ORANGEBURG, N.Y. - The Caldwell College men's basketball team dropped its first game at the Dominican College Tournament, losing to the University of Bridgeport, 88-74 Wednesday night at the Hennessy Center. The result gives the Cougars a 2-9 mark on the year, while the Purple Knights improve to 4-5. Junior forward Manny Perez (Egg Harbor Twp., NJ/Egg Harbor Twp.) made all 17 of his free throw attempts and finished with a game-high 25 points to pace Caldwell.

Five three-pointers by Bridgeport's Cornell Littlejohn in the first half helped the Purple Knights take a 40-25 halftime lead. The advantage would grow to as many as 23 points in the second half as Bridgeport seemed to be in control of the game. But with the score 80-59 with 4:15 remaining, the Cougars tallied 13 straight points, including eight free throws from Perez and a three by senior guard Michael Wise (Whitesboro, NJ/Middle Twp.), to bring Caldwell to within 80-72 with 2:11 left. However, the Cougars made just one basket the rest of the way and Bridgeport hit 8-of-12 from the line down the stretch to hang on for the win.

Perez, who has made 21 consecutive free throws, also grabbed 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. His performance at the line helped Caldwell finish a perfect 25-of-25 at the charity stripe for the game. Wise and sophomore forward Sam Cricelli (Brighton, England/Culham) each scored 11 points in the loss. Littlejohn connected on all six of his shots from three-point range to finish with 24 points for Bridgeport. Teammate Teairez Stennis also scored 24 points, as the Purple Knights shot 55.4 percent from the field compared to 38.3 percent for Caldwell.

The Cougars wrap up play at the Dominican Tournament on Thursday with a game against Queens College. Game time is set for 6:00 p.m. in the Hennessy Center.