Caldwell University Athletics

CALDWELL, N.J.- Senior Dawan Lighty (Paterson, NJ) dropped in a game-high 23 points as the Caldwell University men's basketball team held off the Felician University Golden Falcons 67-57 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference play.
 
The Cougars improve their record to 4-6 overall and 2-3 in the CACC, while the Golden Falcons fall to 3-5 and 1-3 in conference play.
 
Caldwell netted the first nine points of the contest to take an early lead. Senior Billy McDonald (North Haven, CT) and junior Austin Woods (Milford, CT) each netted four points to help the Cougars build an early lead. The Cougars led by as much as eight points at the 12:23 mark but Felician battled back to cut it to one point with 2:08 left in the half. Freshman Ahmad Harrison (Newark, NJ) and Lighty each added a triple but the Golden Falcons connected on a jumper at the buzzer as the Cougars led 30-27 at halftime.
 
The Golden Falcons got off to a strong second half start as they took the lead in the first seven minutes of play. Felician surged ahead by three points at 43-40 with 13:04 left in the game. Caldwell found the hot shooting touch over the ensuing nine minutes as they drained five triples to retake the lead.
 
Sophomore Tyler Drews (Old Bridge, NJ) tied the score at 43 with a triple to spark at 23-4 game-changing run. Harrison put the Cougars in front with as trifecta at the 11:11 mark, while Drews added another from downtown on the next possession. Harrison connected again from long range, while Lighty drained a triple as Caldwell pushed their lead to their highest point of the afternoon at 63-47 with 4:16 left in the game.
 
Felician trimmed the scored down to eight points at the 2:02 mark but Lighty added a pair at the line with 1:44 remaining in the game to push it back to double digits.
 
For the Cougars, Lighty's game-high 23 points led the way as he added four boards and three assists. McDonald totaled nine points and six rebounds, while Harrison tallied seven points, five boards and three assists. Senior Vincent O'Beirne (Wood-Ridge, NJ) posted 11 points and six rebounds off the bench.
 
The Cougars host nationally ranked Southern Connecticut St. University on Thursday, December 17 in a non-conference game at the Newman Center at 7:30 pm.