BLOOMFIELD, N.J. - Senior guard Jean Georges (Vauxhal, NJ/Spotswood) scored 23 points and freshman forward Sam Cricelli (Brighton, England/Culham) recorded 22 points and 12 boards as the Caldwell College men's basketball team defeated Bloomfield College, 83-74 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference match-up Wednesday night at the Bloomfield Gymnasium. The victory, which was Caldwell's second this season over the three-time defending CACC champions, evens the Cougars' conference record at 6-6 and improves their overall mark to 10-8. The Deacons fall to 4-13, 2-8 CACC.

The Cougars broke open a close game by scoring eight straight points as part of a 20-8 run that put Caldwell ahead 38-25 with 5:32 left in the first half. Georges and sophomore center Michael Luzzi (Mount Arlington, NJ/Morris Catholic) each had five points in the run. But Bloomfield out-scored the Cougars 15-6 the rest of the half to cut the lead to 44-40 at the break.

Four points apiece by Georges and junior forward B.J. Suchy (Ronkonkoma, NY/Our Savior) allowed Caldwell to open the half with a 10-0 spree to take a 54-40 advantage with 17:40 to play. The lead would grow to as many as 16 after a Georges lay-up with 12 minutes left made it 67-51. Bloomfield cut the deficit to six points twice, including 72-78 with 3:13 on the clock. But that's as close as the Deacons would get, as the Cougars clinched their second conference win in a row.

Caldwell shot a season-best 60.0 percent (33-of-55) from the field, including 63.6 percent in the second half. Cricelli, who had 26 points in Saturday's 68-60 win at Wilmington College, went 10-of-12 from the floor to pace the Cougars. Georges, who was 8-of-15 from the field, also swiped four steals, as did junior guard Hans Stelzer (Selden, NY/Our Savior) to help Caldwell record a season-high 11 steals. Suchy finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Luzzi scored nine points. Bloomfield's Andre Dabney led all scorers with 24 points.

Next up for Caldwell is another CACC contest against the University of Sciences on Saturday, Jan. 27. The tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. in the George R. Newman Center.