OAKDALE, N.Y. – The Caldwell University men's basketball team lost a non-conference game to Dowling College, 82-73 Sunday afternoon at the Dowling Gymnasium. The Cougars drop to 4-3 on the season, while the Lions improve to 1-3.

Dowling built a 24-17 lead midway through the first half before Caldwell used a 14-2 run to gain the upper hand, 31-26 at the 4:46 mark. Freshman guard Tyler Drews (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) and junior guard Salvatore Vitello (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) both made threes in the run, which saw six different players score for Caldwell. But Dowling ended the half on a 14-4 run of their own, making three three-pointers en route to a 40-35 halftime lead. The Cougars shot 50.0 percent from the field in the first half, while Dowling was 8-of-15 from three-point range.

A basket by Evan Maxwell and a three from Donte Adams doubled the Lions' lead early in the second half, and the hosts never looked back. Caldwell came as close as six before Dowling pushed its lead to as many as 17 points on the way to the Lions' first win of the season. Dowling shot 61.3 percent in the second half compared to 35.3 percent for the Cougars and made 11 threes for the game.

Junior guard Dawan Lighty (Paterson, NJ/Kennedy) scored 12 points and senior forward Michael Balkovic (Neptune, NJ/St. John Vianney) registered 11 points and 14 rebounds to lead Caldwell. Drews ended up with a season-best nine points, while junior guard Brian Kenny (Howell, NJ/Jackson Memorial) tallied six points, six boards and four assists. Darien Davis scored a game-high 23 points to lead Dowling.

The Cougars return to Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference action with a game at rival Bloomfield College on Wednesday, Dec. 3. Game time is set for 8:00 p.m. in Bloomfield, N.J.