CALDWELL, N.J.- Caldwell University men's basketball senior
Vaughn Covington (Sicklerville, N.J.) joined the Cougars 1,000-point club as they outlasted Nyack College 80-79 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference contest.
The Cougars win their fourth game in a row to improve to 12-7 overall and 8-3 in the CACC, while the Warriors fall to 9-10 and 4-7 in conference play.
Nyack got off at a 13-5 start over the first six minutes of the game. Caldwell rallied back as they pulled even at 22 following a bucket by sophomore
Anthony Cooper (Ashburn, Va.) at 7:38 mark. Freshman
Gabe Johnson (Bloomfield, N.J.) drained a triple to give the Cougars the lead at 27-24. The Warriors made a late run to hold a 45-35 lead at halftime.
The teams traded leads early in the second half before the Cougars used a 17-2 run to pull ahead by five points. Senior
Eric Johnson-Alford (Clifton, N.J.) netted six points, while senior
Ned Ogoemesim (Westampton, N.J.) added four points. Cooper bookended the run with three-pointers as Caldwell pushed ahead 54-49 with 14:32 left in the game.
Caldwell held a single digit lead for most of the second half but Nyack pulled even at 72 at the 4:17 mark. The Cougars hit four free throws but the Warriors again battled back to tie the score at 76 at the 1:53 mark.
Johnson-Alford put the Cougars ahead for good with two free throws at the 1:25 mark. The teams forced empty possessions down the stretch as Covington tacked on two insurance free throws in the final seconds. The Warriors drained a late trifecta at the buzzer but their come back fell short.
Cooper led the way with 23 points, four assists and three rebounds. Johnson-Alford added 19 points, four boards and three steals. Covington totaled 15 points, four assists and three rebounds.
Covington's joined the Caldwell record book at the 3:31 mark of the second half as he drained both free throws to net his 1,000th career point. He became the 19th men's basketball player to reach the 1,000-point plateau and ended the game with 1,003 points.
The Cougars host Thomas Jefferson University for a CACC contest on Saturday, February 1 at 3:00 pm.
