CALDWELL, N.J.- Caldwell University men's basketball junior Derek Dorn (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and freshman Eric Johnson-Alford (Clifton, N.J.) each netted over 20 points as the N#3 Cougars upset the S#2 Wilmington University Wildcats 81-74 in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Championship Quarterfinals. The Cougars advance to next weekend's CACC Final Four that will be hosted at Caldwell's Newman Center.
 
The Cougars improve to 17-11 overall, while the Wildcats drop to 19-10.
 
Caldwell raced out to an 18-8 lead over the first seven minutes of the contest. Dorn netted a triple and added a three-point play, while Johnson-Alford scored a pair of buckets. Freshman Vaughn Covington (Sicklerville, N.J.) drained a pair of triples and capped the run with two free throws at the 13:39 mark.
 
Wilmington trimmed the score down to seven points at 19-12 near the midway point of the opening half. The Cougars responded with a 13-3 run to push their lead into double digits. Freshman Zay Jennings (Allentown, Pa.) got things going with a three-pointer, while Johnson-Alford tallied nine points in the run as Caldwell pulled ahead 32-15.
 
Caldwell maintained a double-digit lead over the final five minutes as Dorn converted a three-point play at the 2:41 mark. Jennings added a pair of triples down the stretch to push the Caldwell lead to 44-26 at halftime.
 
Johnson-Alford provided the Cougars with their largest lead of the game early in the second half as Caldwell led 48-28 with 17:42 left in the game. Wilmington rallied back as they closed the gap to six points late in the game. The Wildcats cut the score down to 60-54 with 7:05 to play in the second half.
 
The Cougars answered with a 9-0 run to retake a double-digit lead. Sophomore Ahmad Harrison (Newark, N.J.) drained a triple for Caldwell, while Johnson-Alford totaled four points to help the Cougars go ahead 69-54 at the 4:22 mark. The Cougars held off Wilmington down the stretch as Dorn and Harrison each connected on four free throws over the final two minutes to thwart any comeback opportunity.
 
Dorn led the way with 26 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Johnson-Alford tallied 22 points, eight boards and two blocks. Jennings shot 3-for-5 from downtown as he finished with 10 points. Harrison totaled eight points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals. Freshman Ruud Lutterman (Gorinchem, Netherlands) grabbed eight boards.
 
The Cougars advance to the CACC Championship Semifinals for the first time since the 2007-08 season. Caldwell will face N#1 Bloomfield College on Saturday, March 4 at 12 pm at Caldwell's Newman Center.