CALDWELL, N.J. - A late basket allowed Concordia College to defeat the Caldwell College men's basketball team, 75-74 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game Thursday evening in the George R. Newman Center. The loss gives the Cougars an 8-5 record on the season, including a 3-3 mark in the conference. The Clippers improve to 6-7 overall, 3-2 CACC.
With Caldwell trailing 73-72, senior guard Nikola Otovic (Kraljevo, Serbia) hit a jumper in the lane for a 74-73 advantage with 29 seconds remaining. After a turnover gave the ball back to Caldwell with 20 seconds left, Concordia's Argelix Gil stole the ball, drove to the basket and scored with 11 seconds on the clock. After the Clippers knocked two Caldwell passes out of bounds, Otovic's jumper from the left at the buzzer was off the mark, giving Concordia the one-point win.
The Cougars withstood seven threes from Concordia to take a 38-33 lead at the half. Otovic scored 11 points before halftime to lead all players. After junior forward Arthur Morrison (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) hit a jumper to open the second half, the Clippers scored the next eight points to take a 41-40 lead. A 13-2 run that included three-pointers from Lavor Morris, Dominique Spann and Norman Pope put Concordia in control, 56-48 with 11:18 to play. Six points from Morrison sparked a 13-5 Caldwell run that tied the score at 61-61, but Gil and Pope drained back-to-back threes to regain momentum for Concordia.
Otovic helped the Cougars climb back again with four points in a 9-1 run that put the hosts on top 72-71 with 52 seconds left. Freshman guard Kevin Walker (Bayonne, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) hit a big three in the run. But Gil made a pair of free throws, then made the decisive play to end the game in Concordia's favor.
Three-point shooting proved to be the difference, as the Clippers drained 14 from beyond the arc compared to four for Caldwell, which held the upper hand at the free throw line (20-7) and on the glass (44-35). Both teams shot 40.3 percent from the field while committing 13 turnovers apiece.
Otovic ended up with 19 points and Morrison tallied 18 points to pace the Cougars. Walker tallied 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while senior guard Anthony Gill (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle) had nine points, four assists and a career-best 12 rebounds. Concordia was led by Gil with 20 points, Morris with 19 points and Pope with 18 points and five assists.
The Cougars host Wilmington University in a CACC game Saturday afternoon in the Newman Center. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m.
