By: Damir Munoz
The new season is upon us as Bergen Community College faced off against Dutchess Community in the men’s basketball team’s first game of the year.
The Bulldogs trailed for a majority of the game but were able to go on a run late in the first half to give them a 19-17 lead with just under five minutes remaining. However, the Bulldogs were outscored 22-5 the rest of the way to give the Falcons a 39-24 lead at the half. At the time Bergen was led in scoring by freshman Ladorien Ladson with seven points; Michael Byfield chipped in with six, while Manuel Torres and CJ Dark both had four.
The first half painted a picture of a team that was learning how to mesh together on the court since a majority of players were freshmen.
The second half saw a much more offensively sound team as they nearly doubled their first half margin, scoring 44 points. But self-inflicted wounds such as turnovers and missed free throws didn’t leave much hope for a comeback.
Bergen saw themselves trailing by as much as 37 when they were down 79-42 halfway through the second half. The Bulldogs finished the game on a 26-10 run to cap the scoring.
Byfield led all scorers with 24 points, knocking down five threes.
Ladson, who picked up his first technical foul of the season after throwing the ball away in frustration over the officiating, finished with a double-double, recording 13 points and 13 rebounds. His rebounding efforts kept many BCC possessions alive, as five of those rebounds were on the offensive glass. Dark contributed with 11, and the rest of the team combined for 20. When it was all said and done, Bergen saw the final score as 89-68.
