COUGARS STOP DEVILS, 70-56 TO ADVANCE TO CACC FINALS
3-4-05
box score
 CALDWELL,
N.J. - Senior guard Ron Harris (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Central),
pictured, scored 12 of his game-high 20 points in the second half as the
Caldwell College men's basketball team beat the University of Sciences,
70-56 in the semifinals of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference
Tournament Friday night at the Newman Center. With the win, the
third-seeded Cougars (17-13) advance to the CACC Tournament finals
against the winner of tonight's game between Bloomfield College and
Felician College. The seventh-seeded Devils complete their season with
an overall record of 12-17.
After trailing early in the first half, the Cougars took over the lead
with three straight baskets from freshman forward Manny Perez
(Egg Harbor, NJ/Egg Harbor) and a three-pointer by junior guard Mark
Kelly (Oakhurst, NJ/Oakhurst) that made it 12-9 Caldwell with 13:25
on the clock. The lead would grow to 30-18 after a three-pointer by
Harris, then senior forward Angelo Garcia (Princeton, NJ/Susan
Wagner) capped off the half with a lay-up to send the Cougars into
halftime leading 32-20. Caldwell's stingy defense held the Devils to
25.9 percent shooting from the floor in the first half.
Seven consecutive points stretched the lead to 39-20 in the first two
minutes of the second half before USP began its comeback. A 15-4 Devils
run sparked by five points each from forwards Gene Willard and Eric
Cangelosi pulled USP to within eight, 43-35 at the 13:20 mark. After the
Cougars built the lead back up to double-digits at 51-41, seven straight
points, capped off by a three from Willard, reduced Caldwell's lead to
51-48 with 6:40 remaining. But sophomore guard Jean Georges (Vauxhal,
NJ/Spotswood) hit a three-pointer that started an 11-2 run that gave the
Cougars an insurmountable 62-50 advantage with 3:23 left. Caldwell made
6-of-8 from the line down the stretch to ice the victory and put the
Cougars in the championship game.
Caldwell shot 53.1 percent from the field for the game, including 60.9
percent in the second half. Harris added five rebounds, four assists and
two steals to his 20 points, while Perez finished with 15 points and
nine rebounds to go with career highs of four blocks and three assists.
Howard Lanier led the Devils with 15 points, and Cangelosi finished with
13 points in the loss.
The finals of the CACC Tournament will be played on Saturday, Mar. 5,
starting at 8:00 p.m. in the Newman Center on the campus of Caldwell
College.
Back to Men's Basketball page
|
