COUGARS SWEEP DOMINICAN TOURNEY WITH 77-58 WIN OVER N.Y.I.T.

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ORANGEBURG, N.Y. - Senior guard Mark Kelly (Oakhurst, NJ/Ocean Twp.) made 5-of-6 from three-point range and junior guard Jean Georges (Vauxhal, NJ/Spotswood) scored a game-high 20 points to lead the Caldwell College men's basketball team to a 77-58 victory over N.Y.I.T. Thursday afternoon at the Dominican College New Year's Tournament. The Cougars finished the tournament 2-0 having defeated Mercy College on Wednesday, and improved to 6-8 on the season. The Bears, who compete in the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference, dropped to 2-9.

Kelly helped the Cougars start fast with six points in an 11-2 run to open the game. Caldwell answered a three-pointer by Edwin Ebanks with back-to-back threes by sophomore guard Michael Wise (Whitesboro, NJ/Middletownship) and Kelly that put the Cougars up 17-5 with 14 minutes left in the first half. The Bears would never cut the deficit to single digits after that, as hot shooting allowed the Cougars to maintain a comfortable lead throughout. An 11-4 run capped by a three from junior forward Nolan Hall (Manahawkin, NJ/Southern Regional) to close out the half gave Caldwell a 47-25 lead at the break. Kelly scored 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc in the first half.

Georges took over with a perfect second half, as the Cougars' leading scorer made all five of his shots from the field, including a pair of threes, and both of his attempts from the line en route to 14 second-half points. Caldwell led by as many as 27 points before N.Y.I.T. finished the game with a 10-2 run.

Caldwell made a season-high 13 of their 21 shots from three-point range, hitting a sizzling 61.9 percent. Overall the Cougars made 52.9 percent from the field for the game, eclipsing Wednesday's season-best 51.7 percent performance. Kelly finished with 18 points and eight boards. Georges, who has been the Cougars' leading scorer in five of the team's six wins this season, also swiped three steals. Sophomore forward B.J. Suchy (Ronkonkoma, NY/Our Savior) added nine points and 10 boards. Ebanks tallied 19 to lead the Bears.

The win, which is Caldwell's third straight, gives head coach Mark Corino 398 career victories. His overall record is now 398-256 in 23 seasons, including a 303-208 mark in 18 years at Caldwell. Corino is aiming to become just the second active men's college basketball coach in New Jersey to reach 400 career victories.

The Cougars return to conference play with a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game at Philadelphia University on Tuesday, Jan. 10. Game time is set for 6:00 p.m.

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