ORANGEBURG, N.Y.- The Caldwell University men's basketball team fell to the Dominican College Chargers 72-63 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game.
 
The Cougars fall to 3-5 overall and 1-2 in the CACC, while the Chargers improve to 2-6 and 2-1 in conference play.
 
Caldwell raced out to a 12-3 lead at the 12:44 mark of the first half, powered by a pair of triples by senior Dawan Lighty (Paterson, NJ) who converted the rare four-point play to help the Cougars build an early lead. The Chargers drained a pair of three's to slice it down to three points but Caldwell answered to push their lead back to eight points.
 
Sophomore Tyler Drews (Old Bridge, NJ) drained a trifecta, while Lighty connected on a pair from the free throw line to help Caldwell extend their lead to 19-11 with 9:35 left in the half. Dominican netted 16 of the next 18 points in the game to take a 27-21 lead with 4:36 left in the game. The Cougars chipped away as they pulled to within three points at 35032 with under a minute to play following a three-point play by senior Salvatore Vitello (Bridgewater, NJ). The Charger drained a late three as they led 38-32 at halftime.
 
The teams traded points to start the second half but the Cougars rallied to tie the score. Freshman Thomas Elliott-Smith (Plymouth, England) got the offense going with a three-point play and added another lay-up, while Lighty knotted the score at 41 all with a free throw at the 16:47 mark.
 
Dominican retook the lead but only led by as much a four points over the next eight minutes. The Cougars pulled even twice near the mid way point of the second half at 52-52 and 54-54 with the final tie coming at the 8:54 mark. The Chargers pushed ahead by six points at 63-57 with 5:50 left in the game. Elliott-Smith's jumped just over a minute later cut their deficit to four points but that was as close as Caldwell got down the stretch.
 
For the Cougars, Lighty recorded 12 points and seven rebounds, while senior Billy McDonald (North Haven, CT) posted 12 points and eight boards. Vitello finished with eight points, five rebounds and five assists, while senior Brian Kenny (Howell, NJ) grabbed six boards. Drews totaled five points and seven rebounds.
 
The Cougars travel to Post University on Tuesday, December 8 for a CACC clash against the Eagle at 7:30 pm.