CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College men's basketball team overcame a slow start to defeat Dominican College, 63-56 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game Monday night in the George R. Newman Center. The Cougars, who received 18 points and seven rebounds from senior guard Jean Georges (Vauxhal, NJ/Spotswood), left, improve to 13-9 overall and 8-7 in the CACC. The defeat drops the Chargers (10-11) into a tie with Caldwell at 8-7 in league play.

Poor shooting plagued the Cougars in the first half and contributed to a scoreless stretch of nearly nine minutes during the middle of the opening half. Caldwell, which shot just 22.6 percent (7-of-31) in the game's first 20 minutes, trailed by 12 after a three-pointer by Kenyon Jackson made the score 22-10 with four minutes on the clock. An 11-5 run punctuated by a Georges three-pointer just before the buzzer helped Caldwell cut the deficit to 27-21 at the half.

The Cougars continued their momentum into the second half, reeling off a 13-5 run to begin the second period and take a 34-32 advantage at the 15-minute mark. The game remained close, but Caldwell managed to hold the lead and build a 50-44 edge with 5:39 to play. Three times the Chargers reduced their deficit to two points, the last time on a lay-up by Kevin Buono that made it 54-52 with 2:47 left. But Caldwell answered with back-to-back conventional three-point plays by freshman forward Sam Cricelli (Brighton, England/Culham) and junior forward B.J. Suchy (Ronkonkoma, NY/Our Savior) that pushed the lead to 60-52 with just 34 seconds to play. The Cougars had more success in the second half largely due to improved shooting, as Caldwell made 55.6 percent from the floor after halftime.

Georges was one of four Cougars to score in double-figures in the win. Cricelli and junior guard Adam Sabree (Detroit, MI/Renaissance), right, each scored 13 points, and Suchy finished with 12 points. Junior guard Hans Stelzer (Selden, NY/Our Savior) contributed six assists and three steals. Center Ron Wyatt recorded 14 points and seven boards to lead Dominican.

Next up for Caldwell is a home game with Holy Family University on Saturday, Feb. 10. The CACC match-up begins at 8:00 p.m. in the Newman Center.