CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College men's basketball team erased a nine-point deficit with less than three minutes remaining to force overtime, only to lose to Concordia College, 76-67 in an exciting Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference battle Thursday night in the George R. Newman Center. With the defeat, the Cougars fall to 2-13 overall and 1-6 in league play, while the Clippers are now 1-15, 1-6 CACC.

A dunk by William Eason put Concordia on top, 60-51 with 2:40 to play in the second half. Senior forward Matt Cohen (Forked River, NJ/Manasquan) answered for Caldwell with a lay-up, then stole the in-bounds pass, scored and was fouled. He made the ensuing free throw to make the score 60-56 with 1:27 on the clock. After the Clippers came up empty on their next possession, sophomore center Peter Diffley (Bellerose, NY/Episcopal) buried a jumper to pull the Cougars to within two, 60-58 with 1:27 remaining. Another missed shot by Concordia gave the ball back to Caldwell, and junior guard Dante Rollins (East Orange, NJ/Bloomfield Tech) was fouled. He hit both free throws to tie the game at 60-60, capping a 9-0 run.

Brandon Whitaker snapped the string with a three-pointer with 44 seconds left to give Concordia a 63-60 advantage. Again Rollins (pictured) responded, draining a three off an assist by Diffley to knot the score at 63-63 with 25 seconds on the clock. The Clippers held the ball for one final shot, but Rollins blocked Lavor Morris' attempt from the left side, sending the game to overtime. After the teams exchanged baskets to start the extra period, Concordia reeled off the next 10 points, including four from Douglas Soutar, to take a commanding 75-65 lead with just 21 seconds left. Caldwell turned the ball over three times and missed all five shots during the run, as the Clippers closed out their first win of the season.

After taking a 32-28 halftime lead, the Cougars started the second half with an 11-4 run, including four points from Diffley, to build a seemingly comfortable 43-32 advantage with 13:45 left in the half. But Concordia did not surrender and took control of the game with a huge 23-3 run that flipped the lead to the visitor, 55-46 with four minutes to play. Argelix Gil and Brandon Whitaker scored seven points apiece in the run, which saw the Cougars go 1-of-14 from the field. Senior guard John Reed (Wall, NJ/Wall) hit a three-pointer to help Caldwell battle back to tie the game in regulation, but it was not enough to prevent the Cougars from losing their fourth straight game.

Sophomore guard Malcolm Austin (Albany, NY/Christian Brothers) led Caldwell with 17 points and four assists, with Diffley finishing with 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting and five rebounds. Junior guard Antonio Brimley (Paterson, NJ/Paterson Eastside) grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds. Eason paced the Clippers with 17 points and a whopping 21 rebounds. Whitaker led all scorers with 21 points, while Gil added 17 points and three steals.