The #4-seeded ACPHS Panthers took the #1-seeded Berkeley College Knights to the brink on Saturday, but were unable to get over the finish line, and lost their 2019 HVIAC Tournament semi-final matchup by a score of 91-81. Albany finishes their season with a record of 10-13, while Berkeley improves to 20-4 and advances to face the College of New Rochelle in the HVIAC Championship Game.

Two members of the Panthers were recognized for their outstanding play during the regular season: junior guard Naythan Beltran (Reading, PA / Antietam HS) and senior guard Kyle Matousek (Jordan-Elbridge, NY / Jordan Elbridge HS). Beltran wrapped up the season leading the team in scoring with 15.7 ppg, shooting 33.1 percent from three. Matousek was second on the team in scoring with 13.2 ppg, while he led the team in rebounding with 5.6 per game.

Berkeley, undefeated in the conference during the regular season, came out with a press defense to start the game, forcing Albany to work for every inch in the early going. The Panthers were able to fight through the press though, starting the game on a 10-4 run and hitting two threes in the opening four minutes. Berkeley responded with an 8-2 run of their own, tying the game at 12 with 12:16 to go, forcing head coach Brett Barnard to call his first timeout.

Out of the timeout, Beltran galvanized the team with a slick defensive play, following his own made lay-up with a steal of the inbounds pass and another lay-in to put the Panthers up one. Albany continued to fight in would ended being a choppy first half that saw the two teams combine for 23 personal fouls.

Albany looked to be headed to half facing a large deficit until a long scoring drought was ended by a spectacular play from junior center Nick McKeel (Massena, NY / Massena Central HS). On another sloppy possession, McKeel ended up with the ball about 38 feet from the basket as the shot clock wound down. He was forced to put up a wild three-point shot that somehow found the bottom of the net, cutting the Knights lead to four with just under two minutes to play.

The Panthers went into the break down by just one, hanging in with the best team in the conference. It was a team effort for the Panthers in the half, with eight players recording a made field-goal but no one with more than seven points. They forced Berkeley into 12 turnovers, turning those into 15 points.

The Knights came out running in the second half, ripping off a 15-4 run to extend their lead to 12 with 17:22 remaining in the game. Albany was able to settle down as the half went on though, getting the deficit all the way down to six following a tough and-one layup from senior guard Thomas Chalker (Boundbrook, NJ / Metuchen HS). The lead was just four with 10:58 left, when Matousek and junior forward Edward Ahanmisi (Vancouver, BC / Bodwell High) hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions forcing Berkeley to use their first timeout.

Out of the timeout, Berkeley was able to get their lead back to ten thanks to some hot shooting from Ricardo Ayuso, who joined the 1,000-point club following a made three-pointer with 7:29 left in the half. But the Panther would make their own run, with the help of some poor defense by the Knights. Down 10, Albany made eight straight free-throws with under five minutes remaining to cut the deficit to two with four minutes to play.

Each time ACPHS would make a move, Berkeley would answer back, scoring some tough buckets to make the score 76-69 with 2:58 to play. Albany was unable fight back in the final three minutes, as the Knights hit their free-throws down the stretch, putting an end to the Panthers season.

The sloppy game made for some sloppy final statistics, as the teams combined for 53 personal fouls, 45 turnovers, and 59 points off those turnovers. Albany did shoot it well from the free-throw line going 27-29, but struggled from behind the arc, shooting just 8-28 (28.6%). For the Panthers, Beltran led the way with 19 points, while Chalker and McKeel were right behind him with 15 and 11 respectively. Beltran and junior forward Edward Ahanmisi (Vancouver, BC / Bodwell High) each recorded three steals. For Berkeely, Deylon Bevel finished with 18 points, while Ayuso scored 17, including nine free throws.

Albany will have to cope with the loss of some major contributors next year, with graduating seniors Chalker and Matousek departing. We in the athletics department would like to wish them luck in their future endeavors, and congratulate the Panthers on a phenomenal season!