Lancers Fall to Caldwell in Close Game

Caldwell High sophomore Rob Petoia made sure he sacrificed his body during the fourth quarter of Tuesday's game against Livingston.  The Lancers fell in a close 47-41 defeat.

Caldwell's defense stepped up just in time to force a pair of charging calls against the Lancers in the final minute, while sophomore center Dave Levinsky connected on four free throws to preserve Caldwell's 47-41 home victory.

"Rob Petoia really used his body for the team," Caldwell coach Mike Mancino said of his guard who took a couple of those charges. "Those were really good calls."

The victory helped raise Caldwell's record to 6-2, while Livingston dropped to 3-4.

"It was tough, because in the last two-and-a-half minutes you don't have a lot of possessions," Livingston coach Dave Cohen said of the three charges called against the Lancers.

Livingston's Sam Abam was called for a charge with less than a minute remaining and Caldwell ahead 41-38. On the next trip down the court, the Chiefs got the ball inside to Levinsky, who converted an easy basket for a 43-38 lead.

The Lancers hung in, however, as guard Matt Fung drained a 3-pointer to cut the Caldwell lead to 43-41 with only 13 seconds.

But Levinsky put the game away with the Lancers needing to foul. The sophomore converted 4-of-4 free throws to put the game away.

Levinsky led Caldwell with 18 points, but it was junior Connor Smith's nine points and nine rebounds that might have clinched the Chiefs' victory.

Smith knocked down three 3-pointers at crucial times in the third quarter. Then with the game tied at 38 with three minutes remaining in the game, Smith knocked down another key shot beyond the 3-point arc to give the Chiefs the a 41-38 lead.

"Connor is a big threat and when he hits those shots it takes away the double teaming inside," Mancino said.

Fung led Livingston with 19 points and received credit from the Caldwell coach.

"[Fung] is probably one of the best guards in the county," Mancino said.

Smith also hit back-to-back 3s near the end of the first half that helped guide Caldwell to a 25-14 lead at halftime.

"In the first half we were not getting our shots and just watching," said Cohen, who added that the Livingston full-court press wasn't effective in the first half. "We were giving up too many easy layups in the first half."

Livingston though made a comeback in the third quarter as Sam White completed a three-point play that cut the Chiefs lead to 30-28 with three minutes remaining in the period.

"We knew they were a good team and they were not going to go away," Mancino said.

Livingston finally caught up to Caldwell as Abam hit a layup to tie the game at 36 with five minutes remaining in the game.

But Caldwell showed its resiliency to put out its sixth win of the season.

"They made a nice run and we were settling for too many jump shots," Mancino said. "You don't want that 14-0 run, more like an 11-5 run."

Livingston will host West Essex on Thursday at 7 p.m.