Berkeley College NY Captures Second Straight 2016 USCAA Men’s Division II Basketball National Championship

Uniontown, PA – Number one seed Berkeley College NY (23-1) claimed the 2016 USCAA Men's Division II title Saturday, defeating #2 Central Penn College (20-8) by a final score of 107-88.  Berkeley was led by USCAA Second Team all-American Massiah Merritt, who recorded 34 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 steals in the title game.

Johnnie Green also had a big day for Berkeley, tallying a double-double with 27 points and 13 rebounds, while Keenan Langston added 15 including a perfect 6 of 6 from the charity stripe.

Central Penn was led by a 25-point effort from Tyree Tucker and a 21-point outing from Andre Batte.

Neither team was able to establish more than a two possession lead through the first five minutes of the game until a Dondre Simmons three-pointer put Berkeley up 15-8 at the 14:17 mark of the first half.  Central Penn then went on a 10-3 run to tie the game at 18 with 10:02 left in the half. 

Andre Batte and John Starks, Jr., knocked down back-to-back three pointers to give CPC its first lead of the game at the 7:53 mark, 24-20.  Central Penn extended that lead to as many as 8 points with 4:38 to go in the half, 33-25. 

Berkeley then used an 11-3 run to tie the game at 36 with 29 seconds left.  Each team then gave up a free throw before Berkeley's Massiah Merritt hit a buzzer-beating three to take a three-point lead into the half, 40-37.

Coming out of the break, Berkeley extended its lead to 49-39 at the 17:55 mark thanks to a 9-2 run led by Merritt.  Berkeley took control over the next several minutes, going up by 17 with 14:14 left in the game.

Central Penn battled back, however, cutting its deficit to just 6 at the 12:38 mark, as an Andre Batte triple made it 63-57.  Despite the impressive comeback, the momentum shifted back to Berkeley moments later following a double-technical foul call that saw CPC's Glen Owens disqualified for receiving his second such foul of the contest with 12:32 left in the game. 

It remained a 3-4 possession game for the next four minutes of game clock, but Berkeley pulled away over the final 8 minutes of the contest, steadily growing its lead to as many as 26 before reaching a final score of 107-88.

Berkeley out-rebounded Central Penn 46-30 in the game, while also taking advantage of CPC miscues with 31 points off turnovers. The victory marks the second straight Men's Division II Basketball National Championship for Berkeley College-NY. The Knights end the season having won 24 straight games following an opening season loss back on November 13th. 

Men's Division II All-Tournament Team

Nick Crawford, Johnson & Wales-NC

Brandon Cunningham, Penn State Fayette

Andre Batte, Central Penn College

Tyree Tucker, Central Penn College

Johnnie Green, Berkeley College-NY

Men's Division II Tournament MVP

Massiah Merritt, Berkeley College-NY