CALDWELL, N.J. -- Senior guard Melvin Evans (Bronx, N.Y.) scored 21 points, including the 1000th of his career, and junior forward DeAngelo Horn (Detroit) scored 19 of his game-high 24 in the second half as Caldwell  outlasted Bridgeport, 83-77 in CACC men's basketball action at the Newman Center on Wednesday.

The win was the fifth straight for Caldwell (11-12, 9-7 CACC).

The Cougars jumped out to a 16-9 lead, two Evans layups staking them to the seven point edge. CU's big first half push came at the 12:00 mark, when 10 straight points extended a 16-10 lead to 26-10, junior guard Isaiah Philbert (Bronx, N.Y.) knocking down two threes in the run. 
The lead ballooned to as many as 18 at 30-12 with 7:35 to play in the half, but UB charged back, eventually edging to within six before a layup by Evans gave Caldwell the 38-30 advantage at intermission.

In the second, CU once again returned the lead to double digits at 50-39, but seven straight points, beginning with two technical free throws, pulled the visitors to within 50-46 with 14:52 to play.

Bridgeport (9-13, 6-9), the defending CACC champions, wouldn't go away, closing to within three at 55-52 with just over 12 minutes to play. But a jumper by junior guard Jaiden Williams (New York) and the first of two clutch second-half three pointers by Horn pushed the lead back to eight, and UB wouldn't get closer than six the rest of the way.

Evans wasted no time scoring the three points he needed to become the 25th Cougar (14th in the NCAA era, 2003-present) to  the four-figure career mark, converting a free throw and short jumper within the first three minutes of the game. On the day, he added seven assists, four rebounds and a steal, and is now 24th all time with 1017 points, passing Ruud Lutterman '20, who had 1,001.

Rochelle finished with 13 points and six assists, while Horn contributed two blocks, two steals and three rebounds and freshman forward Terence Thompson (Rochester, N.Y.) grabbed a team-best nine rebounds and also blocked two shots.

With the win, Caldwell is now tied for third in the CACC standings with four Conference contests remaining. The top four teams earn home dates in the CACC Tournament quarterfinals on March 3.

The Cougars try to even their overall record when they visit Chestnut Hill on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Philadelphia.