CALDWELL, N.J. -- Sophomore guard Darnell Evans (Deer Park, N.Y.) poured in a game-high 30, junior forward Derrick Bueno (Palisades Park, N.J.) powered in 24, both had seven rebounds and soph Kirk Parsons (Newark, N.J.) came off the bench to score 14, 10 in the second half, as Caldwell men's basketball held off Bridgeport, 93-87, in a CACC contest at Newman Center.

The Cougars (12-11, 7-5 CACC), who held a slim 37-33 halftime lead, boosted their advantage to 14 in the first four minutes after the intermission, with Bueno scoring five in the stretch for  a 59-36 lead with just under 16 minutes left.

The lead would balloon to 22 at 75-53 following an 11-3 run midway through the second, keyed by five points from Bueno, a layup and four free throws by Evans and a three-point and-one by Parsons.

But UB (10-14, 4-8 CACC) would fight back, hitting a barrage of three pointers to edge to as close as five on three separate occasions, bringing up the Cougars' key late game possession. Leading, 85-80 with 2:06 left, freshman Isaiah Philbert (Bronx, N.Y.) and freshman Jaiden Williams (New York) pulled in offensive rebounds on CU misses, draining more than a minute off the clock in a trip that ended in a strong drive into the lane by Parsons, who was fouled and made both free throws.

After UB again got within five, Williams hit two more free throws, Parsons hit three and Philbert another to secure the win.

Philbert had 11 points and six rebounds in hs second straight start, and soph guard Melvin Evans (Bronx, N.Y.) had a team-best eight rebounds. Both played key roles down the stretch as CU was without Evans and Bueno, who fouled out with 2:39 and 2:22 remaining, respectively.

The win vaulted the Cougars into a three-way tie for second place in the CACC North with Dominican and Felician at 7-5, one game behind Bloomfield (8-4) and a half-game ahead of 6-5 Post, with four league contests remaining, beginning with Holy Family on Saturday (special start time of 1 p.m. at the Newman Center).