CALDWELL, N.J. - A late basket by Ryan Lancaster proved to be the difference as the Caldwell College men's basketball team lost to Holy Family University, 55-53 in the semifinals of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament Wednesday evening in the George R. Newman Center. The defeat eliminates the Cougars from the tournament and ends their season at 12-17, while the Tigers (21-8) advance to the finals against Philadelphia University on Saturday, Mar. 8.

With Holy Family leading 52-48, a dunk by junior forward Manny Perez (Egg Harbor Twp., NJ/Egg Harbor Twp.) at the two-minute mark brought the Cougars to within 52-50. After a missed attempt by Holy Family, junior guard Carl Augustin (Stony Point, NY/Don Bosco Prep) made 1-of-2 at the line to make it a 52-51 Tigers' lead with 1:13 on the clock. A steal by senior guard Adam Sabree (Detroit, MI/Renaissance) resulted in a pair of free throws for senior forward B.J. Suchy (Ronkonkoma, NY/Our Savior New American), left, who gave Caldwell its first lead of the second half, 53-52 with 40 seconds left.

On Holy Family's next possession, Lancaster took the ball from the right side and drove to the basket, sinking a lay-up to put Holy Family up 54-53 with 23 seconds remaining. Caldwell came up empty on the other end when Suchy's jumper from 15 feet was short. Lancaster went to the line with 3.9 second left and hit 1-of-2, leaving the Cougars with one last chance. After a timeout, Suchy's inbounds pass was tipped by Perez to sophomore forward Sam Cricelli (Brighton, England/Culham) on the left side. But Cricelli's shot from 18 feet hit the back of the rim, and Lancaster corralled the rebound at the buzzer.

The Cougars shot just 25.8 percent from the field in the first half, as the Tigers took a 27-19 lead into the break. Holy Family built its advantage up to 11 points after a free throw by Tom McKeown made it 41-30 with 12:53 to go in the game. But Caldwell used eight straight points to spark a 17-6 run that tied the game at 47-47 with 4:40 remaining. Suchy notched five points in the run, including a three-pointer that tied the game. But baskets by Michael Sturns, the CACC Player of the Year, and London Houston allowed the Tigers to maintain a 52-48 lead, setting up the exciting finish.

Suchy paced the Cougars with 14 points and six rebounds, while Perez finished with 13 points and seven boards. Senior guard Michael Wise (Whitesboro, NJ/Middle Twp.), right, pitched in nine points and senior guard Hans Stelzer (Selden, NY/Our Savior New American) dished out seven assists, while Cricelli pulled down a team-best eight boards. Lancaster led all scorers with 24 points while making 4-of-7 from long range. Sturns, the nation's leading scorer at 26.9 points per game, was held to 14 points, and Houston grabbed nine rebounds to go with eight points.

The loss marks the final game in the Scarlet, White and Gold for seniors Sabree, Stelzer, Suchy and Wise.

CACC Men's Basketball Tournament
Quarterfinals, Mar. 1
No. 2N Caldwell 79, No. 3N Dominican 65
No. 4N Bloomfield 90, No. 1N Post 85, (2OT)
No. 1S Philadelphia 65, No. 4S USP 44
No. 2S Holy Family 73, No. 3S Goldey-Beacom 71

Semifinals, Wednesday, Mar. 5
No. 2S Holy Family 55, No. 2N Caldwell 53
No. 1S Philadelphia, 88, No. 4N Bloomfield 74 Finals, Saturday, Mar. 8
No. 2S Holy Family at No. 1S Philadelphia, 7:00 p.m.