NEW HAVEN, Conn.- Caldwell University men's basketball junior Derek Dorn (New Rochelle, N.Y.) netted a game-high 29 points to lead the Cougars past the Southern Connecticut St. University Owls 75-63 in a non-conference clash.
 
The Cougars improve to 8-4 on the season, while the Owls fall to 8-4.
 
The teams traded leads in the early going as Southern Connecticut built a 14-11 lead with 13 minutes to play in the opening half. The Cougars rallied with an 11-0 run as they took an eight-point lead.
 
Sophomore Ahmad Harrison (Newark, N.J.) connected on three free throws in the run, while Dorn added two from the line. Dorn and freshman Daan Vianen (Nieuwegein, Netherlands) each drained a triple to put Caldwell in the lead at 22-14 with 8:17 on the clock.
 
The Owls trimmed the score down to three points at 24-21 with 6:05 remaining in the first half. Caldwell answered with a 13-4 run to close out the first half. Dorn scored nine points, while he assisted on two buckets by senior Austin Woods (Milford, Conn.) to put the Cougars up 37-25 at halftime.
 
Southern Connecticut rallied to start the second half as they closed the gap to five points at 37-32. The Cougars rallied with a 15-6 run to push their lead back into double digits. Dorn chipped in six points to lead Caldwell, while freshman Zay Jennings (Allentown, Pa.) added five points in the run. The Cougars pulled ahead 52-38 with 11:54 left in the game.
 
The Cougars led by as much as 16 points with their largest lead coming at the 5:56 mark by a score of 64-48. Southern Connecticut rallied late in the game as they got as close as six points at 69-63 with 1:36 left in the game.
 
Caldwell headed to the line in the final 70 seconds as Dorn and Harrison each went 2-for-2. The Cougars played tough defense as the Owls missed four shots, including three from downtown, in the final minute to preserve the victory.
 
Dorn netted his fifth 20+ point effort this season as he finished with a game-high 29 points. He shot 8-for-15 from the field and hit all 10 shots from the free throw line in the victory. Dorn added four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Harrison tallied 17 points, seven rebounds, two assists along with a season-high six steals. Woods finished with eight points, three boards and four assists. Freshman Ruud Lutterman (Gorinchem, Netherlands) collected five points and five rebounds, while freshman Eric Johnson-Alford (Clifton, N.J.) totaled six points and six boards.
 
The Cougars are off until after Christmas as they host Pace University on Friday, December 30 at 5 pm at the Newman Center.