CALDWELL, N.J. - A lay-up by Jason Hickenbottom with 21 seconds left proved to be the difference as the Caldwell College men's basketball team lost to league-leading Philadelphia University, 68-67 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game Thursday evening at the George R. Newman Center. The Cougars drop to 7-6 on the season, including a 3-4 mark in the conference, while the Rams improve to 12-3, 7-1 CACC.
A pair of free throws by junior forward B.J. Suchy (Ronkonkoma, NY/Our Savior) put Caldwell up 65-64 with 1:44 remaining in the game. Mike Dunn hit a jumper from the left side to retake the lead for the Rams with 1:12 left. Freshman forward Sam Cricelli (Brighton, England/Culham) answered for Caldwell with 45 seconds on the clock, only to have Hickenbottom give Philadelphia a 68-67 lead with 21 seconds left with a lay-up in traffic. A shot by senior guard Jean Georges (Vauxhal, NJ/Spotswood), left, with seven seconds left was off the mark, forcing the Cougars to put Christian Burns on the line with five seconds left. Burns missed the front end of a 1-and-1, with Georges getting the rebound, but the ball rolled out of bounds off a Philadelphia player with just 0.8 second left. Caldwell's long inbounds pass was intercepted, giving the Rams the win.
The Cougars led early, opening the game with an 11-2 run on three-pointers by Georges and Cricelli. But the Rams battled back, eventually taking a 27-25 lead with 5:44 left in the half on a conventional three-point play by Russell Frederick. The teams ended up finishing the half tied at 31-31. A three-pointer by Levi Winters at the 14-minute mark gave the Rams their biggest lead at 45-40. After that, the lead changed hands seven times before Hickenbottom put Philadelphia ahead to stay in the game's waning seconds.
Caldwell shot 51.0 percent from the field, including 54.2 percent in the second half. Georges went 4-of-6 from three-point range to help the Cougars shoot 53.3 percent from beyond the arc. He would finish with 24 points and seven boards to lead Caldwell in both categories. Junior guard Adam Sabree (Detroit, MI/Renaissance) and Suchy each finished with 11 points in the loss. Higgenbottom was 12-of-16 from the floor en route to a game-high 32 points for Philadelphia, which also got 16 points and eight boards from Burns, who leads the CACC in scoring and rebounding. Both teams took care of the ball, as the Rams had 11 turnovers compared to just eight for Caldwell.
The Cougars are back in action on Saturday, Jan, 13, when they travel to Wilmington, Del., to face Goldey-Beacom College in a CACC contest. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m.
