Box Score
BLOOMFIELD, NJ - The Bloomfield College men's basketball team took their first step in the quest for their 4th consecutive Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) championship today by defeating Chestnut Hill College 84-62 in the quarterfinal round of the tournament. The victory gives the Deacons their 9th straight win over conference opponents and sets up a semifinal round match-up against the South Division's #2 seeded Holy Family Tigers. The loss ends the season for Chestnut Hill with a 10-17 overall record and 8-11 in CACC play. The conference tournament now moves to Caldwell College on March 7th and 8th for the semifinal and final rounds with Bloomfield set to tip-off their game at 2:00 pm on Friday.

Head Coach Holmes comments...

The Deacons held a 43-23 advantage on the boards which led to a 18-10 edge over Chestnut Hill in second chance points. Bloomfield shot a blistering 53.0% from the field for the game fueled by team-high scorer, Claude Blue (Brooklyn, NY) going 6-for-7 netting him 15 points. Clarence White (Bronx, NY) came in to score 12 points leading the Deacon reserves in a 35-12  advantage against the Griffins bench. Overall the Bloomfield offense benefited from a total of 5 players in double-figure scoring. Dondre Whitmore (Trenton, NJ) and Marvin Williams (Jersey City, NJ) had 10 and 11 points respectively from the guard position. John Powell (Ashland, MA) came in off the bench to go 3-for-4 from the field along with 4-for-5 from the charity stripe giving him 10 points on the afternoon.

The opening half saw Chestnut Hill ready for action, scoring the games first 5 points. The Griffins confidence soared, remembering that they took the defending CACC Champs to overtime in their last meeting on December 7th here in the Deacons Den. Bloomfield, a team packed with playoff experienced players, answered with a 15-1 run and never surrendered the lead again. Chesnut Hill would claw back to within two (17-19) after a jumper by Christian Walck (Lancaster, PA) but the Deacons answered with the next 12 points capped by a Powell lay up and sebsequent freethrow. Powell poured in 8 of his 10 points in the first half contributing to Bloomfield's eleven point margin at the break (38-27).       

The second half began as the first did with Chestnut Hill scoring the first 5 points cutting their deficit to six (32-38) but the Griffins could get no closer and Blue jump-started the Bloomfield offense with two buckets. From there Kevin Udo (West Orange, NJ) stepped up to keep Chestnut Hill at bay netting all of his 9 points in the second frame. Udo snagged a game-high 13 rebounds and the Deacons 21-9 edge on the boards in the 2nd half ensured victory as the Griffins had limited second chance opportunities to get back in the game. Blue and Udo both went 4-for-4 in the period and Bloomfield as a team shot 55.0% to close out the contest and advance to the semifinal round.

CACC Tournament action now shifts to the George R. Newman Center located on the campus of Caldwell College for the championship weekend. Deacons square off against Holy Family University who they defeated at home on February 1st, 72-66. Game time is set to tip-off at 2:00 pm.  For LIVE video action and more information on the CACC Tournament please CLICK HERE.