CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College men's basketball team dropped a key Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game to Post University, 69-61 Thursday night in the George R. Newman Center. The loss leaves the Cougars (12-10 overall) in a tie for fourth place in the North Division with a 7-8 conference record. The Eagles are now 10-13 overall, 8-6 CACC.

Caldwell led by as many as eight points in the first half before Post closed out the half with six straight points to tie the score at 28-28 at halftime. The Cougars limited the Eagles to 31.0 percent shooting from the field while making 41.9 percent in the first half.

After Post took a six-point lead early in the second half, Caldwell regained the upper hand with a pair of free throws from freshman forward Michael Balkovic (Neptune, NJ/St. John Vianney) and a dunk by junior forward Arthur Morrison (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) for a 42-40 lead. Two three-pointers by Zach Krischer and another from Dantay Sanford sparked a 19-9 Eagles run that resulted in a 59-49 lead with 4:09 remaining. Six points from freshman guard Kevin Walker (Bayonne, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) as part of an 8-2 run helped to cut the deficit to 61-57 with two minutes left. But that's as close as Caldwell would get, as the Eagles maintained second place in the North with the win.

Senior guard Nikola Otovic (Kraljevo, Serbia) scored 14 points to lead the Cougars. Walker and Balkovic each had 12 points, with Walker recording four assists and Balkovic adding a game-high nine rebounds. Morrison pitched in with 10 points and three steals. Sarunas Jackson led all scorers with 15 points to pace Post.

Caldwell hosts Goldey-Beacom College on Saturday, Feb. 11. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m. in the Newman Center.