Courtesy of Matt McLagan Caldwell Sports Information
CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College men's basketball team overcame a five-point halftime deficit to beat N.J.I.T., 85-71 in the first round of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament Tuesday evening at the Newman Center. The third-seeded Cougars (16-13, 14-6 CACC) advance to the semifinals to play the University of Sciences on Friday, Mar. 4 at 5:30 p.m., also in the Newman Center. The Highlanders finish their season with a record of 11-17 (10-10 CACC).
N.J.I.T. gained the lead midway through the first half and built a 30-22 lead with an 8-1 run sparked by threes from Ian O'Boyle and Randle DeFalco. A three-pointer by sophomore guard Jean Georges (Vauxhal, NJ/Spotswood) and two free throws from senior guard Ron Harris (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Central) helped pull the Cougars to within 35-33 with one minute left in the half. But a conventional three-point play by Marc Milbourne Swan at the buzzer sent the Highlanders into the locker room with a 38-33 halftime lead. Clayton Barker and Swan each tallied nine points in the first half as the Highlanders shot 50.0 percent from the floor, compared to 36.8 percent for Caldwell.
The second half started out the same, with N.J.I.T. holding a 45-39 lead at the 16:15 mark. But then the Cougars heated up, scoring 12 straight points to jump-start a 22-8 run over the next eight minutes that included four three-pointers from junior guard Mark Kelly (Oakhurst, NJ/Oakhurst) to take over the lead, 61-53. The Highlanders battled back to get to within four, 67-63, with 5:09 on the clock. But a trey and two more free throws from Harris sparked seven unanswered points to make the score 74-63 with 3:42 left. The Highlanders would get no closer than nine the rest of the way as Caldwell moves on in the tournament.
The Cougars turned things around offensively and defensively in the second half, shooting 56.0 percent from the field after the break while allowing N.J.I.T. to make just seven baskets in 24 attempts (29.2 percent). Harris scored 17 of his game-high 28 points in the second half, while freshman forward Manny Perez (Egg Harbor, NJ/Egg Harbor) tallied 16 second-half points to finish with 23. Perez went 7-of-9 from the field and 9-of-11 from the line, while Harris made 16-of-20 from the charity stripe. Kelly finished with 15 points in the win. Barker had 17 points for N.J.I.T. in the loss.
The semifinal round is set for Friday, with Caldwell and seventh-seeded USP playing at 5:30 p.m., and No. 5 Felician playing No. 1 Bloomfield at 8:00 p.m. The CACC Tournament final will be played at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, Mar. 5. Both semifinal and final rounds will be played at the Newman Center at Caldwell College.