NEW CASTLE, Del. - Freshman forward Sam Cricelli (Brighton, England/Culham) poured in a career-high 26 points on 12-of-15 shooting from the field, as the Caldwell College men's basketball team picked up a road win at Wilmington, 68-60 Saturday afternoon in the Pratt Center. The Cougars improve to 9-8 overall and 5-6 in the conference, while the Wildcats remain winless at 0-17, 0-10 CACC.
Cricelli made his first six shots of the game and was 8-of-10 from the floor in the first half as the Cougars led by as many as 16 points. Three-pointers by sophomore guard Carl Augustin (Stony Point, NY/Don Bosco Prep) and freshman guard John Reed (Wall, NJ/Wall) keyed at 19-7 run that gave Caldwell a 29-15 lead with 6:21 left in the half. The Cougars maintained that lead, taking a 35-21 advantage at the half.
Caldwell still led by 14 after a three from junior guard Michael Wise (Whitesboro, NJ/Middletownship) at the 14-minute mark made it 45-31. Wilmington battled back, using three-pointers by Chapmen Canady and Maurice Furrowh to cut the Cougars' lead to 55-49 with six minutes left. But junior guard Hans Stelzer (Seldon, NY/Our Savior) made a basket and a pair of free throws to help push the lead back to 11, 63-52 with 3:03 to play. The Wildcats were able to come within six points, 66-60 with 13 seconds left, but it was not enough to prevent the Cougars from winning their second straight game on the road.
Cricelli, a two-time CACC Rookie of the Week honoree this season, topped his previous career best of 19 points, set in Caldwell's first meeting with Wilmington, an 83-76 victory on Dec. 16 at the George R. Newman Center. Senior guard Jean Georges (Vauxhal, NJ/Spotswood) had 11 points, Wise finished with 10, and junior forward B.J. Suchy (Ronkonkoma, NY/Our Savior) grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Taurean Temple and Michael Keyes each scored 15 points to lead Wilmington.
Caldwell plays another CACC game on the road on Wednesday, Jan. 24, when they face Bloomfield College. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. in the Bloomfield Gymnasium.
