Alliance University

Jersey City, NJ -- Alliance University men's basketball earned an important win over CACC North Division leaders Caldwell University Cougars to stay alive in the playoff hunt. Alliance needs to win both of their final two games against Felician University and Dominican University, while current 4th seed Post University will need to drop a game against the same opponents. 

Spectators in the John J. Moore Athletic and Fitness Center saw a heated first half with 26 called fouls. AU jumped ahead early and held on to its lead throughout the first ten minutes of the game. Caldwell took its first lead with 8:48 left in the game and the score at 18-17. AU jumped back ahead in the following minutes but a late trip to the foul line and buzzer beater by Caldwell put them ahead by two at the halfway mark. 

The second half continued in a back and forth fashion. It looked as if Alliance clinched the win with a two pointer by Joel Bailey that out them ahead by one with 2.5 second on the clock. Caldwell jugged the ball down the court where the referee crew saw a foul and awarded a trip to the foul line for Caldwell who used both shots to jump back ahead. AU tried to get down the court one last time but had initially turned the ball over with 0.7 seconds on the clock. However, the Caldwell coaching staff called another timeout but had none left which resulted in a technical foul and a trip to the foul line for AU's Joel Bailey who sealed the win with two made buckets to finish the game with a final score of 68-67. 

Senior Isayas Aris led AU with 22 points and another season-high 17 rebounds. With his 20th point at the 4:50 mark Aris also reached his 1,001st career point in the AU jersey and joined his teammate Joel Bailey in the 1,000 point club. 

Alliance will be back on Wednesday when they travel to nearby Felician for another CACC North-Division clash.