ORANGEBURG, N.Y.- Caldwell University men's basketball freshman Darnell Evans (Deer Park, N.Y.) scored 19 points as the Cougars pushed nationally ranked #17 Dominican University of New York, falling late 87-75 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference contest.
 
The Cougars fall to 6-6 overall and 2-1 in the CACC, while the Chargers improve to 12-1 and 4-0 in conference play.
 
Caldwell raced out to a 10-4 lead over the first four minute of the game, capped by a three-point play by Evans at the 15:54 mark. The Chargers rallied back, pulling even at 18 and taking a 24-20 lead midway through the half.
 
The traded leads with three ties before the Cougars pulled ahead 44-37 following a pair of free throws by sophomore Mark Heber (Paterson, N.J.) with 1:32 remaining in the half. Dominican closed the gap late with two free throws in the final seconds to cut the score to 48-43 at halftime.
 
Heber drained a three-pointer and added a lay-up to start the second half to extend Caldwell's lead to 53-43. The Chargers battled back to pull even at 54 at the 15:02 mark. The Cougars answered with a 9-2 burst as Evans drained a triple in the run to retake the lead at 63-56 with 12:20 to play.
 
Dominican rallied back to close the gap to 68-67 with just over eight minutes left in the game. The Chargers netted the next eight points to take a seven-point lead and held off the Cougars down the stretch.
 
Evans led the way with 19 points, two rebounds, four assists and two steals. Heber finished with 15 points, four assists and three steals, while sophomore Derrick Bueno (Palisades Park, N.J.) totaled 11 points. Freshman Moussa Ngom (Centreville, Va.) grabbed eight boards and added nine points.
 
The Cougars wrap up their 2022 calendar as they travel to Holy Family University on New Year's Eve for a CACC contest at 2 pm.