CALDWELL, N.J. - Freshman guard Nik Otovic (Kraljevo, Serbia) nailed a 12-foot jumper with 22 seconds left to give the Caldwell College men's basketball team a 63-62 victory over Holy Family University in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game Saturday night in the George R. Newman Center. With the win, the Cougars improve to 11-12 overall and 7-5 in the conference, while the Tigers fall to 7-17, 6-7 CACC.
With the Tigers leading 62-59 with 1:15 remaining, senior guard Carl Augustin (Stony Point, NY/Don Bosco Prep) hit a lay-up from the right side to make the score 62-61 with a minute left. Following a missed jumper by Holy Family, Otovic dribbled from the right side into the lane, pulled up and buried a 12-footer to put the Cougars ahead, 63-62 with 22 seconds on the clock. Ceazer Johnson took the Tigers' final shot as time expired, but his three-pointer fell short, allowing the Cougars to earn the win and end a two-game losing skid.
Caldwell gained the upper hand midway through the first half with an 18-0 run sparked by three three-pointers from Augustin and two from junior guard John Reed (Wall, NJ/Wall) that gave the Cougars a 27-14 lead. Holy Family cut the lead to 11, 35-24 at the half. Caldwell went 6-of-10 from three-point range and made 58.3 percent overall from the floor in the first half.
A basket by senior forward Manny Perez (Egg Harbor Twp., NJ/Egg Harbor Twp.) at the 15:20 mark of the second half made the score 45-33 Caldwell. The Tigers got back into the game with a 15-2 run, including six points by Johnson, to take a 48-47 lead with 9:41 to play. Caldwell regained the lead briefly, 55-50 with 7:48 left, only to have Holy Family score the next eight points to make the score 58-55 Tigers at the four-minute mark. Caldwell hit 4-of-7 from the line to counter a basket by Justin Swidowski, who then made two free throws to put Holy Family ahead, 62-59 with 1:15 on the clock.
The Cougars cooled off considerably in the second half, shooting 36.4 percent after halftime. That, combined with the Tigers' making 66.7 percent in the second half, allowed Holy Family to erase Caldwell's 11-point halftime lead. Otovic, pictured, finished with 10 points and a career-high six assists. Perez led the Cougars with 15 points, while Augustin tallied 14 points while making 5-of-6 from the field. Swidowski led all players with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Quincy Marshall added 11 points and five steals for the Tigers.
Next up for Caldwell is a CACC contest at Bloomfield College on Tuesday, Feb. 17. Game time is set for 8:00 p.m. in Bloomfield, N.J.
