RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The Caldwell College men's basketball team was unable to overcome a hot shooting performance from Felician College as the Cougars lost, 82-66 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game Tuesday night at Job Gymnasium. The loss ends the Cougars' two-game winning streak and drops their record to 10-11 overall, including 6-4 in the conference. The Golden Falcons, who shot a sizzling 77.3 percent from the floor in the second half, improve to 12-10, 5-6 CACC.

The teams played even for most of the first half. A three-pointer by junior guard John Reed (Wall, NJ/Wall) and a dunk by senior forward Manny Perez (Egg Harbor Twp., NJ/Egg Harbor Twp.) erased a five-point deficit to tie the game at 25-25 with 4:28 left in the half. Felician managed to take a slight edge at halftime, leading 34-33 at the break. The Cougars, led by 14 points from Perez, made 12-of-23 (52.2 percent) from the field in the first period compared to 43.8 percent for Felician.

The Golden Falcons jumped on Caldwell early in the second half, hitting their first seven field goal attempts to spark an 18-6 run and take a 52-39 advantage with 13:06 remaining. The Cougars were able to cut the deficit to 10, 59-49 with 9:32 on the clock. But Felician continued to score in bunches, as the lead grew to as many as 19 points. The Golden Falcons missed just five shots in the second half, going 17-of-22 from the floor. Felician also held a significant advantage on the boards, out-rebounding Caldwell 40-19 for the game.

Perez, pictured, led all scorers with 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field while grabbing a team-best five rebounds. Senior guard Carl Augustin (Stony Point, NY/Don Bosco Prep) added 13 points for the Cougars. Andrew August paced Felician with 18 points and eight rebounds, and Richard Feggins contributed 16 points and six assists in the win.

Caldwell hosts Nyack College in an important CACC North Division match-up on Thursday, Feb. 12. The game is set to begin at 8:00 p.m. in the George R. Newman Center.