SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Caldwell College men's basketball team cut a 14-point second-half deficit to two, but was unable to gain the upper hand in a 71-66 loss to Le Moyne College in a non-conference game Tuesday evening at Ted Grant Court. The loss drops the Cougars to 3-5 overall, while the Dolphins improve to 4-5.

The score remained tight in the first half until Le Moyne closed out the half with a 17-5 run to take a 41-30 advantage into the break. Damani Corbin tallied seven points in the run as the Dolphins shot 51.6 percent from the floor in the half compared to 40.7 percent for Caldwell.

The Cougars fought back in the second half and pulled to within five points after a conventional three-point play by senior guard Carl Augustin (Stony Point, NY/Don Bosco Prep) made the score 48-43 with 13:43 remaining. But an 11-2 run by Le Moyne gave the hosts their largest lead of the game, 59-45 with 9:10 left in the game. At that point Caldwell cranked up the defense to get back in the, forcing five turnovers and five missed field goal attempts to spark a 14-2 spree that made the score 61-59 Le Moyne with 4:17 on the clock. Augustin had five points and senior center Michael Luzzi (Ledgewood, NJ/Morris Catholic), pictured, had four for Caldwell during the key run.

The Dolphins scored the next five points to expand their lead to 66-59, but a basket by junior forward Sam Cricelli (Brighton, England/Culham) and a lay-up and free throw from senior forward Manny Perez (Egg Harbor Twp., NJ/Egg Harbor Twp.) pulled the Cougars back to within two, 66-64 with just over a minute to play. After a basket by Laurence Ekperigin, freshman guard Nik Otovic (Kraljevo, Serbia) scored on a lay-up with 22 seconds left to make the score 68-66 Dolphins. James Cormier was fouled and made one of two free throws, but the Cougars came up empty on their next possession. Ekperigin made a pair of free throws with six seconds remaining to put the game out of reach for Caldwell.

Augustin and Perez each scored 16 points to pace the Cougars, while Perez grabbed a team-best eight rebounds. Otovic dished out a career-high five assists to go with seven points, with Luzzi and Cricelli swiping three steals apiece. Ekperigin led all players with 20 points and 12 boards for Le Moyne, which also received 17 points from Christopher Johnson.

The Cougars host the ECAC Holiday Classic next weekend at the Newman Center. The Cougars will play Queens College on Friday, Dec. 19 at 8:00 p.m., before facing Mercy College on Saturday, Dec. 20, also at 8:00 p.m.