NYACK, N.Y. – The Caldwell University men's basketball team held off a late comeback attempt by Nyack College to win, 65-63 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game Wednesday evening in the Bowman Gymnasium. The Cougars improve to 10-9 overall and 6-5 in the conference with a key CACC win, while the Warriors drop to 5-14, 4-8 CACC.

Caldwell trailed for most of the first half before using an 8-1 run capped by a jumper from freshman guard Daniel Knight (Newark, NJ/Patrick School) to lead 19-18 with 3:31 left in the half. Nyack closed out the half by outscoring the Cougars, 8-4 to head into halftime with a 27-23 advantage. Neither team shot the ball well, with Caldwell shooting 31.8 percent, including 0-9 from three-point range, and Nyack shooting 36.0 percent.

The action picked up considerably in the second half, as the Cougars briefly took a 33-31 edge at the 16-minute mark, only to have the Warriors regain the upper hand. With Nyack leading 45-41 following a three-pointer by Chris Hampton with 11 minutes to play, Caldwell reeled off a 13-4 spree to lead 54-49 with 7:19 remaining. Junior guard Dawan Lighty (Paterson, NJ/Kennedy) scored seven points and senior forward Michael Balkovic (Neptune, NJ/St. John Vianney) had five points in the run. A pair of Balkovic free throws with 3:20 on the clock gave the Cougars their largest lead of the game, 60-53.

Nyack responded with free throws from Hampton and Khalid Samuels and a layup from Samuels to pull to within one, 60-59 with 2:25 left. Lighty hit a jumper, then Samuels and Lighty each made one free throw to make the score 63-60 Caldwell. Nyack missed a three-pointer on the next possession, and Lighty drained two from the charity stripe to put the Cougars on top, 65-60 with 18 seconds left. But the Warriors did not surrender, as Samuels hit a three, then stole the inbounds pass with seven seconds left. He ended up with the ball at the top of the key and launched a three-pointer that dropped in, but the shot occurred after the buzzer sounded, allowing Caldwell to earn the season sweep of the Warriors.

The Cougars shot 57.1 percent from the floor in the second half and outscored Nyack 25-17 from the free throw line for the game. Lighty led Caldwell for the third consecutive game with 26 points, three rebounds and two steals. Balkovic notched his 13th double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 boards, while senior guard Kevin Walker (Bayonne, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) added nine points. Samuels paced the Warriors with 16 points.

The Cougars play at Philadelphia University in a CACC game on Saturday, Jan. 31, beginning at 4:00 p.m. in Philadelphia, Pa.