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CALDWELL, N.J. - In his final regular-season home game, Caldwell College senior guard Mark Kelly (Oakhurst, NJ/Ocean Twp.), right, buried a three-pointer with 38 seconds left, lifting the Cougars to a 67-63 victory over Philadelphia University in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game Saturday evening at the George R. Newman Center. The win marks the end of the regular season and gives Caldwell a record of 18-12 overall, 14-8 CACC. The Rams fell to 20-11 on the season, including a 15-7 conference mark in their first year as a member of the CACC.

The Cougars earned the No. 2 seed in next week's CACC Tournament and will host seventh-seeded Dominican College on Tuesday, Feb. 28 in the quarterfinals.

With the Cougars down 60-57 with just under four minutes to play, junior guard Jean Georges (Vauxhal, NJ/Spotswood) hit a pair of free throws, then made a lay-up to put Caldwell ahead 61-60 at the 1:53 mark. Following two empty possessions for the Rams sandwiched around a pair of missed free throws by Caldwell, Kelly took a pass from sophomore forward Manny Perez (Egg Harbor, NJ/Egg Harbor) and nailed his second three of the night to give the Cougars a 64-60 lead. Philadelphia's Francis Gunn answered with a three-pointer of his own with 19 seconds left, but a free throw by Perez and two free throws by Kelly clinched the victory for the Cougars.

Caldwell trailed for most of the first half and were behind, 27-18 with eight minutes left in the first period. Five straight points from Kelly sparked an 11-1 Caldwell spree that gave the Cougars their first lead since the game's opening minute. The teams traded baskets the rest of the way, with a free throw by senior guard Kelvin Reese (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck), left, tying the game at 34-34 just before halftime.

After shooting 51.7 percent from the floor in the first half, the Cougars struggled to find their rhythm after the break, allowing Philadelphia to take control and build a 56-48 lead with 7:41 remaining. Rams' guard Tayron Thomas, the nation's leading scorer at 29.8 points per game, scored 15 of his game-high 32 points in the first 12 minutes of the second half. But the Cougars used free throws by Reese and Perez and baskets by Perez and senior forward Teren Scudder (Paterson, NJ/Paterson Catholic) to fuel a 9-2 run that brought Caldwell to within one, 58-57 with 4:23 on the clock. Thomas answered with a pair of free throws to put the Rams back up by three, setting up Kelly's heroics.

Georges led the Cougars with 20 points, while Perez finished with 15 points and six rebounds. Seniors Kelly, Reese and Scudder, who were honored before tonight's game, each played significant roles in the win. Kelly had 12 points and five boards, Reese dished out six assists to go with five points, and Scudder tallied nine points and four rebounds. Perez now has 995 points in his career, leaving him five points shy of becoming the 12th Caldwell men's basketball player to score 1,000 points.

Thomas, who played in his final CACC game, has scored a school-record 2,414 points in his All-American career. Gunn tallied 12 points and Christian Burns added 11 points and eight rebounds for Philadelphia. The Rams are ineligible for the CACC Tournament in their first year in the conference.

The Cougars, who advanced to the finals of last year's CACC Tournament, begin their quest for their sixth conference tourney title on Tuesday, Feb. 28, when they host seventh-seeded Dominican College. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. in the Newman Center.