GOLDEN, Colo. - The Caldwell College men's basketball team opened the 2006-07 season with a thrilling 66-65 victory over Mesa State at the Colorado School of Mines Tournament Friday night at Volk Gym. Junior guard Adam Sabree (Detroit, MI/Renaissance) hit a three-pointer with just four seconds on the clock to put the Cougars ahead to stay. Caldwell starts the season 1-0 for the first time in three years, while Mesa State begins its campaign 0-1.
The Cougars started strong and scored the first eight points of the game, with four coming from junior guard Michael Wise (Whitesboro, NJ/Middletownship). Caldwell never trailed in the first half, eventually building a 31-19 lead with just under four minutes left in the half. Mesa State countered with a 7-4 run before halftime to cut the Cougars' lead to 35-26 at the break.
Mesa State carried their momentum into the second half with a 7-0 spurt that brought the Mavericks to within 35-33. Senior guard Jean Georges (Vauxhal, NJ/Spotswood) ended the run with a three-pointer, then back-to-back threes from freshman guard John Reed (Wall, NJ/Wall) and junior forward B.J. Suchy (Ronkonkoma, NY/Our Savior) helped the Cougars maintain a 47-40 advantage with 10:55 to play. But the Mavericks battled back, reeling off eight straight points, six from Ryan Matthews, to take their first lead of the game, 50-49 with 6:42 remaining.
The lead would change hands two more times, with Mesa State building its lead to as many as five points. With the score 60-57 at the 3:33 mark, junior guard Hans Stelzer (Seldon, NY/Our Savior) nailed a three-pointer to tie the game with three minutes left. After a pair of free throws by Mesa State's Mickey Schlagel, Georges answered with another three to give the Cougars a 63-62 lead with 1:31 on the clock. The lead remained until Stephen Soriano converted a conventional three-point play with just 25 seconds left to put the Mavericks ahead, 65-63. On Caldwell's next possession, Georges missed a three-pointer but Stelzer grabbed the offensive rebound, setting up Sabree's heroics. Sabree buried his three-point attempt from right in front of an exuberant Caldwell bench.
Georges finished with a team-best 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, while junior forward Manny Perez (Egg Harbor, NJ/Egg Harbor) grabbed nine boards to go with eight points, all in the first half. Suchy added 12 points and seven boards for the Cougars, who shot 51.1 percent from the field but only 47.6 percent (7-of-15) from the free throw line. Soriano matches Georges' 20 points to lead the Mavericks, who also received 17 points and five steals from Matthews.
The Cougars will play the Colorado School of Mines on Saturday, Nov. 18 in the final game of the tournament. Tip-off is scheduled for 10:00 p.m. Eastern time at Volk Gym.
