box scoreCALDWELL, N.J. - Junior guard
Jean Georges (Vauxhal, NJ/Spotswood), left, scored a game-high 21 points as the Caldwell College men's basketball team defeated Pace University 70-66 in a non-conference game Monday night at the George R. Newman Center. With the win, the Cougars improve to 4-8 on the season while ending a four-game losing streak. The Setters fall to 5-4 overall. The victory also is the 396th career win for Caldwell College head coach
Mark Corino, who is now 396-256 in his 23 years of coaching.
The Cougars jumped out to a 19-10 lead midway through the first half, as consecutive three-pointers by Georges, senior guard
Mark Kelly (Oakhurst, NJ/Ocean Twp.) and sophomore guard
Michael Wise (Whitesboro, NJ/Middletownship) broke an early 10-10 tie. Caldwell maintained the nine-point advantage until Pace's Oneil Morgan scored to make it 34-27 with 2:47 left in the first half. Georges responded with another three, then made a pair of free throws on the next possession to give Caldwell its biggest lead of the half, 39-27 with under a minute to go. After a three from Michael Rossetti, senior guard
Kelvin Reese (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) made a lay-up just before the half expired to send the Cougars into the break leading 41-30.
Caldwell maintained control of the game early in the second half, eventually taking a 47-34 lead on a lay-up by sophomore forward
Manny Perez (Egg Harbor, NJ/Egg Harbor) at the 16:44 mark. But the Setters stormed back into the game with a 16-5 run capped by another three by Rossetti that made the score 52-50 with 7:03 remaining. A pair of baskets from senior forward
Teren Scudder (Paterson, NJ/Paterson Catholic) and a lay-up by sophomore forward
B.J. Suchy (Ronkonkoma, NY/Our Savior) put Caldwell up 58-50, only to have the Setters score six straight points to pull within two. The Cougars then went to the free throw line on their next four possessions, making 8-of-9 to take a 66-62 lead with 1:29 left.
After a Ryan Williams' jumper made it 66-64 with just under a minute to play, Georges made two from the line to restore the four-point Caldwell lead. Desmond Quincy-Jones scored with 28 seconds on the clock, then fouled Scudder, who iced the game with a pair of free throws. The Cougars made 19-of-24 from the charity stripe to win for just the second time at home in seven tries this season.
All nine Cougars who saw action scored, led by Georges, who was 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and 8-of-9 from the line. Perez finished with 12 points and grabbed five rebounds. Georges and Suchy also had five boards apiece. Quincy-Jones recorded 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Setters, who shot just 4-of-18 from three-point range for the game.
The Cougars are off until after the New Year, when they participate in the Dominican College Classic on Jan. 4-5.
