PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Caldwell University men's basketball team saw its season come to an end with a 73-69 loss at Holy Family University in the quarterfinals of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament Saturday afternoon at the Campus Center. The Cougars end the year with a 15-13 record, while the Tigers (22-7) advance to the semifinals on Friday, Mar. 6.

Holy Family used three-pointers by Turhan Griffin and Eric Fleming to spark a 9-2 run and break a 19-19 tie, making the score 28-21 with five minutes left in the first half. Caldwell scored six of the final seven points of the half, including four from senior forward Michael Balkovic (Neptune, NJ/St. John Vianney), that made the halftime score 29-27 Holy Family. Balkovic score 14 points in the first half, while Reggie Charles had 12 points for the Tigers.

Holy Family came out hot in the second half, scoring the first 10 points after the break to lead 39-27. The advantage grew to as many as 13 points, with Caldwell unable to get closer than six points until the final minute of the game. A three-pointer by junior guard Dawan Lighty (Paterson, NJ/Kennedy) with 10 seconds left brought the Cougars to within three, 72-69 with 10 seconds remaining. But Charles hit a free throw and Caldwell failed to score on its final possession. The loss marked the second defeat to the Tigers in the past two CACC Tournament quarterfinals.

The Cougars received all of its scoring from four of its five starters. Balkovic notched his 19th double-double of the season with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Junior forward Billy McDonald (North Haven, CT/North Haven) tallied 16 points and nine boards. Senior guard Kevin Walker (Bayonne, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) had 15 points, five assists and four rebounds, and Lighty finished with 13 points. Charles led Holy Family with 24 points and seven assists.

Balkovic became just the third Cougar in program history to record 1,000 career rebounds, finishing his stellar career with 1,001 boards. The two-time all-CACC selection also broke the team record for most rebounds in a season with 339, surpassing the old record of 336 set by All-American Brian Tonkovich in 1998. Balkovic also has 1,645 career points to rank fourth all-time at Caldwell.

Also finishing an outstanding career was Walker, who is now 10th all-time at Caldwell with 1,213 career points. The program's record holder for career free throw percentage (.841), he also is fourth at Caldwell with 379 career assists.

The CACC Tournament continues on Friday, Mar. 6 with the semifinal round at Philadelphia University in Philadelphia, Pa.

CACC Men's Basketball Tournament
Quarterfinals, Saturday, Feb. 28 - at Campus Sites
Game 1: 4S Wilmington 69, 1N Dominican 67
Game 2: 2S Holy Family 73, 3N Caldwell 69
Game 3: 1S USciences 61, 4N Bloomfield 51
Game 4: 3S Philadelphia 75, 2N Post 58

Semifinals, Friday, Mar. 6 - at Philadelphia University, Philadelphia, Pa.
1S USciences vs. 3S Philadelphia, 5:00 p.m.
2S Holy Family vs. 4S Wilmington, 7:00 p.m.

Finals, Saturday, Mar. 7 - at Philadelphia University, Philadelphia, Pa.
Semifinal winners, 7:00 p.m.