CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College men's basketball team held off a late charge by Goldey-Beacom College to defeat the Lightning 53-52 in the regular-season finale Saturday night in the George R. Newman Center. The victory clinches the fifth seed in next week's Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament for the Cougars (16-11 overall, 11-9 CACC) and sets up a rematch with Goldey-Beacom (14-12 overall, 11-9 CACC), who earns the fourth seed by virtue of a tie-breaker with Caldwell. Senior guard Jean Georges (Vauxhal, NJ/Spotswood), playing in his final game in the Newman Center, scored a game-high 18 points.
The Cougars held a slim lead for most of the first half until six straight points, including four from Leo Jackson, put the Lightning up 25-24 with 1.34 left in the half. A free throw by freshman guard John Reed (Wall, NJ/Wall) allowed Caldwell to tie the game at 25-25 at the half.
The game remained close after halftime, with seven lead changes in the first seven minutes. With the Lightning ahead 35-33, the Cougars tallied 12 straight points, including back-to-back three-pointers from Georges and sophomore guard Carl Augustin (Stony Point, NY/Don Bosco Prep), to give Caldwell its largest lead of the game at 45-35 with 11:46 to play. Goldey-Beacon quickly cut the lead to 46-43 after a three from DJ Stanberry capped an 8-1 spree.
A three-point play from freshman forward Sam Cricelli (Brighton, England/Culham) helped Caldwell build the lead back up to eight, 53-45 with just over four minutes on the clock. But the Lightning took advantage of four Caldwell turnovers to pull to within one, 53-52 on a lay-up by Adrian Miles with 37 seconds remaining. On the next possession, the Cougars turned the ball over again, giving Goldey-Beacom possession with 23 seconds left. But Miles missed a lay-up, and the ball went out of bounds off of a Goldey-Beacom player with just 0.7 on the clock. Caldwell successfully inbounded the ball as time expired to secure its second win in a row. The Cougars won despite shooting just 42.9 percent (6-of-14) from the free throw line and recording 22 turnovers to 12 for GBC.
Georges, who was honored before the game, went 7-of-12 from the field with three three-pointers in his final home game wearing the Scarlet, White and Gold. He now has scored 1,381 career points to rank fifth all-time at Caldwell. Cricelli shot 6-of-9 from the floor to finish with 14 points and a team-best six rebounds, while junior guard Hans Stelzer (Selden, NY/Our Savior) dished out six assists. Miles scored 17 points to pace the Lightning.
The Cougars and Lightning do it all over again on Tuesday, Feb. 27 in Wilmington, Del., in the first round of the CACC Tournament. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Senior guard Jean Georges with Sister Michel Rodgers, his brother Waguimy Georges and coach Mark Corino
