CALDWELL, N.J.- Caldwell University men's basketball sophomore Anthony Cooper (Ashburn, Va.) dropped in 25 points as the Cougars defeated Felician University 79-68 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference contest.
 
The Cougars win their third game in a row to improve to 11-7 overall and 7-3 in the CACC, while the Golden Falcons fall to 5-12 and 3-6 in conference play.
 
Caldwell got off to an 8-2 lead over the first five minutes of the game. Senior Ruud Lutterman (Dalem, Netherlands) netted four points in the run to help Caldwell build an early lead. Felician battled back as they took a 19-18 lead with 7:46 left in the half.
 
The Cougars answered with a 20-5 run to push their lead into double-digits late in the half. Freshman Marcellus Ross (Sickerlville, N.J.) converted a three-point play, while senior Vaughn Covington (Sicklerville, N.J.) added four free throws in the run. Cooper netted 11 points, including a four-point play to put the Cougars ahead 38-24 with under a minute to play. Felician converted a four-point play in the final seconds to cut the score to 38-28 at halftime.
 
The Golden Falcons trimmed the score to 39-35 early in the second half but Covington drained a triple as part of a run to push the Caldwell lead to 46-37. The Cougars extended their lead to 12 points with seven minutes to play with Felician closing the gap to three points down the stretch. The Cougars netted seven straight points and maintained their lead down the stretch.
 
Cooper led the way with 25 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Covington added 14 points, while Lutterman finished with 13 points, seven boards and two blocks. Junior Manley Dorme (Nanuet, N.Y.) posted 10 points, four rebounds and three assists in the win.
 
The Cougars host Nyack College for a CACC contest on Wednesday, January 29 at 7:30 pm.