BRONXVILLE, N.Y. - The Caldwell College men's basketball team held off Concordia College for an 82-81 win in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference meeting Monday night at the Meyer Athletic Center. The Cougars, who defeated Concordia in a non-league game last Monday, improve to 5-8 overall and 2-3 in conference play. The Clippers are now 4-11, 3-4 CACC.
Concordia jumped out to a 14-4 lead over the first five minutes of the game. A three-pointer by junior guard Nik Otovic (Kraljevo, Serbia) ended the run and started a 13-2 spree for Caldwell, which received seven points from sophomore guard Robert McPherson (Bowie, MD/Bullis) to take a 17-16 advantage with 9:08 left in the first half. A three-pointer by junior guard Don Trifari (Montville, NJ/Paul Robeson) at the 1:31 mark put the Cougars ahead 32-31, but Concordia regained the lead with a three from Norman Pope and a free throw by Marquis Campbell to take a 35-32 lead into halftime. Caldwell scored 16 points off nine Concordia turnovers, and sophomore forward Arthur Morrison (Phillipsburg, NJ/APEX) tallied a team-best eight points in the first half.
The lead changed hands four times in the first 10 minutes of the second half, with the Clippers holding a 60-55 lead with 9:30 remaining. The Cougars answered by making 5-of-6 from the free throw line and getting baskets from senior forward Antonio Brimley (Paterson, NJ/Paterson Eastside) and junior center Peter Diffley (Bellerose, NY/Episcopal) to lead 66-62 with 6:30 on the clock. Concordia came back to tie the score three times, the last at 72-72 at the 2:08 mark. After Caldwell built the lead up to 78-74 with 25 seconds left, Brandon Whitaker hit a three to make it a one-point game, 78-77 with 18 seconds remaining. Four free throws by Trifari and junior guard Derrick Ross (Newark, NJ/Newark Westside) sandwiched around a basket by Whitaker made the score 82-79. Caldwell fouled Whitaker with two seconds on the clock, and Whitaker made both free throws to trail 82-81. But Caldwell inbounded the ball and avoided being fouled to end the game in their favor.
Both teams shot the ball well in the second half, as Caldwell made 58.1 percent from the field compared to 59.4 percent for the Clippers. The Cougars hit 5-of-8 from three-point range and out-scored Concordia from the charity stripe, 17-11 for the game. A balanced attack carried the Cougars offensively, with six players scoring in double figures. Trifari, pictured, went 4-of-4 from the field, including 2-of-2 from three-point range, and made all four of his free throw attempts en route to a team-high 14 points in 20 minutes off the bench. Brimley and Morrison each had 12 points, Diffley finished with 11, and Ross and Otovic scored 10 points apiece. Ross also grabbed a team-best eight rebounds, and freshman guard Patrick O'Connell (Middletown, NJ/Middletown South) dished out a career-high nine assists. Whitaker scored 31 points for Concordia, while William Eason registered 21 points and 19 boards. Eason scored his 1,000th career point in the loss.
Caldwell hosts Nyack College on Wednesday, Jan. 19, beginning at 8:00 p.m. in the George R. Newman Center.
