NEW YORK, NY - A tough afternoon from the field and a few wrong bounces led to the first road defeat of the season for top-ranked Villa Maria (19-2) as they fell 91-84 to the four-time defending United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) National Champion Berkeley Knights (12-4) on Saturday afternoon inside Baruch College.

Senior DeJaun Owens scored a team-high 22 points but it wasn't enough as the Vikings shot just 36.5 percent from the floor.  Fellow senior Dominic Douglas finished with 18 points and sophomore Lonnie Taylor finished with his fourth double-double in the last nine games with 13 points and 10 boards.  He also finished with five assists.

Villa led numerous times in the first half and by as many as six but Berkeley ended the half on a 16-3 run to take a seven-point, 45-38 lead into the break.  The Knights were able to extend that lead to 15 midway through the second half, but the Vikings would not go away.

A furious rally down the stretch helped Villa cut the deficit to just four with 4:34 left after Owens nailed one of his four triples.  On the ensuing possession, Ricardo Ayuso of the Knights poured in a triple from the right corner to halt the Vikings' momentum.

Villa's Jabari Hibbert finished with nine points, eight rebounds and a game-high six assists.  Berkeley edged the Vikings on the boards (51-44) while Villa forced 23 turnovers.

WHAT'S NEXT
Villa will take on Bryant & Stratton Buffalo on Tuesday in the two teams' second meeting of the season.  The Bobcats handed the Vikings their only other loss of the season, 99-95 in overtime back on December 5th.  Tip at the ECC Burt Flickinger Center is set for 7 p.m.

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