Box Score

BLOOMFIELD, NJ - The Bloomfield College men's basketball team celebrated 'Senior Night' with an 82-77 victory over visiting Caldwell College tonight in the Deacons Den. The win cements Bloomfield as one of top the seeds entering the CACC Tournament with a 17-2 record (19-7 overall). The conference Tourney begins on Saturday with the North Division #1 seeded Deacons hosting a Quarterfinal round matchup against the South Division's 4th seeded Griffins of Chestnut Hill at 2:00 pm. Caldwell drops to 12-7 in conference play (16-10 overall) and will enter the CACC Tournament as the North Division's #3 seed. 

On a night honoring the seniors of the men's basketball team, Dondre Whitmore (Trenton, NJ) and Kevin Udo (West Orange, NJ) came up big for the Deacons with the senior guard dropping a team-high 16 points and the senior forward snagging a game-high 12 rebounds. Rounding off the senior output, Steve Henderson (West Orange, NJ) and Mike Williams (Ewing, NJ) had 9 and 4 points respectively as the Deacons used a late ralley to over take Caldwell in the final minutes of the game.

Bloomfield out rebounded the Cougars 40-27 for the game leading to an 18-10 advantage in 2nd chance points. Marvin Williams (Jersey City, NJ) and Matt Hall (Brooklyn, NY) gave the Deacons a huge boost as reserves on 'Senior Night' netting 13 points each resulting in a 34-7 edge in bench productivity over Caldwell. The charity stripe yeilded 13 points with Bloomfield connecting at an 81.0% clip for the night (13-for-16).

The two crosstown rivals battle to a 36-36 tie at halftime, with neither team giving much ground to allow the other to distance themselves. Henderson scored all of his points in the opening period connecting on 3-for-8 shots from downtown. Hall was perfect from beyond the arc (2-2) adding 8 points to the Deacons 1st half efforts.

Udo made his presence felt in the 2nd half, grabbing 8 rebounds and all of his 8 total points in the frame limiting the Cougars' 2nd chance opportunities.  Caldwell seemed poised for the upset when a dunk by Terik Bridgeman (Harlem, NY) gave the Cougars their largest lead of the night (72-66) with just 3:12 left to play. Whitmore answered with a 3-pointer on Bloomfield's next possesesion and the Deacons faithful strapped in for an exciting finish. Marvin Williams would provide the 'juice' taking a drive down the lane for a layup and a foul to put Bloomfield up for good 78-76 leading to the final outcome.

The Deacons end the regular season with an eight game win streak, the longest since the school joined the NCAA Division II ranks in 2002. Bloomfield, winners of 14 of their last 15 contests, will enter the CACC Tournament looking for their 4th consecutive conference championship. The Deacons, who are currently ranked 8th in the NCAA East Regional Poll, will host the Quarterfinal round of the CACC Tourney at 2:00 pm on Saturday, March 1st at the Deacons Den in Bloomfield, NJ. Catch all the action LIVE by CLICKING HERE.