Box Score
CALDWELL, N.J. – The Caldwell College men's basketball team won its third game in a row, defeating Wilmington University, 82-71 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game Saturday afternoon at the George R. Newman Center. The win gives the Cougars a 16-9 record on the season, including a 12-6 mark in the conference. The Wildcats complete their season at 9-19, 5-14 CACC.

Caldwell led early 17-7 before Wilmington cut the deficit to one, 24-23 with 7:13 left in the first half. But the Cougars took control of the game, using 10 points from junior guard Wyatt Polk (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield) to close out the half with a 19-5 run. Caldwell made all 12 of its free throw attempts and shot 53.6 percent from the field in building a 43-28 halftime lead.

The lead grew to 19 points, 52-33 before the Wildcats reeled off a 13-3 run to pull to within nine points, 55-46 midway through the second half. Caldwell responded with six more points from Polk and a three by sophomore guard Dawan Lighty (Paterson, NJ/Kennedy) to push the lead up to 17, 64-47 with just under eight minutes to play. Wilmington never came closer than 10 points the rest of the way, as the Cougars cruised to their third straight victory. Caldwell held a significant advantage at the free throw line, making 28-of-30 compared to 12-of-14 for the Wildcats.

Polk ended up with 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe. Sophomore forward Terik Bridgeman (Harlem, NY/Nia Prep) hit 7-of-9 from the field en route to 17 points and four blocks, while junior forward Michael Balkovic (Neptune, NJ/St. John Vianney) tallied 15 points and 13 rebounds. Lighty came off the bench to contribute 14 points, with junior guard Kevin Walker (Bayonne, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) delivering five assists to go with eight points. Herbert Dennis scored a game-high 26 points in his final game for the Wildcats.

The game also marked the final home contest for senior forward Nikola Lucic (Belgrade, Serbia/Partizan Belgrade).

Caldwell wraps up the regular season on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at Bloomfield College. Game time is set for 8:00 p.m. in Bloomfield, N.J.