Basketball Spotlight: Devils Edge Cougars in Thriller at Caldwell Saturday, January 14, 2006 By Bob Heller USIP Sports Information Director Michael Mullane's lay-up with 4.9 seconds remaining allowed the University of Sciences to defeat Caldwell College, 66-63 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) men's basketball game this afternoon at Caldwell's George R. Newman Center. The win improves the Devils record to 4-9 overall and 2-6 in conference play. The loss drops Caldwell's record to 8-9 overall and 4-5 in the CACC. The Cougars had clawed back to erase the Devils' 50-40 lead late in the game with a 15-6 spurt that included five points from Manny Perez and four from Teren Scudder that brought Caldwell within one, 56-55 with 5:57 left. Perez eventually tied the game at 61-61 with a lay-up at the 2:07 mark, then Mark Kelly gave Caldwell their first lead of the second half, making 1-of-2 from the line. Perez put the Cougars up two, 63-61 with just 1:06 left before Eric Cangelosi (Jr., Camden Catholic HS/Haddon Heights, NJ) made 1-of-2 from the line to pull the Devils back within one, 63-62. USP's defense forced a missed jumper and the Devils regained possession with just 22 ticks left on the clock. Cangelosi forced a jumper with nine seconds left and the rebound came right down into Mullane's (Jr., Cherokee HS/Marlton, NJ) hands who laid it up high off the glass and in for the go-ahead basket. After the Cougars misplayed the inbounds and turned the ball over to the Devils, Howard Lanier (So., St. Augustine Prep/ Sicklerville, NJ) added two free throws with 3.8 seconds left to make the score 66-63. Caldwell's Michael Wise missed a desperation 'three' at the buzzer and the Devils came away with a hard fought win. USP broke open a close game in the first half with an 11-2 run that gave the Devils a 29-20 advantage with 4:08 left in the half. The Cougars then scored nine straight points to tie the game at 29-29. Collin Harrington (Jr., Bishop Eustace HS/Sewell, NJ) added a basket and Bill Kurtz (Jr., Shawnee HS/Shamong, NJ) sank two free throws to put the Devils back up by four 33-29 before Caldwell's Kelvin Reese made a layup to make the score 33-31 at the half. Kurtz led the Devils with 13 points while Lanier and Cangelosi chipped in 11 and 10 respectively. Harrington paced the Devils on the boards with seven as USP outrebounded the Cougars 29-27. Kelly and Perez paced the Cougars with 14 points apiece while Scudder added 11. The Devils shot 53.3% from the field (24-45) compared to Caldwell's 42.6% (23-54), including a torrid 56.5% in the first half (13-25). USP also held a slight advantage on the charity stripe connecting on 15 of 19 shots while Caldwell made just 12 of 16. The Devils return home next week to take on Wilmington College on Tuesday, January 17, 2006 in another CACC matchup. Tip off is scheduled for 8 p.m.