Men's Basketball Falls Short in Quest for Second Straight HVIAC Title, Falling 91-82 to Berkeley in the Championship

ALBANY, N.Y. – Facing Berkeley College for the eighth time in the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) title game, the No. 2 ranked St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's basketball team succumbed to a strong second-half spurt from their top-seeded rivals, falling 91-82 in Albany, N.Y. on Sunday in their quest to defend the championship.

David Louison (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) paced the Bears on offense with an efficient 20 points on 9-of-14 from the floor. The senior added eight rebounds, three assists and a pair of rejections.

Matt O'Neill (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) was all over the floor, pouring in 18 on top of six boards and three helpers. The junior also tormented the opposing offense with a game-high six thefts.

Junior Michael Megafu (Jamaica, N.Y./Nazareth Regional) fell just short of another double-double, finishing with 10 points and nine caroms, while fellow junior Michael Murray (Glendale, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) followed up a career-high 15-point performance in the semifinal with 10 more off the bench this afternoon.

Senior Vernon Maddox (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) contributed eight off the bench while freshman Alec Willis (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by the Sea) netted seven and swiped four steals.

Senior Kenton Chan-Man and junior Keenan Langston carried the Knights on offense, dropping 25 and 23 respectively. Langston made a living at the line, connecting on 10-of-15.

St. Joseph's controlled the pace early, leading the entire first half following an early 3-2 deficit.

Murray's triple at the 7:03 mark of the first opened the advantage to 31-20, their largest of the contest.

The Knights then countered with a quick 11-2 spurt to draw within a pair (33-31). But the Bears protected their lead and entered the intermission clutching a 43-37 advantage following O'Neill's last second jumper.

Berkeley jumped the Bears in the new period, netting the first 11 points after the break to claim their first lead since the 18:04 mark of the first and move up 48-43 before St. Joseph's could react.

The Bears regained control with a 7-1 response capped by Louison's basket with 15:08 remaining.

As the minutes ticked away, both sides jostled for momentum with the title up for grabs.

Chan-Man's jumper with 7:10 left to play provided Berkeley with their first double-digit separation (70-59) as the tide began to turn in the Knights' favor.

Two minutes later, Chan-Man found the bottom of the net once again to move Berkeley up a game-high 15 points (76-61).

O'Neill's trey made it a single-digit contest (86-77) with 1:11 to play, but the Bears would be unable to mount a miracle comeback as Berkeley secured the victory and their seventh HVIAC title in school history.

The Bears looked poised to defend their title in the early going, leading by as many as 11 in the first half and heading into the break up six.

But the Knights shot 52.9 percent in a commanding second-half performance, seizing the momentum and outscoring St. Joseph's 54-39 to seal the championship.

Following a successful 18-9 season, the Bears will now await a potential bid into the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) National Championships. Bids for the Division I men will be announced on the USCAA website tomorrow at 5:30 p.m.