BLOOMFIELD, NJ – The Bloomfield College men's basketball team consistently finishes at the top of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) year in and year out. That distinction makes them a target each time they face a league team and Thursday evening was no different as the Nyack College Warriors gave the Bears their best effort but eventually fell, 81-72 in front of an electrified crowd at The Den. The victory improved the Bears overall record to 19-4 on the season and 14-1 in conference match-ups while the visitors dropped to 5-10 in CACC action and 5-17 overall.
Bloomfield's senior forward,
Nick Davidson (Lumberton, NJ) topped all players Thursday evening with his game-high double-double, posting 26 points and 10 rebounds. The Bears co-captain was joined in the offensive double-digit production category by three other starters;
Safee Abdus-Sabur (West Orange, NJ) netted 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting,
Keith Washington (Philadelphia, Pa) added 13 points and co-captain
Rakwan Kelly (Newark, NJ) notched 10 points for the evening.
Nyack came ready to play right out of the gate, going toe-to-toe with the regionally ranked Bears in the opening half. The visitors shot 51.5 percent from the field (17-of-33) powered by Elijah Farley's perfect 4-for-4 from the floor including 3-of-3 from deep range in the first period. Abdus-Sabur kept the home team in front with a slim, 41-40 advantage at the halftime break as he matched the Warriors leader with his own eleven 1
st half points. Despite being out-rebounded, 19-12, Bloomfield felt confident in their ability to weather the visitor's attack after limiting Nyack to not even a single free throw across the opening twenty minutes of play.
The 2
nd half belonged to Davidson as he led the Bears with 17 of his total points and split 8 of his total rebounds evenly at each end of the court. Bloomfield methodically built up an 11-point lead (64-53) at the 11:00 minute mark of the final frame only to see the Warriors battle back with seven straight points to draw within four. Davidson responded with the home squad's next seven points and the Bears, who never trailed in the 2
nd half, were back in control for good. The lead ballooned back up to eleven (78-69) with under two-minutes remaining and Nyack realized Bloomfield would remain on top of the CACC for another night.
Next up for the red-hot Bears, winners of four straight and 12 of their last 13, will be the Rams of Jefferson University. Bloomfield will travel to Philadelphia for a 4:00 pm match-up on Saturday of the CACC's two top teams in their respective divisions.
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