ORANGEBURG, NY - Caldwell College defeated the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, 61-60, in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Men's Basketball Championship game Saturday evening at Dominican's Coach Baxter Court. With the win, the Cougars have earned the CACC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament. The field for the event will be unveiled Sunday at 10:30 pm.
The victory marked the fifth time Caldwell has won the CACC Tournament in the Hennessy Center at Dominican and the sixth championship in the 20-year history of men's basketball at the school.
Sam Cricelli's tip-inn off his own missed free-throw turned out to be the difference in the game. Cricelli, a freshman forward, went to the stripe after getting fouled with 25 seconds remaining. He made the first to pull Caldwell to within one, 60-59, then missed the second, but swooped to the rim to tip in the rebound, giving the Cougars a 61-60 lead with 22 ticks on the clock.
After two timeouts by USP and one by Caldwell to set up the final play, Devil senior guard William Kurtz was blocked by Caldwell sophomore guard Carl Augustin at the buzzer as he was trying to score the winning bucket.
The game featured 22 lead changes, 12 ties and neither team gained more than a three-point edge except for one occurrence, when Caldwell grabbed a 16-11 advantage with 11:09 left in the first half.
Both teams finished the game with nearly identical statistics. The Devils went 20-of-46 (.435) from the field while the Cougars also took 46 shots and made 22 of them (.478). Both teams took 20 free throws with the Devils holding a 14-12 advantage. The battle of the boards was an exact tie, as both teams posted the same numbers on both the offensive and defensive glass (9 offensive, 21 defensive, 30 total). USP committed 15 turnovers (13 assists) while the Cougars committed 14 turnovers (11 assists).
Cricelli led Caldwell with 14 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, while junior forward BJ Suchy tallied 13 points while battling foul trouble for most of the game. Senior Tournament MVP Jean Georges added 12 points, including a 6-for-6 showing at the foul-line. Cricelli and Suchy were also named to the All-Tournament team along with George.
For the Devils, senior forward Eric Cangelosi notched 16 points and nine rebounds, while junior guard Howard Lanier contributed 15 points, four assists and three steals. Junior forward Keith Dundas had 11 points. Dundas and Cangelosi earned All-Tournament accolades.
Caldwell enters the NCAA Tournament with a 19-11 record, while USP concludes the campaign 14-15.
All of the results from the 2006-07 CACC Tournament are below, along with the All-Tournament team.
CACC First Round, Tuesday, February 27
#1 Philadelphia 71, #8 Dominican 67
#2 Post 78, #7 Felician 71
#6 USP 55, #3 Holy Family 50
#5 Caldwell 74, #4 Goldey-Beacom 65
CACC Semifinals, Friday, March 2
at Coach Baxter Court, Dominican Campus
USP 62, Post 55
Caldwell 73, Philadelphia 64
CACC Championship, Saturday, March 3
at Coach Baxter Court, Dominican Campus
Caldwell 61, USP 60
All-Tournament Team
Jean Georges, Caldwell - MVP
B.J. Suchy, Caldwell
Sam Cricelli, Caldwell
Eric Cangelosi, USP
Keith Dundas, USP
Christian Burns, Philadelphia
Jesse Iyalekhue, Post
Michael Pierrot, Felician