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SUCHY'S BUZZER-BEATER LIFTS COUGARS OVER BLOOMFIELD

11-28-06
box score
CALDWELL, N.J. - Junior forward B.J. Suchy (Ronkonkoma, NY/Our Savior) buried a three-pointer as time expired to give the Caldwell College men’s basketball team a 74-71 victory over visiting Bloomfield College in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference opener for both teams Tuesday night in the George R. Newman Center. Suchy, who finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds, helped the Cougars hold off a furious comeback by the Deacons to improve to 2-1 on the season. Bloomfield remains winless at 0-4.

A three-point play by Omari Knox brought the Deacons to within one, 69-68 with 31 seconds remaining. After two free throws put Caldwell up 71-68 with 18 seconds left, Anthony Separovich hit a three with eight seconds on the clock to tie the game, setting up Suchy’s heroics. Suchy, left, caught a pass from junior guard Hans Stelzer (Seldon, NY/Our Savior) and hit the game-winner from the right side. It is the second time this season that the Cougars were victorious on a late three-pointer, as junior guard Adam Sabree (Detroit, MI/Renaissance) did the honors with four seconds left to beat Mesa State, 66-65 on Nov. 17.

The first half was all Caldwell, as the Cougars used a 20-3 run over the final 9:23 of the first half to take a commanding 40-19 halftime lead. Suchy, freshman forward Sam Cricelli (Brighton, England/Culham) and sophomore guard Carl Augustin (Stony Point, NY/Don Bosco Prep) each hit threes during the run, with Suchy totaling seven points during that stretch.

But Bloomfield did not concede the game at the half. The three-time defending CACC champions hit four three-pointers as a part of a 16-0 spree to begin the second period, cutting the 21-point lead to just five, 40-35 at the 14:57 mark. Bloomfield's Andre Dabney hit two of those threes en route to eight points during the important run. The Cougars eventually built the lead back to 10 and held a nine-point advantage with 2:46 left after a pair of free throws from senior guard Jean Georges (Vauxhal, NJ/Spotswood), right, put Caldwell up 64-55. But eight straight points brought the Deacons to within one, 64-63 with 1:42 to play. Georges answered with a three-pointer to restore a four-point advantage. Separovich's lay-up, followed by two Georges free throws, made the score 69-65 Caldwell before Knox's three-point play.

Georges scored 18 of his game-high 23 points in the second half. The Cougars' lone senior went 7-of-9 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe for the game. Suchy finished with 19 points, 15 in the first half, and 11 rebounds for his second career double-double. Freshman center Wojciech Bocianowski (Warsaw, Poland/Life Center Academy) grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds in his first career start to help the Cougars hold a 42-28 advantage on the boards. Fellow freshman Cricelli pitched in 13 points in the win. Dabney had 19 points to pace Bloomfield, who also received 17 points from NNamdi Ahaneku.

The Cougars and Deacons will be back in the Newman Center this weekend, as both will play in the Commerce Bank Cougar Classic Dec. 2-3. Caldwell kicks the tournament off on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. against Mercy College, with Bloomfield taking on Dowling College at 4:00 p.m.

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