CALDWELL, N.J. -- Senior forward Derrick Bueno (Palisades Park, N.J.) scored his 1000th career point as part of a 19-point, 13-rebound effort that helped propel Caldwell to a gritty 63-54 triumph over Felician in the CACC opener for both teams at Newman Center.

The Cougars raced to a 10-0 lead and still led, 27-24, at halftime. But after a three-pointer by junior guard Melvin Evans (Bronx, N.Y.) opened the half, the Golden Falcons (3-3, 0-1 CACC) scored the next nine points for a three point lead at 33-30.

A layup by junior forward DeAngelo Horn (Castle Rock, Colo.), who also had a double-double with 26 points and 10 rebounds, followed by a three by sophomore guard Isaiah Philbert (Bronx, N.Y.) gave the Cougars (7-1, 1-0) the lead, igniting a 13-0 run that put the Cougars up double figures at 43-33 with under 14:00 to play.

Felician would close to within 55-50 with 3:14 left, but a pair of layups by Philbert and Evans and pairs of free throws by Bueno and Evans in the final seconds closed out the victory.

Philbert finished with 11 points and five rebounds, Evans tallied seven, and junior forward Moussa Ngom (Dakar, Senegal) grabbed nine rebounds in 13 key minutes off the bench as CU outrebounded Felician, 52-44.

Caldwell next visits Bloomfield in a CACC contest on Saturday at 3 p.m.