Knights basketball edges Berkeley in dramatic doubleheader sweep

Smiling blond young man

By Blake Myers

Knightly News Reporter

Photos by Dylan Bowman

Knightly News Photographer

It was an exciting afternoon at East Pennsboro Area High School on Sunday, as the Central Penn College Knights men’s and women’s teams won their games against rival Berkeley College (New York City Campus).

Lady Knights win in the final seconds

The Central Penn Lady Knights won their contest by a score of 50-48 in a highly contested matchup.

Central Penn started off quickly in the first quarter with a 6-0 run, though Berkeley would respond with a 9-0 run late in the first quarter. The Knights would trail 19-16 at the end of the quarter.

The Lady Knights would come out of the break mounting a comeback thanks to Tahniyaah Jackson’s tenacious defense, tying the game at 27 going into halftime.

Central Penn would come out of the half firing on all cylinders, claiming a 35-31 lead midway through the third quarter due to Sydney Green’s 4 points. Berkeley would then storm back to tie the game again, making the score 38-38 going into the final quarter.

Berkeley would keep it rolling at the beginning of the fourth quarter, jumping out to a 45-40 lead midway through the quarter. Jackson then led a comeback to knot the score at 48 with only a minute left in the game. On the next Knights possession, Jackson would drive and make a game-clinching shot, putting Central Penn up 50-48 and sealing the victory.

The Lady Knights improved to 5-4 on the season as Berkeley would fall to 0-6.

Jackson was named the Knightly News Player of the Game, posting 15 points, 10 rebounds, 8 steals, and the game-tying and game-winning shots in the victory.

Men’s team wins in a nail-biter

The Knights defeated Berkeley College (New York) 76-69. 

The Knights came out of the gate on fire, going up 16-6 within the first five minutes of the game as sophomore guard Kahlil Dukes set the tone early with the first five points of the game.

Berkeley would not go away, staying close with the Knights and narrowing the lead to only one late in the first half. The Knights turned things around in to close out the half, going up 40-34 at halftime.

The Knights came out continuing their first-half success early, as they would go on to outscore Berkeley 14-6 halfway through the second half, putting the Knights up by 12.

Berkeley would respond in a big way with a run of their own, cutting the lead to five late in the game. However, the resilient Knights pulled away in the late stages of the game and overall prevailed, Berkeley, thanks in large part to 23 points and two clutch 3-point shots from senior guard Nate Jean-Philippe.

The Knights improved to 2-6 while Berkeley fell to 0-4 on the season.

Jean-Philippe was named the Knightly News Player of the Game, posting 23 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. He played all 40 minutes in the contest.

The next contest for both teams will be on Dec. 10 for a home doubleheader versus Bucks County Community College. The games will be streamed on the Knightly News YouTube channel, with a 1 p.m. start.

The Knightly News Media Club livestreamed the games. Paul Miller and Knightly News Hall-of-Famer Brian Christiana were on the call. They can be seen at the links below.