greater Allegheny struggled, nailing just 64.7 percent of its freebees (11-17) and 27.6 percent of its shots from beyond the arc (8-29).

 

Although the Knights fell short of their ultimate goal, Berkeley College still has plenty to look back on with pride. The Knights won the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament for the eighth consecutive season, and Karranja Bright was voted the Rookie of the Year, as well as an All-Conference selection, along with Marc Combs, Jihadu Brunner, and Tahshon Moore. Berkeley qualified for yet another USCAA Division II National Tournament, and Marc Combs and Jihadu Brunner were named Honorable Mention All-Americans. Jonathan Pena eclipsed 100 victories as the team's head coach (he now has 101), and the Knights won 20 games in a season for the sixth time in the last eight years. With nearly his entire roster eligible to return for 2023-2024, and with his incredible recruiting prowess, the Berkeley College Knights will be geared up and ready to make another run at HVIAC and USCAA titles when the new season tips off in November!