WINGATE, N.C. - The Caldwell College men's basketball team dropped a tight contest to Wingate University, 69-64 in the OrthoCarolina Classic at Wingate's Cuddy Arena Friday evening. The loss evens the Cougars' record at 1-1 on the season, while the Bulldogs, who were ranked eighth in the NABC Division II Preseason Poll, win their third straight game to improve to 3-2.
After trailing for most of the second half, Caldwell battled back to take a 60-58 lead on a basket by sophomore forward Sam Cricelli (Brighton, England/Culham) with 3:14 remaining. The Bulldogs answered with a lay-up by Bryan Grier and a three-pointer from Brandon Plummer with less than two minutes to play to take a 63-60 advantage. After the teams each made a pair of free throws, Caldwell came up empty on its next possession. Wingate's Ben Davis scored on a lay-up with 33 seconds remaining to effectively put the game out of reach for Caldwell.
The Cougars used three-pointers by sophomore guard Eddie Crockett (Passaic, NJ/Passaic) and senior guard Michael Wise (Whitesboro, NJ/Middle Twp.) to spark a 10-1 run for an early 19-11 lead at the 9:49 mark of the first half. Another three by senior guard Hans Stelzer (Selden, NY/Our Savior) with 7:36 left in the half gave Caldwell its largest lead of the game, 24-15. But Wingate reeled off a 15-1 run for a 30-24 advantage two minutes before halftime.
The Cougars briefly regained the upper hand by scoring the first six points of the second half, but Rosco Turner's three-pointer put momentum back on the side of the host Bulldogs. From that point, the Cougars tied the game three times and took the lead on Cricelli's basket at the 3:14 mark, but Wingate held on for the win. The Bulldogs made 50 percent (12-of-24) of their field goal attempts in the second half compared to 35.5 percent (11-of-31) for the Cougars.
Wise, pictured, led Caldwell with 15 points, while Cricelli tallied a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds to go with three steals. Senior guard Adam Sabree (Detroit, MI/Renaissance) pitched in 10 points and three steals in the loss. Wingate's all-American guard Sean Barnette led all scorers with 19 points while adding 13 boards and three steals for the Bulldogs, who won the NCAA South Atlantic Region Tournament and advanced to the Division II Elite Eight in 2007. Grier recorded five of Wingate's 10 blocked shots in the game.
The Cougars wrap up play at the OrthoCarolina Classic on Saturday, Dec. 1 with a game against Fayetteville State. The game, which starts at 6:00 p.m., will be broadcast over the internet via the Fayetteville State website. Check the Caldwell College Athletics website (http://info.caldwell.edu/athletics) for links to the broadcast and Live Stats.
