The Berkeley College of New York men's basketball team claimed sole possession of first place in the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference on Tuesday evening, as the Knights turned back the Panthers of Albany College of Pharmacy by a score of 78-55 in a game played at the Wellness Center on the campus of College of New Rochelle. With the loss, the Panthers fall to 4-11 overall, and 3-2 in HVIAC play.

ACPHS rocketed out of the gates, building a 11-3 score in the opening 3:53 of action. The two teams continued to battle until the Knights were able to swing the momentum in their favor, as Berkeley went on a tear scoring 19 of the games next 23 points to grab a 36-26 lead at the half.

ACPHS opened the second half similar to how they began the first half making baskets and getting stops. The Panthers spent the opening 3:27 of the period clawing back, going on an 8-2 run to pull within four points at 38-24. Berkeley's freshmen, Massiah Merrit went on a tear by netting 10 points on a 14-0 Berkeley run to boast the Knights lead to 52-34 with just 13.19 remaining in the game.

Berkeley would balloon its lead up to 21 (58-37), but the Panthers refused to go quietly, as ACPHS would use back-to-back layups and a free throw by freshmen Brandon Votra, as well as a three-point play by David McEntee to pull within 12 points at 58-46 with 8:31 remaining on the clock. That was the closest the Panthers would get, as the swarming Knights defense would allow only three more fields goals by ACPHS the rest of the game, finishing the contest on a 20-9 run to account for the 23 point victory.

Leading the way for the Panthers was the freshmen dual of Alex Johnson and Brandon Votra each contributing 14 points. Johnson also contributed four assists and three steals, while senior Emmanuel Okafor grabbed a team high 9 rebounds on the night.

The Panthers return to action on Thursday, February 6^th as they travel to Vermont to face off against USCAA Nationally ranked College of St. Joseph's – Vermont (#6) at 8pm.