Rally Falls Short as Cougars Defeat Devils

William Kurtz scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half as the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia men’s basketball team cut and 18 point halftime deficit to five but ran out of gas as the Caldwell College Cougars hung on to win 75-65 at the Newman Center in Caldwell, New Jersey.

The loss drops the Devils record to 10-8 overall and 9-5 in league play. Caldwell improves to 11-8 overall and 7-6 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference games.

Kurtz (Sr., Shawnee HS/Shamong, N.J.) led all scorers with 25 points. Eric Cangelosi (Sr., Camden Catholic HS/Haddon Heights, N.J.) joined him in double figures with 11 points. Collin Harrington (Sr., Bishop Eustace HS/Sewell, N.J.) had seven points and a game-high seven rebounds coming off the bench for USP. Michael Mullane (Sr., Cherokee HS/Marlton, N.J.) had a team high four assists.

Jean Georges led the Cougars with 24 points, while Sam Cricelli added 21 while pulling down seven boards. Hans Stelzer led the Cougars with five assists.

Lackluster play by the Devils in the first half led to a 36-18 lead for the Cougars. The Devils still trailed by 16, 52-36 at the 12:56 mark of the second half when they went on a 12-1 run to pull within five, 53-48 with 9:20 to go. Harrington opened the run making one of two free throws and Kurtz followed with two three-point field goals to cut the margin to nine, 52-43 at the 11:09 mark. After a Cricelli free throw brought the lead back up to double figures, Kurtz hit another trey and followed with a short jumper to complete the run.

The lead fluctuated between six and nine points until the final minute of play, with the Devils cutting it to six points and having the ball on two occasions. This was as close as USP would get. Cricelli sank a ‘trey at the 1:13 mark to put the Cougars up by 10. Caldwell built the lead to 14 in the final minute of play, sinking seven of 10 free throws before settling in for the 10-point victory, 75-65.

The Devils made 25 of 46 shots for the game (54.6%) including a blistering 18-of -27 in the second half. Caldwell was just a bit hotter, making 23 of 40 shots (57.5%) for the game. (14-22, 63.6% in first half). The Cougars made 21 of 30 from the free throw line (70%) while the Devils were just 7-for-11 (63.6%). Caldwell held a slight edge on the boards 24-22 and committed 13 turnovers to USP’s 17. Both teams made eight shots from behind the three-point point arc.

The Devils will return to action on Thursday, February 1, 2007 when they travel south to take on Goldey Beacom College. Tip off is set for 8 p.m.