Nyack held the lead for most of the first half until back-to-back three-pointers by freshman guard Matt Rista (Point Pleasant, NJ/St. Anthony's) and junior guard Anthony Gill (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle) put the Cougars ahead, 20-19 at the 6:41 mark. The Warriors used threes by Matt Morgan and James Oyamo to regain the lead, 27-24 with 3:49 left in the half, only to have Caldwell reel off a 10-0 run for a 34-27 advantage. Gill started the run with a three-pointer and ended it with a basket, while sophomore guard Robert McPherson (Bowie, MD/Bullis) also had five points in the run. Again Nyack answered with three-pointers from Morgan and Louis Allen before halftime, as the Cougars took a 36-33 lead into the break.
Caldwell maintained the upper hand early in the second half, building a 47-38 lead with 12 minutes to play. The Warriors tallied seven points over the next three minutes to pull to within two, 47-45. But Caldwell took control of the game with a 14-5 run, punctuated by a pair of three-pointers by junior guard Nik Otovic (Kraljevo, Serbia), that put the visiting Cougars ahead to stay, 61-50 with 4:34 remaining. Caldwell hit eight of its 10 free throw attempts down the stretch to preserve the win, which gave the Cougars their first winning record since they won their first game of the 2007-08 season.
Otovic led the way for Caldwell for the third straight game, scoring 16 points while making 3-of-4 from three-point range. Gill went 4-of-5 from the field, including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc, and had five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Morgan scored 13 points to lead Nyack. The Cougars shot 54.5 percent from three-point range compared to 29.4 percent for Nyack, and held a 21-13 advantage in free throws made.
Caldwell plays at Bloomfield College on Thursday, Dec. 9 in another CACC contest. Game time is set for 8:00 p.m. at the Bloomfield Gymnasium.
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