CALDWELL, N.J. – The Bloomfield College men's basketball team's regular season ended Tuesday night with an 81-72 loss on the road to Caldwell University. The setback left the Bears as the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) North Division's #4 seed heading into post-season play. The Bears finished with a 10-9 record in conference action and will travel to the CACC South Division's #1 seeded Devils of USciences for a Saturday afternoon battle in the conference tournament quarterfinal round.
The Cougars opened up with a 15-6 advantage on the scoreboard, only to have that lead cut to one (22-21) after a
Nick Davidson (Lumberton, N.J.) jumper. The Cougars reestablished their advantage by reeling off a 19-5 run capped by a layup in the paint by junior guard, Dawan Lighty (Paterson, N.J.) Caldwell celebrated their Senior Night in front of the home crowd at the Newman Center and Lighty treated the fans with 12 of his 14 total points in the first half that paced the Cougars to a 45-30 halftime lead.
Senior, Michael Balkovic (Neptune, N.J.) went to work in the second half. After just four first half points, Balkovich got going early in the second, putting Caldwell up 60-37 after a bucket down low. Bloomfield's junior forward,
Claude Blue (Brooklyn, N.Y.), who posted a game high 25 points, did everything he could to get his team back into the game. Blue scored 17 points in the final frame on 8-11 shooting and grabbed 9 of his 11 total rebounds in the half. Senior guard,
Marvin Williams (Jersey City, N.J.) added to Blue's efforts. Williams, who finished with 17 points, netted a couple of shots, sparking a late Bears 9-2 run capped by a layup by freshman
Ignacio Diez (Madrid, Spain) cutting the deficit to just four (75-71) with 1:32 left to play. Caldwell held off the Bears for the remainder of the game as they drained 5-of-6 free throws and secured the CACC North Division victory. Balkovic ended his Senior Night with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
The Bears now begin preparation for their eighth consecutive trip to the CACC Tournament. Bloomfield will take to the road for a 4:30pm showdown in Philadelphia on Saturday, February 28th against USciences.
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(story written by Mark Reyes - Sports Information Department intern)
