RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Felician College men's basketball team ended a nine-day layoff with a 77-68 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference loss to host Dominican (N.Y.) College on Tuesday night on the Hennessy Center's Coach Baxter Court. Dominican outscored the Golden Falcons, 27-9 over the first 11 ½ minutes of the second period.

Felician (0-9, 0-5 CACC) had trouble handling the low-post presence of Charger senior center Nick Smith (Middletown, N.Y.). An all-conference selection a year ago, Smith shot 11 for 18 from the floor on Tuesday and recorded 32 points, eight rebounds and six steals in 32 minutes.

The Golden Falcons were paced by 22 points and seven rebounds from senior forward J.R. Pringley (Elizabeth, N.J.) (9-17 FG). Classmate Jeyvi Miavivululu (Paterson, N.J.) turned in 17 points, nine boards and two blocked shots.

Keyed by seven points from Miavivululu, Felician got out to a 10-3 advantage after 3 ½ minutes, its largest lead of the night. The Chargers (5-4, 5-1) quickly reversed the trend, moving ahead 24-16 with 8:55 left in the period before settling for a 39-35 halftime lead.

Felician tied the game in the first minute of the second half on buckets by Lamine Cooper (Willingboro, N.J.) and Pringley. Dominican junior Joe Clinton (Pearl River, N.Y.) nailed a three-point field goal on his team's next possession, however.

Still ahead by three with 14:33 remaining, the Chargers took control for good by fashioning a 19-0 run over the next six minutes of game time, with Clinton and Smith teaming up to tally 15 of the points. The Golden Falcons trailed by 23 on two occasions before completing the night with a 21-7 spurt over the last 6:44 for the final margin.

Clinton finished with 17 points, six rebounds and five assists. Dominican received eight points, six rebounds and six helpers from sophomore guard Kristopher Hargraves (Teaneck, N.J.), and junior swingman Jared Fay (Lynn, Mass.) also totaled eight points in eight bench minutes.

Sophomore Damiun Moore (Manchester, N.J.) netted nine points with five assists and graduate student Owen Barnes (Teaneck, N.J.) scored eight points for Felician. The Golden Falcons committed 24 turnovers, 17 of them on Dominican steals.

The teams combined for 49 personal fouls and 65 free-throw attempts. The Chargers outscored Felician, 29-13, at the charity stripe.

Felician steps out of CACC play when it travels to Mercy College on Thursday night.