ORANGEBURG, N.Y. - Senior guard Jean Georges (Vauxhal, NJ/Spotswood) scored 20 points to lead the Caldwell College men's basketball team to a 73-64 upset victory over top-seeded Philadelphia University in the semifinals of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament Friday night at the Hennessy Center on the campus of Dominican College. The win puts the fifth-seeded Cougars (18-11) into the championship game against sixth-seeded University of Sciences on Saturday, Mar. 3. The conference champion advances to the NCAA Division II Northeast Region Tournament.
Caldwell took control of the game in the first half and led 22-13 with just under six minutes to play. But the CACC regular-season champion Rams (20-9) battled back to tie the game with a 15-6 run, capped by a conventional three-point play by Malcolm Ingram that made it 28-28 with a minute left in the half. Caldwel took a two-point lead into the break on a basket at the buzzer by sophomore center Michael Luzzi (Mount Arlington, NJ/Morris Catholic).
The Cougars regained their nine-point advantage by opening the second half with an 11-4 spree, including four points by junior forward B.J. Suchy (Ronkonkoma, NY/Our Savior) that put Caldwell up 41-32 at the 14-minute mark. Three-pointers by Jason Hickenbottom and Russell Frederick sparked a 10-4 Philadelphia run that cut the deficit to three, 52-49 with 6:24 on the clock. But the Cougars put the game away with a 9-3 spurt over three minutes that made the score 65-55 with 1:36 left. The Rams would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way as Caldwell advanced to the CACC finals for the second time in three seasons.
Caldwell used outstanding shooting in the second half, making 59.3 percent from the floor after halftime. Georges hit 3-of-5 from three-point range en route to a team-high 20 points to go with seven boards. Suchy finished with 15 points, while Luzzi grabbed a team-high nine rebounds to go with eight points. Christian Burns, the CACC Player of the Year, tallied 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Hickenbottom matched Georges for game honors with 20 points.
The Cougars, who have won four of their five CACC Tournament championships at the Hennessy Center, will try to win the conference for the first time since 2002 on Saturday, Mar. 3 at 4:00 p.m. against USP. The two teams split the season series, with Caldwell winning 75-65 on Jan. 27 in the last meeting.
2007 CACC Men's Basketball Tournament
First Round - Tuesday, Feb. 27
No. 1 Philadelphia 71, No. 8 Dominican 67
No. 2 Post 78, No. 7 Felician 71
No. 6 USP 55, No. 3 Holy Family 50
No. 5 Caldwell 74, No. 4 Goldey-Beacom 65
Semifinals - Friday, Mar. 2, at Dominican College
No. 6 USP 62, Post 55
No. 5 Caldwell 73, No. 1 Philadelphia 64
Championship - Saturday, Mar. 3, at Dominican College
No. 5 Caldwell vs. No. 6 USP, 4:00 p.m.
