BLOOMFIELD, N.J. - Claude Blue (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led all scorers with 17 points but the Bears fell to Holy Family University Saturday afternoon, 81-72 at the Bloomfield College Gym. Both teams entered the contest as the respective divisional leaders in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) with Bloomfield falling to 11-6 in league play and 12-12 overall with the setback. The Tigers improved to 15-1 in conference action and 21-4 on the season with their eighth straight victory.

The matchup was designated as the 'We Play for A' game and before the contest got underway, the athletic department recognized the family of Avery Ernest Ellington Thompson, who passed away on Feb. 12, 2014 after a long and valiant battle with leukemia. Avery's parents, Joshua and Stephanie, along with his sister, Jaden were in attendance and joined coaches RC Kehoe and Gerald Holmes at center court before the game. All ticket sales from the men's basketball game will be donated to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Avery Thompson Fund.

Blue shot 6-for-11 from the floor including 1-1 from beyond the arc and 4-for-8 from the line while snagging eight rebounds with six coming on the offensive glass. Sophomores Ignacio Diez (Madrid, Spain) and Rakwan Kelly (Newark, N.J.) rounded out the Bloomfield top point-getters. Diez netted 14 points (5-10 FG, 2-4 3-FG, 2-3 FT) and seven boards while Kelly recorded 12 points (5-14 FG, 2-2 FT), eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. Nick Davidson (Lumberton N.J), Ahmid Williams (Monroe, N.J.) and Safee Abdus-Sabur (Newark, N.J.) each contributed nine points during the setback.
 
The Tigers enjoyed four starters in double-figures led by 15 points from Derrick Stewart and a double-double from Reggie Charles with 14 points and 10 boards.
 
The game opened up with a Diez shot from beyond the arc but the Tigers answered with a three-pointer of their own and the teams battled back and forth over the first six minutes with the CACC South Division's top team up 12-9. The visitors used a 10-2 spurt over the next five minutes to open up a 22-11 edge with 8:17 remaining in the half. Bloomfield answered with ten consecutive points and pulled to within 22-21 after a Diez bucket in the paint. Holy Family pulled away again and by the end of the frame they enjoyed a 38-29 advantage heading into the locker room. Diez netted 11 first-half points but the Bears committed eight turnovers and shot only 30.0 percent from the field in the opening twenty minutes.
 
In the second half, the Tigers looked to put the Bears away early as they extended their lead to sixteen (49-33) with less than three minutes played in the frame. Bloomfield weathered the storm and mounted their familiar comeback to whittle their deficit to 58-56 with 9:04 on the clock. Less than a minute later, Williams knocked down a three-ball that pulled the CACC North Division leader to within one (60-59) but that was as close as the home team came. Holy Family powered thru and answered the Bears challenge to go up 78-68 with thirty-six seconds remaining before closing out the contest.
 
The Tigers outshot Bloomfield 49.1 percent (28-57) to 37.7 percent (26-69) and a slight 31.3 percent (10-32) to 28.6 percent (6-21) advantage from long distance. The Bears shot a higher percentage from the line 66.7 percent (14-21) to 62.5 percent (15-24) and dominated the glass 44-35 and enjoyed a slight edge in the paint, 38-36. Holy Family forced 13 Bloomfield mistakes and converted them into 16 points on the afternoon.
 
Despite the loss, Bloomfield still sits atop the league's North Division having clinched a postseason berth into the CACC Tournament for the ninth consecutive season under head coach Gerald Holmes. Next up the Bears will travel down the road to face the Cougars in another CACC matchup on Saturday, February 20. The 3:00 pm showdown will feature Caldwell University battling for their post-season lives entering the contest at the George R. Newman Center and the Bears looking to wrap up the #1 seed in the North heading into the tournament.
 
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