WILMINGTON, Del. - The Caldwell College men's basketball team shot 60.0 percent from the field in the second half en route to an 83-71 triumph over Goldey-Beacom College in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game Saturday evening in the Jones Center. Manny Perez (Egg Harbor Twp., NJ/Egg Harbor Twp.) scored 24 points for the second consecutive game to help the Cougars improve to 3-3 overall and 2-0 in the conference. The Lightning falls to 3-4, 0-1 CACC with the loss.
Goldey-Beacom led early in the game until the Cougars hit six straight shots from the field, including two by Perez, in a 12-0 spree for a 21-11 lead with 7:46 left in the half. Caldwell made 8-of-8 from the free throw line in the final five minutes of the first period and took a 36-24 advantage at the half. Perez, pictured, had 12 points and junior guard Jason Wilson (Hillside, NJ/Bloomfield Tech) scored 10 in the first half for Caldwell, which shot 50.0 percent from the floor.
The Lightning scored the first six points of the second half to ignite a 12-2 run that made it a two-point game, 38-36 Caldwell with 16:27 remaining. Five points from Perez and a three-pointer by senior guard Carl Augustin (Stony Point, NY/Don Bosco Prep) helped the Cougars temporarily hold off the Lightning and build the lead back up to nine, 50-41 with just under 12 minutes to play. A basket by Adrian Miles and a three from Jon Crawford pulled Goldey-Beacom to within four, but six more points from Perez pushed the lead back into double-digits. The advantage grew to as many as 17 points, as the Cougars hit 11 of their 13 attempts from the line in the game's final two minutes.
The Cougars were 15-of-25 from the floor in the second half and shot a season-high 55.1 percent from the field. Caldwell also set a season best mark at the line, going 26-of-29 (89.7 percent) compared to 10-of-17 (58.8) for the host Lightning. Perez, who had 24 points in Tuesday's win over Felician College, hit all 10 of his attempts from the free throw line while going 7-of-11 from the field. He also grabbed five rebounds. Augustin matched his career high with 18 points, while freshman center Peter Diffley (Bellerose, NY/Episcopal) grabbed a career-best nine rebounds to lead the Cougars on the glass. Miles scored 21 points to pace Goldey-Beacom.
The Cougars host Adelphi University on Saturday, Dec. 13 in a non-conference game at the George R. Newman Center. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m.
