Caldwell University men’s basketball Head Coach Mark A. Corino reached a milestone on Saturday afternoon as he earned his 600th career coaching victory in the Cougars 77-69 win over the University of Bridgeport on day one of the Daniel Sullivan Memorial Tournament hosted by Dominican College.
Coach Corino, coaching in his 34th season at Caldwell University and 39th season overall, reached the milestone victory mark of 600 in Saturday’s win. He currently ranks 28th among active winningest coaches across all three NCAA Divisions and is the seventh active winningest coach in Division II. Coach Corino is also the third active winningest head coach in the East Region behind Herb Magee at Thomas Jefferson University and Keith Dickson at Saint Anselm College. Among Division II coaches all-time, Coach Corino ranks in the top-25 in career victories.
The teams played a competitive first half that featured nine ties and both teams held leads of five points during the first 20 minutes. The Cougars pulled ahead by five points at 34-29 following a three-pointer by sophomore Daniel Dade Jr. (Springfield, Mass.) at the 2:04 mark. Bridgeport connected on a late triple cut the score to 34-32 at the break.
Caldwell pulled ahead by nine points at 54-45 near the midway point of the second half. The Purple Knights battled back to trim the score down to three points at 68-65 with 3:11 remaining in the game. Freshman Derrick Bueno (Palisades Park, N.J.) converted a three-point play at the 2:20 mark, while junior Tyler Washington (Englewood, N.J.) added lay-up to give the Cougars an eight-point advantage.
Washington added another lay-up in the final minute, while senior Anthony Cooper (Ashburn, Va.) drained a pair at the free throw line in the final seconds to seal the milestone victory for the Cougars.
Cooper led the way with 21 points, six rebounds and two steals, while Bueno totaled 13 points, eight boards and three assists. Dade Jr. added 12 points and three assists, while freshman Mark Heber (Paterson, N.J.) posted 10 points and five rebounds. Graduate Gerald Blount (Jersey City, N.J.) led the Cougars with 12 boards in the win.
The Cougars (2-1) look to build on Saturday’s win as they conclude play at the Daniel Sullivan Memorial Tournament hosted by Dominican College on Sunday, November 21 as they take on Mercy College at 3:00 pm.
Caldwell Men’s Basketball Head Coach Mark A. Corino Reaches 600 Win Mark
