CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College men's basketball team used a strong finish to edge Wilmington College, 83-76 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game Saturday afternoon in the George R. Newman Center. The victory ends a two-game losing streak and gives the Cougars a 6-3 record overall and a 3-2 mark in the conference. The Wildcats, who benefited from 10 three-pointers by Dominique Barron, remain winless at 0-9, 0-4 CACC.
The Cougars dominated early and held a 16-4 lead seven minutes into the game. But Barron hit four threes, including three on three straight possessions, to spark a 16-2 Wilmington run that tied the game at 20-20 with 7:00 left in the half. Caldwell took control of the game over the final five minutes of the half, out-scoring the Wildcats 19-7 during that stretch. Senior guard Jean Georges (Vauxhal, NJ/Spotswood) scored five points and junior guard Michael Wise (Whitesboro, NJ/Middletownship) hit a three-pointer to help the Cougars break open a close game and take a 42-30 lead into the break.
Caldwell maintained the 12-point advantage and led 55-43 at the 11:54 mark of the second half. Barron answered with back-to-back threes to ignite a 15-2 spree by the Wildcats that gave the visitors their first lead of the game, 60-59 with 7:46 left. Another three from Barron, his eighth of the game, gave Wilmington its largest lead of the game, 69-63 with just over three minutes on the clock.
On Caldwell's next possession, Wise buried a three, then forced a turnover on defense. Georges made a lay-up and was fouled, making the score 69-68 Wilmington. He missed the ensuing free throw, but junior guard Hans Stelzer (Selden, NY/Our Savior) grabbed the offensive rebound. The Cougars regained the lead on a pair of free throws by junior forward B.J. Suchy (Ronkonkoma, NY/Our Savior). After another Wildcat turnover, Suchy converted a conventional three-point play to put Caldwell ahead 73-69 with 1:25 to play. Wilmington never recovered, as the Cougars finished the final three minutes of the game with a 15-7 run. Georges tallied six points, with Suchy and Wise scoring five apiece down the stretch.
Suchy, left, led Caldwell with 20 points and a career-high six assists, while Georges finished with 19 points, four assists and four steals. Freshman forward Sam Cricelli (Brighton, England/Culham), right, scored a career-high 19 points to go with six boards and two steals. Stelzer also had six rebounds while recording five points and four assists for the Cougars. Wilmington's Barron ended up with 32 points while making 10-of-15 from beyond the arc. Antonio Sherrod added 18 points and seven boards in the loss.
The Cougars play a pair of non-conference games next week in New Hampshire, starting with Wednesday's match-up with St. Anselm College. Caldwell also plays at Franklin Pierce College on Thursday.
