PHILADELPHIA, Pa.- Caldwell University men's basketball Head Coach
Mark A. Corino joined an elite club on Saturday afternoon as he coached in his 1,000th game as a college head coach. The Cougars marked the milestone game with a 47-40 win over USciences in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference contest.
The Cougars improve to 10-11 overall and 7-5 in the CACC, while the Devils fall to 11-9 and 7-5 on conference play.
Corino joined an elite club on Saturday afternoon as he coached his 1,000th game as a collegiate head coach. Corino, in his 30th season at Caldwell and 35th season as a collegiate head coach, joined such legendary coaches as John Wooden, Mike Krzyzewski, Dean Smith, Jim Calhoun, Roy Williams among others who have coached 1,000 games. He is the second active coach in the Division II East Region with 1,000 games coached and is among 28 active coaches in all divisions of the NCAA men's basketball to have coached 1,000 games. Corino ranks second among the all-time college coaches in the State of New Jersey with 557 wins.
The Cougars took the early lead as they scored the first 13 points of the game. Senior
Derek Dorn (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and junior
Ahmad Harrison (Newark, N.J.) each connected on three-pointers to help the Cougars take the lead. Sophomore
Zay Jennings (Allentown, Pa.) capped the run with a triple at the at the 16:14 mark as Caldwell led 13-0.
The Devils closed the gap to three points at 20-17 with 6:52 left in the first half. Sophomores
Vaughn Covington (Sicklerville, N.J.) and
Eric Johnson-Alford (Clifton, N.J.) each added late buckets to give Caldwell a 24-17 lead at halftime.
Harrison drained a triple early in the second half to keep the Cougars in the lead. Johnson-Alford converted a three-point play at the 14:31 mark to extend Caldwell's lead to 31-25.
USciences rallied back as they trimmed the score down to one point at 35-34 with 8:10 remaining in the game. Sophomore
Ruud Lutterman (Gorinchem, Netherlands) completed a three-point play less than a minute later to push the lead to 38-34. Caldwell held off the Devils down the stretch as they hit four free throws in the final minute of play with Harrison draining two from the line.
Johnson-Alford posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Lutterman posted 11 points and six boards. Harrison finished with eight points and three rebounds, while Jennings added six points and four rebounds. Dorn chipped in six points, five boards and five assists.
The Cougars are back in action on Saturday, February 3 as they travel to Holy Family University for a CACC clash at 3 pm.
