COUGARS TOPPLE RAMS, ADVANCE TO CACC TITLE GAME
3-2-07
box score
 ORANGEBURG,
N.Y. - Senior guard Jean Georges (Vauxhal, NJ/Spotswood)
scored 20 points to lead the Caldwell College men's basketball team
to a 73-64 upset victory over top-seeded Philadelphia University in
the semifinals of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference
Tournament Friday night at the Hennessy Center on the campus of
Dominican College. The win puts the fifth-seeded Cougars (18-11)
into the championship game against sixth-seeded University of
Sciences on Saturday, Mar. 3. The conference champion advances to
the NCAA Division II Northeast Region Tournament.
Caldwell took control of the game in the first half and led 22-13
with just under six minutes to play. But the CACC regular-season
champion Rams (20-9) battled back to tie the game with a 15-6 run,
capped by a conventional three-point play by Malcolm Ingram that
made it 28-28 with a minute left in the half. Caldwel took a
two-point lead into the break on a basket at the buzzer by sophomore
center Michael Luzzi (Mount Arlington, NJ/Morris Catholic).
The Cougars regained their nine-point advantage by opening the
second half with an 11-4 spree, including four points by junior
forward B.J. Suchy (Ronkonkoma, NY/Our Savior) that put
Caldwell up 41-32 at the 14-minute mark. Three-pointers by Jason
Hickenbottom and Russell Frederick sparked a 10-4 Philadelphia run
that cut the deficit to three, 52-49 with 6:24 on the clock. But the
Cougars put the game away with a 9-3 spurt over three minutes that
made the score 65-55 with 1:36 left. The Rams would get no closer
than eight points the rest of the way as Caldwell advanced to the
CACC finals for the second time in three seasons.
Caldwell used outstanding shooting in the second half, making 59.3
percent from the floor after halftime. Georges hit 3-of-5 from
three-point range en route to a team-high 20 points to go with seven
boards. Suchy finished with 15 points, while Luzzi grabbed a
team-high nine rebounds to go with eight points. Christian Burns,
the CACC Player of the Year, tallied 19 points and 10 rebounds,
while Hickenbottom matched Georges for game honors with 20 points.
The Cougars, who have won four of their five CACC Tournament
championships at the Hennessy Center, will try to win the conference
for the first time since 2002 on Saturday, Mar. 3 at 4:00 p.m.
against USP. The two teams split the season series, with Caldwell
winning 75-65 on Jan. 27 in the last meeting.
2007 CACC Men's Basketball Tournament
First Round - Tuesday, Feb. 27
No. 1 Philadelphia 71, No. 8 Dominican 67
No. 2 Post 78, No. 7 Felician 71
No. 6 USP 55, No. 3 Holy Family 50
No. 5 Caldwell 74, No. 4 Goldey-Beacom 65
Semifinals - Friday, Mar. 2, at Dominican College
No. 6 USP 62, Post 55
No. 5 Caldwell 73,
No. 1 Philadelphia 64
Championship - Saturday, Mar. 3, at Dominican College
No. 5 Caldwell vs. No. 6 USP, 4:00 p.m.
Directions to Dominican College
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