Box Score
CALDWELL, N.J. – The Caldwell College men's basketball team saw its four-game winning streak end with an 85-73 loss to visiting Bloomfield College in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game Monday night in the George R. Newman Center. The Cougars are now 4-2 overall and 1-1 in league play, while the Deacons improve to 2-4, 1-1 CACC.

Bloomfield used a 14-6 run late in the first half to take a 36-29 lead two minutes before halftime. Junior guard Kevin Walker (Bayonne, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) and Claude Blue exchanged threes near the end of the half, with Walker's jumper before the buzzer making the halftime score 39-35 Bloomfield. Walker scored 11 points in the first half for Caldwell, while Blue had 17 points for the Deacons.

Caldwell got back into the game in the second half by shooting threes, only to have Bloomfield answer from long range as well. A three-pointer by sophomore guard Dawan Lighty (Paterson, NJ/Kennedy) put the Cougars ahead by six with 13:07 on the clock, but treys by Marvin Williams and Matt Hall tied the score. Again Caldwell used threes from sophomore guard Salvatore Vitello (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) and junior guard Brian Kenny (Howell, NJ/Jackson Memorial) to grab a 67-61 advantage midway through the half. But again Bloomfield responded with two threes from Williams to tie the score at 67-67 with 7:34 to play.

The Deacons made their push with the game knotted at 71-71, reeling off nine straight points for an 80-71 lead with 1:18 remaining. Mike Williams had four points for Bloomfield, as the Cougars missed four shots from the field and misfired on the front end of a one-and-one. The hosts never recovered, losing for the first time since the season-opener at Fairleigh Dickinson University on Nov. 8.

Seven different players made three-pointers in the game for Caldwell, led by four from junior guard Wyatt Polk (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield). Both teams hit 11-of-27 from beyond the arc, but Bloomfield held a significant 46-34 rebounding advantage.

Polk ended up with 18 points, and Walker had 17 points, six rebounds and six assists in the loss. Junior forward Michael Balkovic (Neptune, NJ/St. John Vianney) tallied 15 points and a team-best eight rebounds. Bloomfield was led by Marvin Williams, who scored 23 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, and Blue, who finished with 23 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. Kevin Udo grabbed 14 boards to go with six points and two blocks.

Caldwell heads to Northern California to participate in the Notre Dame de Namur Tournament on Nov. 29-30 in Belmont, Calif.