No. 2 Berkeley (NY) College advances to semis with 77-74 win over host Penn State Fayette

FINAL SCORE: #2 Berkeley (NY) College Knights 77,#10 Penn State Fayette Roaring Lions 74 
RECORDS: Berkeley (NY) College 20-5 ; Penn State Fayette 8-17
LOCATION: Community Center Main Arena, Penn State Fayette, Uniontown, Pa.

IN BRIEF: Different seeds, different round, different result. No. 2 seed Berkeley (NY) avenged a 2013 loss to no. 10 Penn State Fayette with a narrow 77-74 win in Thursday's quarterfinals of the Men's Division II bracket. Stephon Jennings scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the victors who advance to the semifinal round on Friday.

ON THE COURT

• The game was a rematch of a 2013 semifinal between then no. 3 seed Berkeley and no. 10 seed Fayette.
• The teams traded baskets, and the lead for the first five minutes of the game. Berkeley then used an 8-0 run to grab a 17-10 lead before Stephon Jennings helped extend the advantage to 10 with 11 minutes remaining in the first half.
• Four Fayette players scored over the next nine minutes as the Roaring Lions erased their deficit to draw even at 32 apiece on a Luke Williams layup.
• Matt McKenna gave Fayette the lead headed into halftime with a late layup, making it 37-36 at the intermission.
• Berkeley regained the lead early in the second half and withstood several Fayette runs. The Roaring Lions' last lead came at 46-45 with 14:54 remaining. Seven seconds later Berkeley's Keenan Langston's layup gave Berkeley the lead once again.
• The Knights kept the lead throughout, minus a few ties, answering every Fayette basket with one of their own.
• Berkeley used a 9-4 spurt to break a 63-63 tie, including a scoreless stretch of four and a half minutes for Fayette. 
• Jennings gave Berkeley a 75-69 lead with a layup, but Fayette scored the next five points to cut the lead to one. Williams added a layup and McKenna scored three points to pull within a possession.
• Massiah Merritt and Langston each hit a free throw for a 77-74 lead, and Fayette's last attempts fell short.

BEHIND THE BOXSCORE

• Fayette's Matt McKenna scored 30 points and pulled down 11 rebounds despite picking up his fourth foul with 16:50 remaining in the second half. He finishes his career one shy of a 1,000, with 999 points over his two-year career at Penn State Fayette.
• The game saw six ties and 12 lead changes, however Fayette never led by more than two. Berkeley, on the other hand, led by as many as 10 in the first half.
• Berkeley shot nearly 50 percent in the second half, going 17-for-35. The Knights shot 44 percent (33-for-75) over 40 minutes.
• Berkeley shot nearly as well from the field as they did the free throw line. They finished 6-for-13 from the stripe, including several late misses that kept Fayette within one possession.
• Keenan Langston was four assists shy of a triple-double, corraling 10 rebounds to go along with 13 points and his six assists. He also had a game-high three steals.
• Massiah Merritt and Kenton Chan-Man both finished in double figures with 16 and 12 points, respectively.
• Nearly 40 percent of Fayette's shots came from behind the arc, where they finished 11-for-27. Fayette took 69 total shots.
• The Roaring Lions were perfect from the free throw line in the first half (4-for-4). They missed three of their six attempts in the second half. 
• Dierre Jenkins added 13 points for Fayette, while Luke Williams poured in 11. Point guard C.J. Gaddis had nine points and a team-best five assists. 
• Fayette shared the ball well, as six of the seven players who saw action picked up an assist, including five with at least two. 
• Berkeley's bench dominated scoring, outscoring Fayette's non-starters 30-5. Berkeley also outrebounded Fayette 50-41.
• The teams combined for only 20 turnovers, with Fayette only surrendering the ball nine times.

NEXT UP

Berkeley (NY) advances to Friday's semifinals where they will meet no. 6 seed College of St. Joseph's (VT). Tip is set for 3:00 p.m. in the Main Arena. Penn State Fayette will get one more game against no. 3 seed Central Penn College on Friday at 10:00 a.m. in the Maltho Gymnasium.