CALDWELL, N.J. – The Caldwell University men's basketball team earned a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference victory over Georgian Court University, 73-62 Saturday afternoon in the George R. Newman Center. The Cougars improve to 5-4 overall and 2-1 in the conference, while the Lions drop to 2-7, 0-4 CACC.
Caldwell scored the first nine points of the game, including a three from junior guard
Dawan Lighty (Paterson, NJ/Kennedy), en route to a 14-2 lead over the first 4:24 of the opening half. The lead was still 12 when the Lions cut it to six with an 8-2 run that made the score 27-21 Cougars with 4:32 on the clock. But four points from senior guard
Kevin Walker (Bayonne, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) sparked an 8-2 Caldwell spree to push the advantage to 35-21 in the final minute of the half. Chris Polanco's layup at the end of the half made the score 35-23 at the break. Lighty had 10 points and senior forward
Michael Balkovic (Neptune, NJ/St. John Vianney) tallied eight points and eight rebounds to lead Caldwell.
A pair of threes from Walker over the first four minutes of the second half helped the Cougars increase their lead to 51-35 with 13 minutes left. Georgian Court was able to get as close as 11 points, but Caldwell stayed in control and led by as many as 18 points in the half. The Cougars shot 52.2 percent from the field compared to 43.3 percent for the Lions after halftime.
Walker hit four three-pointers, all in the second half, and shot 7-of-9 from the field en route to 20 points, four rebounds and five assists. Balkovic notched his sixth double-double of the season and third in a row with 15 points and 15 rebounds to go with three assists and three blocks. Lighty also had 15 points, while junior forward
Billy McDonald (North Haven, CT/North Haven) had 11 points. Senior guard
Salvatore Vitello (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) dished out six assists. Polanco led Georgian Court with 13 points.
Caldwell plays at Division I Binghamton University on Monday, Dec. 8. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. in Binghamton, N.Y.
