WORCESTER, Mass. - The 23rd-ranked Saint Michael's College men's basketball team opened the season with a 77-71 loss to Caldwell University on Friday during the Assumption University Tip-Off Classic in Laska Gymnasium. The Purple Knights were 23rd in the National Association of Basketball Coaches' (NABC) preseason national poll and No. 1 in the D2CSC East Region rankings.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (0-1), Caldwell (1-0)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Senior CJ Crews (Tampa, Fla./Bayshore Christian School), 16 points, 5 assists, 7-for-8 free throws
• First-year Rico Byrd (East Moline, Ill./The Kiski School), 14 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 6-for-9 field goals
• Senior Alan Brzezinski (Örebro, Sweden/Western Reserve Academy), 12 points, 6 rebounds, 4-for-8 field goals, 2-for-4 three-pointers
• Redshirt first-year Greg Kenney (Williston Park, N.Y./The Frederick Gunn School/LIU), 10 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals, 3-for-5 field goals, 2-for-2 three-pointers
• Senior Jacob Duniver (Fredericksburg, Va./Woodstock Academy), 6 rebounds, 3 offensive rebounds

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Junior Melvin Evans, 15 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals
• Junior Kirk Parsons, 14 points, 6 assists
• Junior De'Angelo Horn, 12 points, 5-for-5 field goals

GAME FACTS

• The Purple Knights held a 42-37 rebounding edge, including 14-9 on the offensive glass. Saint Michael's also outscored the Cougars in the paint, 38-24.

THE ACTION

• On the strength of seven Crews points and another five by Brzezinski, the Purple Knights led 14-5 by the time 13:23 remained in the opening half.
• Evans netted eight points, including the final six, in a 17-2 run that put the Cougars ahead 22-16 at 7:34.
• Sophomore Jaiden Williams' three-point play extended the lead to 32-22 with 3:16 to go.
• Brzezinski's triple at 15:03 of the second half brought his team within 42-40.
• Parsons scored eight points, burying a pair of threes, as Caldwell used a 15-4 run to snag a 61-46 lead with 7:32 to go.
• Down 10 with less than a minute remaining, the Purple Knights used a free throw by Byrd (0:42), a putback by sophomore TJ Henaghen (Hampden, Maine/Williston Northampton School) (0:41), a Byrd bucket (0:27) following two Caldwell missed free throws, and a Kenney three (0:12) after a Henaghen steal to make it 73-71 in the waning seconds. However, the Cougars sandwiched four free throws around a Saint Michael's turnover to hold on for the victory.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Saturday vs. Bloomfield College at Assumption Tip-Off Classic, 2 p.m.
• The Bears received a vote toward the D2CSC East Region poll.