CALDWELL, NJ (February 17, 2011) – The men's basketball team improved to 16-8 overall and 13-3 in CACC play Thursday evening, as they outlasted nearby rival Caldwell College in a 80-74 road victory. The Cougars fell to 8-15 overall and 5-10 in conference play with the setback.
The home team was able to keep pace with the high-flying Bloomfield offense in the early stages of the contest, the score tied at 24 with 5:44 remaining in the opening half. But the Deacons quickly caught fire, ripping off a 12-2 run to take a ten-point lead. The margin would move to 11 to end the period, with Bloomfield heading to the break up 38-27.
The Deacons seemed poised to notch another lopsided victory over the Cougars as play resumed, widening the gap to as many as 13 points in the second half. But Caldwell would not go quietly, outscoring Bloomfield 22-11 over an eight-minute span to cut the lead to just two. The cushion would be cut to the slimmest of margins with two minutes remaining, as a pair of Caldwell free-throws cut the lead to 70-69.
But the Deacons would not let the lead slip away, answering the call and quickly moving the lead back to five in the final minute. The club drained their last six free-throw attempts to seal the victory, holding off the hard-charging Cougars and picking up the hotly-contested road victory.
Senior guard
Gage Daye led all Bloomfield scorers, totaling 22 points to go with 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Ahmad Harris aided the backcourt effort with 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while
Kevin Udo came off the bench to provide the frontcourt scoring with nine points, five rebounds and a trio of blocks.
The team returns to action Saturday, February 19 with a road CACC contest against University of the Sciences. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 PM.
