Caldwell College Men's Basketball Coach Reaches Major Milestone With Win

Caldwell College's men’s basketball team won its sixth game of the season last weekend and marked a major milestone for coach Mark Corino. 

Corino won his 400th game on Saturday with a win over Georgian Court University 89-77 at the GCU Wellness Center. 

Corino record at Caldwell College is 400-332 in 26 seasons with the Cougars.

Corino has 495 victories all-time in his 31-year career, which includes five seasons at Bloomfield College. He ranks third all-time among men’s college basketball coaches in New Jersey, behind only current Richard Stockton College coach Gerry Matthews (539) and longtime Princeton University coach Pete Carril (514).

With Saturday's win, Caldwell improves to 6-3 overall this season and is 2-1 in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, while the Georgian Lions, who are competing in their first season of men’s basketball, are now 2-7, 0-3 CACC.

With the Cougars clinging to a 33-30 lead late in a tight first half against Georgian Court on Saturday, Caldwell reeled off a 19-3 run to take a commanding 52-33 advantage at the break.

The run started with consecutive threes from junior guard Kevin Walker and sophomore guards Dawan Lighty and Salvatore Vitello, and included six points from junior forward Michael Balkovic. 

Caldwell never put the Lions away but stayed in control of the game, as Georgian Court came within 8 points twice in the second half but never threatened. The Cougars held the Lions to 39.4 percent shooting in the second half and enjoyed a 44-36 rebounding edge, including 15 boards on the offensive glass.

Balkovic led all scorers with 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field. He also grabbed 10 rebounds and had three assists.

Junior guard Wyatt Polk also had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Lighty finished with 17 points and four assists. Sophomore forward Billy McDonald added 14 points and four rebounds. Georgian Court was led by Keith Hughes with 21 points and seven boards.

Caldwell hosts Concordia College on Wednesday, Dec. 18 in a CACC contest, beginning at 8:00 p.m. in the George R. Newman Center.