CALDWELL, N.J.- The Caldwell University men's basketball team rallied past Nyack College for a 66-64 victory in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference contest.
 
The Cougars improve to 4-2 on the season and 4-2 in the CACC, while the Warriors fall to 3-3 overall and 3-3 in conference play.
 
Caldwell rolled out to a 19-8 lead midway through the opening half as freshman Daniel Dade Jr. (Springfield, Mass.) drained an early three-pointer in the run. The Warriors rallied back to take a one-point lead late in the half before freshman Montez McNeil (Hyattsville, Md./ Georgetown Day School/Calvert Hall) scored in the final seconds to give the Cougars 23-22 lead at halftime.
 
Nyack battled back to start the second half as the pulled ahead 46-38 with 7:28 left in the game. Caldwell rallied back with a 22-5 run to pull ahead by nine points with just over a minute to play. Graduate Gerald Blount (Jersey City, N.J.) and sophomore Gabe Johnson (Bloomfield, N.J.) each netted five points in the run. Dade Jr. drained a pair of three-pointers and capped the run with two free throws with 1:10 remaining in the game to put the Cougars ahead 60-51. The final minute saw a flurry but Johnson and junior Anthony Cooper (Ashburn, Va.) each netted two free throws to hold of the Nyack rally.
 
Blount led the way with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Dade Jr. finished with 13 points and two steals. Cooper tallied 12 points, three assists and five steals, while Johnson added 10 points, three rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Curtis Fornchor (Baltimore, Md./Hudson Catholic/Eastern Wyoming College) totaled 10 points and eight rebounds.
 
The Cougars travel to Dominican College for a non-conference contest on Thursday, February 18 at 4 pm. The game will be streamed on the CACC Network at caccnetwork.com.