#1N BEARS EDGE #3N CHARGERS IN CACC MBB SEMIFINALS
Caldwell, N.J. (3/9/24) The #1N Bloomfield College of Montclair State University Bears slipped by the #3N Dominican University New York men's basketball team, 86-85, this afternoon in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Men's Basketball Tournament Semifinals held today on the campus of Caldwell University.
The win lifts the Bears record to an overall record of 22-8, while the Chargers fall to 19-11 on the season.
Guard Javel Cherry (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) led five players in double figures with 21 points, shooting 4-7 from the three-point arc.
Seth Sharif-Brown (Hackensack, N.J.) scored 15 points, shooting 7-12 from the floor and Emmanuel Smith (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had the team's only double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds in the loss.
Brothers Isaiah Honis (Bridgewater, N.J.) tallied 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Jaden Honis (Bridgewater, N.J.) also netted 13 points.
A Cherry trey with 17:00 left in the first half put the Chargers ahead 10-5, but the Bears would rally to tie the game at 17-all with 12:05 left in the first half. A 6-0 run by BC put them ahead, 31-25 and they would increase the lead to 38-27 with under six to go in the half. Dominican closed out the period on a 6-2 run to cut the deficit to 45-41.
The Bears led 58-53 with 13:38 on the clock when the Chargers went on a 9-4 run, including back-to-back threes from J. Honis and Joshuel White (Paterson, N.J.), to knot the score at 62-62.
Free throws from J. Honis and a three-point basket from Cherry rebuilt a 71-66 lead for the Chargers with 8:25 to play, but the Bears came right back with five straight points to re-tie the contest.
Dominican trailed by six points (80-74) with under two minutes to play, but the Chargers would cut the deficit two times to make it a three-point game. Cherry's fourth trey of the game came with 18 ticks left to cut the deficit to 86-84 and J. Honis would bring them within a point with a free throw, but Bloomfield was able to hang on for the win.
Bloomfield advances to the CACC Tournament Championship Game scheduled for tomorrow against #1S Thomas Jefferson University.