ORANGEBURG, N.Y. - Senior guard Nikola Otovic (Kraljevo, Serbia) scored a career-high 34 points as the Caldwell College men's basketball team erased a 16-point deficit to beat Dominican College, 76-69 Wednesday evening at the Hennessy Center. The victory comes in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference opener and gives the Cougars a 4-1 record on the season. The Chargers lost for the first time this season and are now 4-1.
Dominican controlled the game early, building a 30-14 lead at the 6:22 mark of the first half. Seven points from Otovic helped Caldwell close out the first half with an 11-3 run to make the score 33-25 Chargers at halftime. Dominican out-rebounded the Cougars 23-15 in the half and grabbed 13 offensive boards that led to 12 second-chance points.
The Chargers built the lead back to 12 points early in the second half and still led by 11 with less than 15 minutes to play before Caldwell mounted its comeback. Otovic started a 12-1 run with a conventional three-point play and ended it with a three-pointer to tie the score at 48-48 with 10 minutes remaining. After freshman guard Kevin Walker (Bayonne, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) gave the Cougars their first lead with a steal and lay-up at the 8:35 mark, the lead changed hands six times over the next three minutes.
Walker's three-pointer with 5:44 left to play put Caldwell ahead 61-59, and another three by Otovic helped the Cougars take a six-point lead, 68-62 with 3:32 on the clock. Otovic hit four free throws and freshman forward Michael Balkovic (Neptune, NJ/St. John Vianney) scored four points down the stretch to give Caldwell its first road win over the Chargers since January of 2006.
The Cougars took control of the boards in the second half, earning a 22-11 advantage on the glass while shooting a sparkling 65.4 percent from the floor after halftime. Otovic was 9-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-6 from long range, while making 12-of-14 from the free throw line. His 34 points is the highest single-game total for a Cougar since Manny Perez scored 35 points on January 20, 2009. Balkovic made all seven of his shots from the field en route to 18 points, six boards and three blocks. Walker finished with five assists to go with seven points and two steals. DaVonne Dunlap tallied 21 points to lead Dominican.
Caldwell hosts Bloomfield College on Saturday, Dec. 3 in another CACC North Division battle. The game starts at 3:00 p.m. in the George R. Newman Center.
