Caldwell Drops CACC Game to Dominican, 75-63

CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College men's basketball team lost to Dominican College, 75-63 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game Saturday evening in the George R. Newman Center. The Cougars fall to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the conference with the loss, while the Chargers improve to 2-7, 1-2 CACC.

Dominican took advantage of 10 Caldwell turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the game to build a 19-3 lead at the 9:19 mark of the first half. The Cougars used an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to 21-11, but the Chargers closed out the half with a 10-4 spree over the final five minutes to take a commanding 41-22 lead at halftime. Caldwell made 6-of-23 (26.1 percent) from the field compared to 16-of-30 (53.3 percent) for Dominican, and the Cougars turned the ball over 13 times in the first half.

The Chargers extended their lead to as many as 20 points early in the second half, with Caldwell eventually cutting the lead to 12 following a three-pointer by senior guard Dante Rollins (East Orange, NJ/Bloomfield Tech) at the 4:52 mark. A conventional three-point play by Rollins made the score 67-56 with 3:11 remaining, and a three-pointer from junior guard Anthony Gill (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle) pulled the Cougars within 10, 71-61 with under a minute to play. But Caldwell would get no closer, as Dominican hit its last five free throws to thwart the late comeback attempt. The Cougars held a 41-38 rebounding edge for the game and forced 12 Charger turnovers in the second half, but it was not enough to overcome a 31.7 percent shooting performance.

Rollins scored 12 points, all in the second half, and made two threes to lead Caldwell. Junior center Peter Diffley (Bellerose, NY/Episcopal) had 11 points and senior forward Antonio Brimley (Paterson, NJ/Paterson Eastside) grabbed 10 rebounds. Sophomore forward Arthur Morrison (Phillipsburg, NJ/APEX) also pitched in with six points, nine rebounds, four steals and three blocks. Leon Porter led all players with 21 points, while Almin Hodzic contributed 10 points and 10 boards for Dominican.

Caldwell hosts the ECAC Holiday Classic Dec. 18-19 in the Newman Center. The tournament begins on Saturday, Dec. 18 with Dominican facing N.Y.I.T. at 3:00 p.m., followed by the Cougars and Cheyney University at 5:00 p.m. The Chargers and Cheyney face off on Sunday at 2:00 p.m., with Caldwell and N.Y.I.T. playing at 4:00 p.m.