NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The University of Valley Forge Men's Basketball Team traveled to New York on Friday, January 30
th and played against Berkeley College (NY). After battling through a tough first half, the Patriots were able to put it together in the second half and hold on for the victory. The final score was 74-68.
The first half was a battle of attrition for the Patriots. Unable to remain disciplined on the defensive side, they picked up 20 fouls in the opening half! This forced the Patriots to rely heavily on their bench. As they have shown numerous times throughout the year, the reserves stepped up and kept the team moving forward. They accounted for 27 of the Patriots' 39 first half points.
Berkeley started out strong, opening up an early eight-point lead (17-9). Then, Patriots'
Joseph Taylor hit back-to-back 3-pointers, followed by a
Thorne McIntosh fast-break layup to bring the game back to even with 13:19 remaining. McIntosh hit another layup to give the Patriots the lead. The teams went back and forth the remainder of the half and Berkeley went into the locker room holding a 41-39 lead.
Still trailing by two in the second half, the Patriots went on a 9-0 scoring run to take a 56-49 lead with 13:29 remaining. Berkeley battled back to make it a one point game, but
Brandon Rembert and
Brandon Summers teamed up to take the Patriots on another 9-0 scoring run. It was too much for Berkeley to overcome and Valley Forge held on to win, 74-68.
Head Coach
Jon Mack said after the game, "We had 8 players in foul trouble in the first half. We had to go deep into our bench and our guys stepped up. It was a total team effort tonight!" With another game tomorrow, he went on to say, "We will enjoy tonight and get ready for a tough St. Joseph's team. We are looking forward to the challenge!"
McIntosh, Taylor, and Summers, all coming off the bench, each finished in double figures. McIntosh had a team-high 14 points. Taylor had 11 points, including three 3-pointers. Summers tied his career-high with 10 points.
The Patriots will need to recover quickly as they face St Joseph's College (Brooklyn) tomorrow at 7PM. You can watch the game LIVE @
http://www.sjcbears.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/videos/valley-forge-christian Go Patriots!