Box Score Philadelphia, Pa. – (12/15/2012) – After rallying to tie the contest at halftime, 37-37, Chestnut Hill College held a lead for a majority of the second half, only to give way to Mercy College in the final minutes, 79-74. Junior guard Chaz Morrish (Staten Island, N.Y.) led the winning run and he finished the contest as one of four Mavericks in double figures. Senior guard Mark DiRugeris Jr. (Woodbury, N.J.) led four Griffins in double figures with 23 points.
 
Defense brought Chestnut Hill College (4-6) even with Mercy College (1-7) by halftime, 37-37, as the Griffins forced the Mavericks into 12 turnovers while negating a 40.0% (14-of-35) – 28.9% (11-of-38) shooting deficit. DiRugeris and freshman guard Dexter Harris (Swedesboro, N.J.) led the charge and briefly gave the Griffins a two-point advantage, 27-25 with 5:57 to go, before senior forward Joseph Pope (Akron, Ohio) evened the contest, 27-27 (5:31), and helped the Mavericks stay one step ahead until a last-second layup (0:02) from junior guard Jakeem Bogans (Philadelphia, Pa.), 37-37. Senior guard Francis Ashe (Hyattsville, Md.) looked to establish the Griffins at the start of the second half and he did, scoring the period's first six points and helping DiRugeris, who put the home team up seven, 69-62, heading to the final five minutes of regulation (4:56). Morrish was the “fly in the ointment”, immediately answering the DiRugeris three, 69-65 (4:46), and stealing the next Griffin possession before putting the Mavericks down two, 69-67, with 4:17 remaining. Another Griffin turnover allowed the Mavericks to tie the contest, 69-69 (3:37), and with less than two minutes to go Morrish struck again, hitting a three-point basket to put the visitors up three, 74-71, with 1:51 left to play. With the necessary free throws, the Mavericks would close the contest on a 79-74 spread.
 
Pope led all scorers with 24 points; he also grabbed eight rebounds for the Mavericks. He was supported by a double-double performance from Kirk Bailey (Freeport, N.Y.), 15 points and ten rebounds, and double-digit scoring efforts from Morrish and junior guard Remi Mignott (Brooklyn, N.Y.). Morrish finished with 14 points and Mignott totaled ten points to go along with his four rebounds, four assists, block, and two steals.
 
DiRugeris added three rebounds, two assists, and four steals to his team-leading scoring performance. Ashe totaled 15 points, six rebounds, five assists, and two blocks as a factor on both sides of the court, while Harris and Bogans combined for 23 points off the Griffin bench. Harris tied Ashe for the team lead in rebounds with four of his six boards coming off the offensive glass.
 
The men's basketball team returns to their Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) schedule on Wednesday, December 19, when they host Goldey-Beacom College in a 2:00 p.m. contest.