NYACK, N.Y. - The Bloomfield College men's basketball team used four players in double figures to defeat the Warriors of Nyack College, 73-58 on the road Saturday afternoon. The Bears collected their third consecutive victory and now sit at 3-5 overall and over .500 for the first time this season in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) play. The setback left the Warriors with a 3-6 overall mark and 1-3 in league action.
Claude Blue (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had a stellar performance as he shot 8-for-12 from the field to go along with seven rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals. Freshman
Robert Lewis (Jersey City, N.J.) and sophomore
Ignacio Diez (Madrid, Spain) each poured in 11 points and were a perfect combined 7-for-7 from the free throw line. The sophomore pulled down 8 rebounds while the freshman managed six. Sophomore starter
Rakwan Kelly (Newark, N.J.) chipped in 10 points (5-8 FG) and snagged six boards of his own.
Dante Agnew led Nyack with 16 points (7-11 FG), while Jaron Smith produced 14 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the floor.
The home team enjoyed an early advantage as the Warriors kicked off the scoring with a slam-dunk. Halfway thru the first period the teams were almost even as a made Bloomfield free throw had the visitors down 14-15 before Nyack exploded for an 11-0 run. The Bears responded after that five-minute scoreless drought with their own 19-2 spurt and went into halftime up 35-28.
In the second half the Warriors climbed to within five points a few times but after a pair of Agnew free throws at the 7:10 mark made it 56-51, Bloomfield stepped up the pressure and held the home squad scoreless over the next five minutes of the game. Diez converted a conventional three-point play with 2:01 to go and the Bears advantage had expanded to twenty (71-51) as they cruised down the stretch for their third consecutive victory.
Blue finished the day with a game-high 17 points including thirteen second-half points.
Bloomfield outshot Nyack, 50.8 percent (32-63) to 41.7 percent (25-60), including 28.6 percent (4-14) to 18.2 percent (4-22) from deep and 71.4 percent (5-7) to 66.7 percent (4-6) at the line. The Bears also owned advantages on the glass (42-27), in the paint (42-38) and in bench points (22-13) fueled by Lewis' work in 23 minutes.
Bloomfield will look to continue the hot-streak when they next take the court against West Chester University of Pennsylvania on Saturday, December 19. The non-conference road battle is slated to begin at 3:00 pm.
The Bears return to action Saturday, Dec. 12 at 1:00 p.m. when they travel to face Nyack in another CACC North Division battle. Stay up-to-date with the latest news, including game previews and recaps, from the Bloomfield College athletic department by liking the Bears on
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