BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Villa Maria College men's basketball team hosted Berkeley College on Saturday as the regular season begins to wind down. After a game with a lot of back-and-forth, the Knights made a game-winning shot at the horn to hand Villa a 68-66 loss. The Vikings now have a record of 8-13 on the year, while Berkeley moves to 12-8 on the year.
Villa got off to a slow start as they fell behind 9-2 in the opening four minutes of play.
Trayvon Holt began to push the team back after sinking a three-pointer and a mid-range jumper to pull the team within two. A couple of minutes later,
Jordan Heine knocked down a three of his own to give the team the lead and it was followed by a
Dorion Ivey make from behind the arc and a
Raymond Sims layup. The run gave the Vikings a 17-11 advantage and forced a time out by the opposition. The teams traded makes, but the Knights made a push to cut the Villa lead to just one before taking it back with 3:34 on the clock. As the two teams went into half-time, the score was 30-29 in favor of Berkeley.
The Knights came out firing on all cylinders as they grabbed a nine-point lead at the 16:32 mark of the second frame. The Vikings began to chip away after a Sims three and one made free throw by Rose cut the deficit to three. A few moments later Heine chipped in an important three before Ivey knocked in one of his own to give Villa a two-point lead. The two teams once again began to trade leads and tie the game on multiple occasions until the 4:07 mark when Holt scored a layup to put the team ahead 61-56. The lead stuck until there was 1:26 on the clock and the Knights tied the game at 64-64. Sims gave the team the lead with a layup, but the opposition counter with one of their own to even things up yet again. The Vikings made a devastating turnover with 16 seconds left and as the final horn went off, the Knights knocked down a mid-range jump shot to hand Villa a 68-66 loss.
Sims led the way with scoring, knocking down 17 points and collected 14 rebounds in 33 minutes of play off the bench. Ivey had a strong game with 15 points on an efficient 6-for-10 shooting from the field. Both Holt and Heine finished the day with 12 points each.
The men's basketball team will play their final regular season road game on Wednesday, Feb. 5 as Kent State Tuscarawas prepare to host the Vikings. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Vikings scores and awards by following @VillaVikings on Twitter and by liking the "Villa Maria Vikings" Facebook page.
