WILMINGTON, Del. - Junior guard Michael Wise (Whitesboro, NJ/Middletownship), left, scored a career-high 17 points as the Caldwell College men's basketball team defeated Goldey-Beacom College, 74-65 in the first round of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament in Wilmington, Del. The fifth-seeded Cougars (17-11) advance to the semifinals to play top-seed Philadelphia University, who held off Dominican College 71-67. The fourth-seeded Lightning end its season with a record of 14-13.
The Cougars will face Philadelphia on Friday, Mar. 2 at 7:30 p.m. at Dominican College's Hennessy Center in Orangeburg, N.Y.
Caldwell built an early 14-9 lead in the game's first six minutes before Goldey-Beacom utilized two three-pointers from Adrian Miles and another from DJ Stanberry to take a 26-21 advantage with seven minutes to go in the half. The Cougars answered with a three by junior guard Hans Stelzer (Selden, NY/Our Savior) that ignited a 12-2 run to close out the half. Sophomore guard Carl Augustin (Stony Point, NY/Don Bosco Prep) had four points and Wise buried a three-pointer of his own to cap the run and send Caldwell into the break with a 36-28 lead.
Momentum stayed on the Cougars' side of the court into the second half. Four points by junior forward B.J. Suchy (Ronkonkoma, NY/Our Savior) and three from Wise helped Caldwell outscore the Lightning 11-4 over the first 6:49 of the second period to take a 47-32 lead. The lead would grow to as many as 18 when senior guard Jean Georges (Vauxhal, NJ/Spotswood) converted a conventional three-point play that made the score 58-40 with just under nine minutes to play. But the Lightning, who were playing their first postseason game at home, would not concede, scoring the next 10 points to cut the deficit to 58-50 with 6:32 on the clock.
After Caldwell extended the lead to 63-52, five straight points, including four from Stanberry, brought the Lightning to within six, 63-57 with four minutes remaining. At that point the Cougar defense tightened, allowing just one field goal over the next 2:45 that saw Caldwell restore its lead to 70-59 with 1:27 left. Three-pointers by Miroslaw Babiarz and Jasen Maicey had Goldey-Beacom within six again with less than a minute to play, but they would get no closer, as Caldwell advanced to the semifinals for the second time in three years.
The Cougars shot 53.3 percent from the field, including 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from three-point range, to overcome 25 turnovers and poor free throw shooting (19-of-33). Georges led Caldwell with 18 points to go with seven boards and three steals, with Augustin (right) scoring a career-best 13 points and Stelzer finishing with 10. Wise's 17 point-performance surpasses his previous career-best of 15 points set during his sophomore year against Bloomfield College on Dec. 1, 2005. Stanberry led all scorers with 21 points for the Lightning.
Caldwell looks to advance to the CACC Tournament finals when the Cougars face top-seeded Philadelphia University in the semifinals. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. at Dominican College.
