Overview
The #5 Caldwell University men's basketball team takes on the region's top seed St. Thomas Aquinas College in the 2021 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship East Region Semifinals on Sunday, March 14 at 6 pm. The 2021 NCAA DII East Region will be hosted by The College of Saint Rose and games will be played at the Albany Capital Center in Albany, New York.
 
Multimedia
Live stats and video will be available for Sunday's game. All links will be available on the Tournament Central page at
https://gogoldenknights.com/sports/2019/11/19/WSOC_1110090351.aspx?path=general
Live Stats: https://gogoldenknights.com/sidearmstats/mbball/media
Live Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to-UBTSONGA
 
Spectator Information
No spectators will be permitted to the Albany Capital Center due to COVID-19.
 
Scouting the Cougars (6-4, 5-4 CACC)
The Cougars enter Sunday's regional semifinals with a 6-4 overall record. Junior Anthony Cooper (Ashburn, Va.) leads the Cougars this season with 19.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He leads the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference in scoring and is second in steals. For his efforts this season, Cooper was honored with a CACC First Team All-Conference selection. Freshman Daniel Dade Jr. (Springfield, Mass.) is second on the team in scoring with 14.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Dade Jr. leads the Cougars with 18 three-pointers this season, tying for fourth in the conference.
 
Scouting the Spartans (13-1, 9-1 ECC)
The Spartans currently stand 13-1 overall and posted a 9-1 record in the East Coast Conference. St. Thomas Aquinas defeated Daemen College 83-67 on March 7 to win the ECC Championship and earned the top seed in the East Region. Grant Singleton leads the Spartans with 17.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Osbel Caraballo is averaging 15.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per contest.
 
Last Game Recap
Caldwell is coming off the program's first NCAA DII Tournament victory as they defeated CACC rival and #4 seed Dominican College on Saturday night. Cooper recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds along with two assists. Dade Jr. added 16 points and six assists, while graduate Gerald Blount (Jersey City, N.J.) finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.
 
NCAA Post Season History
The Cougars are making their second trip to the NCAA DII Championship with their previous appearance coming in 2007. The Cougars won the CACC Tournament that season, earning the eighth seed in the NCAA D2 Tournament. In the 2007 East Regional, the Cougars fell by three points to region top seed and then-unbeaten Bentley University in the opening round.
 
Match-Up History
The teams last played on February 23, 2013 with the Cougars emerging victorious. Caldwell needed an extra period to earn the win as Dawan Lighty connected on a game-winning lay-up at the buzzer for a 77-75 win for the Cougars.   
 
Corino Coaching File
Caldwell's head coach Mark A. Corino is currently in his 33rd season leading the Cougars. He has amassed 503 wins in his 33 seasons with the Cougars and 598 career coaching victories with 95 wins at Bloomfield College from 1982-1987. He ranks second in the state of New Jersey in victories by a collegiate men's basketball head coach and is one of only three coaches with 500 or more coaching wins in the state. He has coached in over 1,000 games during his coaching career and is one of two active men's basketball coaches in the East Region to achieve this feat. Corino has received four CACC Coach of the Year awards during his career and was selected as the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Coach of the Year one time. Corino was inducted into the Caldwell Athletics Hall of Fame for his extensive contributions to Caldwell University.
 
Next Up
The winner of this regional semifinal match up will advance to the East Region championship final on Tuesday, March 16 at 7:00 pm. They will face the winner of the other East Region semifinals match-up, #2 Daemen College and #3 Bloomfield College.   
Caldwell Cougars Online
For more information regarding Caldwell Athletics log on to CaldwellAthletics.com or follow Caldwell Athletics on Twitter @CaldwellCougars and Like Caldwell Athletics on Facebook. For updates on the Caldwell Men's Basketball team, follow @CaldwellUMBB