CALDWELL, N.J. – Trailing 66-73 with four minutes remaining, the HFU basketball team closed regulation on a 9-2 to run to force overtime before eventually falling at Caldwell, 87-95, on Saturday afternoon. 
 
A Jason Shields (Scranton, Pa./Scranton (Jefferson University)) 3-pointer sparked seven unanswered as Aamir Hurst (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann Goretti) and Tazir Cantey (Lindenwold, N.J./Eastern Regional) followed with back-to-back layups tied the game for the since the 12:23 mark of the second half with just 2:34 to go. 
 
Caldwell scored its only two points of the final four minutes, two free throws, 18 seconds later, and two HFU foul shots down the stretch, the seonc by Cantey with 27 seconds on the clock, forced overtime following a late Cougars charge. 
 
Caldwell opened overtime with the first five points though as it never trailed, with the Tigers only getting as close a single possession after a Shields layup cut the deficit to 77-80 on a layup with 3:31 to play.  
 
Individual Highlights

• Shields and Hurst tied a game-high with 22 points apiece, a season-best for the latter
  • Shields led all players with a career-high three steals, while Hurst was second on HFU with a career-best seven rebounds
• Cantey neared a double-double with nine points and a career and team-high eight boards
• Jake McGonigle (Ocean City, N.J./Wildwood Catholic) topped the Tigers with a season-best five assists
• Ethan Pires (Dover, Del./The Pennington School (Millersville University)) contributed 19 points, two shy of a career- high

 
Inside the Box Score

• Holy Family had a season-low nine turnovers and attempted eight more field goals as a result, 73-65, but the Cougars outshot the Tigers 49.2 to 38.4 percent from the field

 
How it Happened

• HFU jumped out to a 9-4 advantage under three minutes in on 3-pointers by Pires, Hurst and Shields, and a Hurst three-point play put the Tigers on top 16-10 with 14:02 left in the first
• Holy Family was still ahead midway through the period, including when a Shields triple made it 24-22 at the 8:46 mark
• Caldwell closed the half strong though, starting with a 1-11 run before tallying five of the final seven points to take a 32-42 lead into the locker room 
• The Cougars then opened the second half scoring for a game-high 32-44 cushion 
• The Tigers began to chip away with seven unanswered, capped by a Pires layup with 17:24 to go
• That began a 15-2 flurry that ended with two Ryan Holmes (Philadelphia, Pa./William Penn Charter School (CC of Philadelphia)) free throws putting HFU back on top 47-46 heading into the final 15 minutes 
• Caldwell would take yet another double-digit advantage, 58-68, with seven and a half minutes left though, following a 1-8 stretch 

 
Up Next
Holy Family begins a busy week that features three road games with an 8 p.m. tip at Wilmington on Tuesday.