BLOOMFIELD, N.J. - The Caldwell College men's basketball team dropped a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference contest to Bloomfield College, 93-77 Tuesday night at the Bloomfield Gymnasium. The Cougars are now 11-13 overall and 7-6 in the league, while the Deacons (19-6 overall) remain atop the CACC North Division standings with a 13-1 conference mark.

Bloomfield took control of the game with an 11-3 run for a 20-9 lead six minutes into the first half. The lead would grow to as many as 18 points before five points by freshman guard Malcolm Austin (Albany, NY/Christian Borthers Acad.) capped a 10-0 Caldwell run that made the score 35-27 Bloomfield. But the Deacons out-scored the Cougars 16-8 the rest of the half to take a commanding 51-35 advantage into the break. Caldwell turned the ball over 17 times in the first half, resulting in 24 points for Bloomfield.

Caldwell shot 55.6 percent from the floor in the second half but couldn't make much of a dent in the Deacons' lead. A dunk by senior forward Manny Perez (Egg Harbor Twp., NJ/Egg Harbor Twp.) made the score 56-44 in favor of Bloomfield at the 16:43 mark. But that's as close as the Cougars would get, as the Deacons extended their lead to as many as 21 points. For the game, Bloomfield shot 41.7 percent from the field, including 19.0 percent from three-point range, and a paltry 46.3 percent (19-of-41) from the line, but still was never challenged in a game it led from start to finish.

Senior guard Carl Augustin (Stony Point, NY/Don Bosco) tallied a game-high 19 points to go with eight rebounds for Caldwell. Perez finished with 14 points and a team-best nine rebounds, while junior John Reed (Wall, NJ/Wall) hit two threes en route to a career-high 12 points. Gage Daye and Omari Knox each scored 16 points to pace the Deacons, who grabbed a whopping 26 offensive rebounds in the win.

Caldwell travels to Wilmington University for a CACC battle with the Wildcats on Saturday, Feb. 21. Game time is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. in New Castle, Del.