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BLOOMFIELD, N.J. - Sophomore forward B.J. Suchy (Ronkonkoma, NY/Our Savior) recorded a career-high 19 points and a game-high nine rebounds, as the Caldwell College men's basketball team defeated rival Bloomfield College, 88-84 Thursday night at Bloomfield. The victory is the 300th win at Caldwell for Cougars' head coach Mark Corino, who is in his 18th season. The win also marks the 395th victory in Corino's 23-year career, which began at Bloomfield College in 1983. The Cougars (3-4) remained unbeaten in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference with a record of 2-0, while the Deacons, the defending CACC champions, fell to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the conference.

The game between the two rivals went back and forth all night, with 10 ties and 18 lead changes in front of a packed Bloomfield Gymnasium. With the Deacons leading 20-18 at the 9:32 mark of the first half, Caldwell scored the next 11 points, getting four each from Suchy, right, and senior forward Teren Scudder (Paterson, NJ/Paterson Catholic) to take a 29-20 advantage with 6:53 remaining in the half. A three-pointer from senior guard Mark Kelly (Oakhurst, NJ/Ocean Twp.) followed by a Deacon turnover and a basket from sophomore guard Adam Sabree (Detroit, MI/Renaissance) put the Cougars up 36-24 with just over two minutes before the break. But the explosive Bloomfield offense closed out the half with an 11-1 run before senior guard Kelvin Reese's (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) buzzer-beater gave the Cougars a 39-35 lead at halftime.

The Deacons quickly erased the Cougar lead and went up 44-42 on a three-pointer from Daniel Terrell with 17:43 remaining. Caldwell answered with a 13-0 run sparked by four points from Suchy and a dunk by sophomore forward Manny Perez (Egg Harbor, NJ/Egg Harbor). Again, Bloomfield responded, scoring eight straight points as part of an 18-5 run that put the Deacons up 62-60 with 9:37 on the clock. Over the next 5:41, the game would be tied three different times. With the score tied at 71-71, baskets by Sabree and junior guard Jean Georges (Vauxhal, NJ/Spotswood) put the Cougars ahead 75-71 with 3:15 to play. Bloomfield guard Andre Dabney answered with a three-pointer with just under three minutes left. The Cougars then used tough defense, holding Bloomfield scoreless for four straight possessions to build a seven-point advantage in the game's final minute. Sophomore guard Michael Wise (Whitesboro, NJ/Middletownship) made 6-of-8 from the line as Caldwell went 11-of-13 from the charity stripe in the game's final two minutes to close out the win.

Suchy tallied 11 of his 19 points in the second half, shooting 4-of-5 from the field to help the Cougars make 60.0 percent of their field goal attempts after halftime. Wise, who finished with a career-high 15 points, recorded five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Georges also had 15 points and Kelly tallied 11 points while hitting 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.

Corino, who has been the head coach for all but one season in the 19-year history of the program at Caldwell, needs just five more wins to become just the second active men's college basketball coach in New Jersey to reach 400 career victories.

The Cougars are back in action on Saturday, Dec. 3, when they host Nyack College in a CACC contest. Game time is set for 6:00 p.m.