PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Caldwell University men's basketball team lost to Philadelphia University on the road, 77-47 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game Saturday afternoon in the Gallagher Center. The Cougars are now 10-10 overall and 6-6 in the conference, while the Rams improve to 14-5, 8-2 CACC.

Philadelphia jumped out to a 9-2 lead and extended its advantage to eight, 25-17 with 5:40 left in the first half. A layup by junior guard Dawan Lighty (Paterson, NJ/Kennedy) and back-to-back threes from Lighty and junior guard Salvatore Vitello (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) allowed Caldwell to tie the score at 25-25 at the 2:21 mark. Baskets by Andre Gibbs and Nick Schlitzer to close out the half put the Rams on top, 25-29 at the half. The Cougars made 3-of-7 from three-point range but shot 32.3 percent overall from the field in the first half compared to 44.8 percent for Philadelphia.

The Rams broke open the game early in the second half with a 14-4 run punctuated by four three-pointers, two each for Schlitzer and Derek Johnson, for a 49-33 lead with 14 minutes to play. The hosts then put the game out of reach with nine straight points to extend the lead to 62-38 with six minutes remaining. For the second half, Philadelphia shot an impressive 72.0 percent from the field, including 6-of-11 from beyond the arc.

Senior guard Kevin Walker (Bayonne, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) led Caldwell with 12 points, while senior forward Michael Balkovic (Neptune, NJ/St. John Vianney) tallied 10 points and 11 rebounds. Junior forward Billy McDonald (North Haven, CT/North Haven) added nine points and seven boards. Johnson and Schlitzer each scored 21 points to lead Philadelphia, which recorded win No. 999 for under head coach Herb Magee.

The Cougars host Felician College in another CACC contest on Wednesday, Feb. 4, beginning at 8:00 p.m. in the George R. Newman Center.