CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College men's basketball team fell to Felician College, 80-68 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game Thursday evening in the George R. Newman Center. The Cougars, who had won their previous two games, are now 2-10 overall and 1-3 in the conference. The Golden Falcons, who shot 57.7 percent from the field in the win, improve to 10-2, 3-0 CACC.
Felician led by 12 midway through the first half before two baskets by junior guard Antonio Brimley (Paterson, NJ/Paterson Eastside) capped an 8-0 run that made the score 22-18 Felician with six minutes left in the half. A three-pointer by Mike Edghill just before halftime gave the Golden Falcons a 36-27 lead at the break. Felician made 16-of-26 (61.5 percent) from the floor in the first half, as forward Devon Young had nine points on 4-of-4 shooting. Brimley had 10 points in the half to pace Caldwell.
Young jump-started the Golden Falcons in the second half with a three-pointer that ignited a 21-10 run over the first 10 minutes to make it a 20-point game, 57-37. The lead ballooned to 23 points at the 6:13 mark before Caldwell was able to cut into the deficit with a 9-0 spurt that made the score 65-51 with four minutes to play. The Cougars came within 11 points in the last minute of the game, but were unable to prevent Felician from picking up its third win in a row. The Golden Falcons shot 53.8 percent in the second half, while Caldwell made 51.6 percent of its attempts from the field after halftime and a season-best 49.1 percent for the game.
Sophomore center Peter Diffley (Bellerose, NY/Episcopal) was 6-of-6 from the field en route to a career-high 16 points to go with six rebounds for Caldwell. Freshman guard Robert McPherson (Bowie, MD/Bullis), pictured, also recorded a career best with 13 points, while Brimley finished with 12 points and two steals. Young scored 17 points to lead Felician, which received 16 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals from guard Antoine Obery.
The Cougars host Nyack College on Monday, Jan. 11 in another CACC North Division game. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. in the George R. Newman Center.
