Orangeburg, N.Y. (1/6/18)  The Dominican College men's basketball team won a hard fought Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) North Division game this afternoon as they edged the visiting Cougars of Caldwell University, 75-71, in a game played on Coach Baxter Court in the Hennessy Center.

With the win Dominican improves to 10-4 overall and 4-1 in the conference, while the Cougars fall to 6-9 overall and 3-3 in the CACC.

Caldwell led 17-10 with 12:09 left in the first half when the Chargers went on 12-0 tear, ended by an and-one play by freshman Michael Richardson (Hackensack, N.J.), to jump ahead 22-17.  Two free throws from Daraja Rodwell (Baldwin, N.Y.) with 1:15 to play in the first stanza gave DC a six-point advantage (34-28) and they went into the break with a 34-30 lead.

A 17-7 second half opening run for the Cougars turned the tables and put them back in front, 47-41 with a little over 13 minutes to play.  A dunk from Ruud Lutterman made the score 64-60, but four straight free throws, two from Rodwell and two from junior Sayon Charles (Staten Island, N.Y.) would re-tie the score at 64-all with 3:41 left in regulation.  Later tied at 67-67, back-to-back layups from Rodwell and sophomore Daniel Grant (Middletown, N.Y.), followed by a free throw from Ethan Smith, Jr. (Nyack, N.Y.) gave the Chargers the lead for good, 72-67, and they went on to the 75-71 victory.

Rodwell led all scorers with 23 points, shooting 8-12 from the floor and 3-6 from the three-point arc.

Grant finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Richardson netted 12 points.  Charles contributed seven rebounds and nine points in the win.

Next up the Chargers will host Holy Family University in a CACC contest this coming Wednesday evening.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 pm on Coach Baxter Court.