Streak hits 14, Vikings stay unbeaten in SAA

No. 25 Berry moved another step closer to a perfect Southern Athletic Association regular season Sunday as the Vikings defeated Centre 77-68 on Sunday afternoon in Danville, Kentucky.

Four players scored in double figures for the Vikings, led by Owen Honroth’s 17. Blake Campbell added 15 off the bench, while Chase Ellis netted 13 and Riley Costas scored 10.

Berry (22-2, 13-0 SAA) led 33-23 at the half, and while the lead would swell as high as 14 in the second period, the Vikings weren’t able to land an early knockout blow against Centre (5-18, 2-11).

The Colonels slowly chipped away at the lead, trimming it down to two, 52-50, with just under 10 minutes to go. With the lead hanging by a thread, Ellis drove to the hoop for a layup, drawing a foul and converting the free throw to for the three-point play. From there, the lead was never less than three the rest of the way.

The Vikings were 28-of-55 from the field in the contest, including a 17-of-28 clip (60.7%) in the second half. Berry continued to show balance throughout the game, making seven 3-pointers in the first half and 16 shots from inside the arc in the second.

Riding a 14-game winning streak, the Vikings will wrap up the regular season Wednesday night at Oglethorpe. Tip-off in Atlanta is set for 8 p.m.

Viking women knock off Saa-leading Centre

Elly Callihan put up 21 points for the Berry women as they defeated Centre, 58-53, on Sunday afternoon in Danville, Kentucky, to secure a top-four spot in Southern Athletic Association play.

Berry (15-9, 8-5 SAA) started the second half strong as it went on a 15-2 run in the third quarter to erase the Colonels’ 10-point lead at the start of the period. With 44 seconds in the third, Sydney Blankenship drained a three to tie the game at 35-35. After Centre’s 14th turnover, Elizabeth Sierzant drove in for a layup and drew a foul putting the score at 38-35. The Vikings would outscore Centre 15-4 in the third period.

With 7:02 remaining, Blankenship drained a 3 to send the Vikings on a 7-0 run and put the game out of reach, bringing the score to 48-41.

Sierzant, Callihan and Blankenship all put up free throws within the last 21 seconds of the game to bring the game to the final margin. Free throws were important for the Vikings, as the squad went 19-of-24 from the charity stripe in the contest, including 11-of-14 in the fourth quarter.

Callihan started the game for the Vikings by scoring the first 15 points for Berry. In the second quarter, Sarah Wright and Callihan made back-to-back 3s to tighten Centre’s lead to four with 5:34 remaining in the half. Centre (17-7, 11-2 SAA) began pulling away from the Vikings when it went on a 6-0 run and ended the half with a score of 33-23.

Callihan was Berry’s top scorer, with Blankenship following in double figures with 14 points. Sierzant put up nine points and six rebounds, joining Callihan in a team-high on the glass.

Centre still clinched the SAA regular season championship as Rhodes lost at Millsaps on Sunday afternoon. The Colonels will be the top seed in the SAA tournament, while Berry can finish as either the No. 3 or No. 4 seed. The win assures the Vikings of being a host in the quarterfinal round of the SAA tournament next Sunday.

Berry will be back on the road Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. against SAA foe Oglethorpe University in its final regular-season contest.