St. Michael's Tops Cougars in Men's Basketball, 66-56

EASTON, Mass. - The Caldwell College men's basketball team wrapped up play at the Stonehill Tip-Off Classic with a 66-56 loss to St. Michael's College  Saturday afternoon at Merkert Gymnasium. The defeat is the second loss of the tournament for the Cougars, who are 0-2 on the season. The Purple Knights even their record at 1-1 with the win.

The first half remained close, with seven ties, including 25-25 with 4:20 on the clock. St. Michael's closed out the half with an 8-4 run to take a 33-29 lead into halftime. Caldwell shot 55.0 percent (11-of-20) from the floor in the first half and received nine points from senior forward Antonio Brimley (Paterson, NJ/Paterson Eastside).

In the second half, Caldwell used a conventional three-point play by junior center Peter Diffley (Bellerose, NY/Episcopal) and a lay-up from sophomore forward Arthur Morrison (Phillipsburg, NJ/APEX) to take a 39-38 advantage with 14:45 to play. The Cougars held a 41-40 lead when the Purple Knights took control of the game with a 16-3 run that put St. Michael's on top 56-44 with just under five minutes to go in the second half. Michael Holton Jr. had five points in the run, while the Cougars missed all 13 of their field goal attempts. Caldwell never recovered, as the lead grew to as many as 15 points.

Diffley led the Cougars with 16 points and eight rebounds while making 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Brimley finished with 12 points and four steals. Travis Warech led all players with 20 points for St. Michael's, which shot 61.1 percent from the floor in the second half compared to 25.8 percent for Caldwell.

Caldwell plays another non-conference game on Tuesday, Nov. 16 at Mercy College. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.