BLOOMFIELD, N.J.- Caldwell University men's basketball freshman Kirk Parsons (Newark, N.J.) scored a season-high 17 points as the Cougars defeated Bloomfield College 75-61 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference contest.
 
The Cougars win their third game in a row to improve to 11-7 overall and 7-2 in the CACC, while the Bears fall to 8-8 and 4-3 in conference play.
 
The Bears jumped out to a 15-10 lead at the 12:48 mark of the opening half. The Cougars answered with a 92 run as freshman Darnell Evans (Deer Park, N.Y.) netted seven points with a three-pointer to take a 19-17 lead with 9:06 left in the first half.
 
Bloomfield battled back as they pulled ahead 31-24 with just over four minutes to play. Caldwell netted the next 11 points as Parsons drained a triple in the run. Sophomore Mark Heber (Paterson, N.J.) connected on four free throws over the final 1:26 to put Caldwell ahead 35-31. The Bears got a late bucket to close the gap to 35-33 at halftime.
 
The Cougars extended their halftime lead to 47-38 at the 14:55 mark as Parsons connected on a triple, scoring nine points over the first five minutes. Bloomfield rallied to cut the score to 51-49 but the Cougars answered with a 12-1 run. Freshman Moussa Ngom (Centreville, Va.) scored four points, while Heber capped the run with a jumped to extend their lead to 63-50.
 
The Bears got as close as eight points at 65-57 down the stretch but sophomore Jarnel Rancy (Middle Island, N.Y.) converted a three-point play to start a 10-4 run to close out the game for their third win in a row.
 
Parsons dropped in a season-high 17 points along with seven rebounds and two steals. Evans finished with 17 points, five boards and six assists, while Heber added 12 points, nine rebounds, three assists and four steals. Rancy tallied five rebounds and seven blocks.
 
The Cougars return home on Saturday, January 21 as they host Wilmington University for a CACC contest at 3 pm.