#3 Berkeley College (NY) 81 - #10 Penn State Fayette 84
UNIONTOWN, PA- In a thrilling upset the Penn State Fayette Roaring Lions defeated the third-seeded Berkeley College (NY) Knights 84-81. With a large crowd on hand in the Main Arena, the Roaring Lions defeated last year's Men's Division II runner-up to advance to their first ever National Title game.
Penn State Fayette jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first half and were leading 18-8 with 14:24 left in the first half. Berkeley kept fighting back and at halftime only trailed 37-34. In the second-half the Knights caught up and tied the game at 50 with just under 14 minutes reaming. Penn State Fayette would then go on a run of their own, racking up seven straight points to make the score 57-50. The Roaring Lions continued to pull away and at the 5:38 mark had a 69-56 lead. However, the Knights refused to go down quietly and fought back and cut the lead to single digits with two minutes left. Berkeley then hit three straight three-pointers while fouling Penn State Fayette and making them earn the win at the free-throw line. In the end, Darius Mack and Brandon Cunningham were able to ice the game for Fayette and earn a championship berth for the host team.
The Roaring Lions had a great performance from sophomore USCAA All-American Brandon Cunningham poured in 30 points and went 9-10 from the free-throw line. David Winns, a senior, had another impressive game scoring 16 points and grabbing 18 rebounds (nine offensive rebounds). Winns' hustle on the glass was rewarded; he earned 15 trips to the free throw line and converted on 12. The Knights stayed in the game with hot shooting from behind the arc going 10-16 (63%). The Knights leading scorer was guard Jovan Bovell, who scored 23 points and grabbed 6 rebounds.
Penn State Fayette will take on the winner of Warren Wilson and Penn State Beaver in the USCAA Men's Division II National Championship game, Saturday at 8:45 PM in the Main Arena.