OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. - Trailing for almost the entire second half, the Caldwell College men's basketball team used a late push to overtake NYIT, 82-81 in a non-conference game Tuesday night at Recreation Hall. The Cougars improve to 3-1 on the seaosn with the win, while the Bears fall to 1-4.
With NYIT leading 79-74 with 2:07 remaining in the game, senior guard Don Trifari (Towaco, NJ/Paul Robeson) hit back-to-back threes to put the Cougars on top 80-79 at the one-minute mark. Trifari's second three-pointer followed a pair of misses at the free throw line for the Bears, who made 6-of-12 from the charity stripe in the second half. After NYIT came up short on its next possession, Trifari converted two free throws to push the lead to 82-79 with 26 seconds left. Nick Fessenden made a basket with 11 seconds on the clock to pull to within one, but the Bears ran out of time as Caldwell wrapped up its third win of the season.
Both teams started out fast offensively, shooting over 50 percent from the floor. Kayvon Roberts tallied 16 points to help the Bears take a 42-37 advantage at the break. The lead grew to as many as 10 points, including a 60-50 bulge at the 12:18 mark. Three-pointers by senior guard Anthony Gill (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle) and freshman guard Kevin Walker (Bayonne, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) helped keep Caldwell close, but NYIT still led by six points with under three minutes to play. Gill's jumper with 2:20 on the clock made it a four-point game, and Roberts hit 1-of-2 from the line, setting up Trifari's flurry to the finish.
Gill ended up with a career-high 27 points while making 4-of-5 from three-point range to lead all players. Trifari hit all three of his three-pointers en route to 11 points, while freshman forward Michael Balkovic (Neptune, NJ/St. John Vianney) had 10 points, six rebounds and two steals. Senior center Peter Diffley (Bellerose, NY/Episcopal) grabbed a team-best 10 boards to go with nine points, and Walked dished out five assists. Roberts led the Bears with 21 points in the loss.
Caldwell begins Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference play on Wednesday, Nov. 30 with a league game at Dominican College. The game starts at 8:00 p.m. in Orangeburg, N.Y.
