King’s Lions Routed by Berkeley Knights

Photo Credit: Brandon Hill

When the men’s basketball team arrived at Pratt Institute on Wednesday night to face off against Berkeley College, they already knew it would be the toughest game of the season.

“I don’t know if they’ve lost a conference game in years,” Coach Nick Swedick said.

Going into the game, the Lions had a 3-3 record. But as the game commenced, they found themselves unprepared for Berkeley’s aggressive strategy. The Knights scored quickly and the score climbed to 16-7 within the first five minutes. The opposing team’s forceful style gave King’s freshman Tyler Bowens the chance to make several free throws. Despite this advantage, the Lions found themselves outpaced offensively and fell sharply behind by halftime with a score of 59-14.

“We made mistakes in the first half that you just can’t make against a team like this,” Coach Swedick said. “We turned the ball over, we didn’t rebound.”

The Lions brought their game in the second half, building on the energy they had and scoring mostly back-and forth until Berkeley picked up momentum and made several hoops five minutes in.

That momentum didn’t stop until King’s freshman Jordan Bishop scored and the coaches called a time-out.

In spite of the 91-37 score, Coach Bill Mangarelli was positive and encouraged the players to “double it down” before sending them off onto the court for the last seven minutes of the game.

The team’s spirits restored, the Lions managed to hold off any more shots by Berkeley’s team up until the game’s final moments. With 24 seconds left, Berkeley surpassed 100 points and brought the game’s final score to 101-42.

“Sure, the scoreboard wasn’t pretty, but I don’t think the team is discouraged,” Swedick said. “The first half was rough, but it was good to see that nobody quit in the second half.”

The men’s basketball team will play their next game after Christmas break at Five Towns in Long Island on January 21.

All photo rights reserved to Brandon Hill.