CALDWELL, N.J.- Caldwell University men's basketball sophomore Jarnel Rancy (Middle Island, N.Y.) led the way with 17 points as the Cougars fell short in the final seconds in a 74-73 loss to Dominican College in their Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference opener.
 
The Cougars fall to 3-3 overall and 0-1 in the CACC, while the Chargers remain unbeaten at 7-0 and 1-0 in conference play.
 
Dominican built a 9-2 lead over the first four minutes but the Cougars responded with nine unanswered points. Freshman Nichus Jackson (Trenton, N.J.) drained a three-pointer to tie the game at nine and added a bucket at the 12:54 mark to put Caldwell ahead 11-9.
 
The Chargers answered with a run to build their largest lead of the game at 28-12 with 8:19 left in the half. Caldwell closed the half strong as Cooper scored in the final in the final seconds to cut the score to 40-36 at halftime.
 
The Cougars rallied to start the second half with six straight points as senior Anthony Cooper (Ashburn, Va.) and freshman Mark Heber (Paterson, N.J.) drained trifectas to give Caldwell a 44-40 lead. The score remained closed down the stretch with the Cougars holding a 73-69 lead following a Heber triple with 32 seconds left in the game.
 
Dominican trimmed the score to 73-71 with a pair of free throws and drained the go-ahead three-pointer with 5.9 seconds on the clock. Caldwell had one final scoring chance that missed the mark as time expired.
 
Rancy led the way with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Cooper finished with 16 points, three assists and three steals. Heber added 14 points and four boards, while freshman Derrick Bueno (Palisades Park, N.J.) grabbed a team-best 14 rebounds.
 
The Cougars travel to Queens College for a non-conference clash on Saturday, December 4 at 1 pm.