Box Score Philadelphia, PA – (2/9/2012) – Chestnut Hill College came out of the locker room after halftime and was confronted with a 16-point deficit, 39-23. With 8:48 left to play, the Wilmington University lead still loomed at ten points, 58-48, but with 3:50 remaining the lead was down to one, 62-61. The Wildcat turnovers then became contagious. The Griffins capitalized, gaining their first lead of the second half with 1:15 remaining, 68-67, and seizing a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) victory on a heroic steal and free throw from junior guard Mark DiRugeris Jr. (Woodbury, NJ), 69-67.
 
Chestnut Hill College (17-8, 10-3) began the climb with 15:11 remaining on the game clock, the Wilmington University (9-13, 5-8) halftime lead of 16 still remained, 47-31. Freshman guard Luke Dickson (Pitman, NJ) made a steal and facilitated a fastbreak layup for junior guard Francis Ashe (Greenbelt, MD) who made it 47-33 (14:22). The physicality of play escalated with the roar of the Sorgenti Arena crowd and after a Wildcat technical foul the stands wound into a frenzy. DiRugeris made both technical free throws, 47-35, to accelerate the climb at 14:16. A calming three pointer from senior guard Ed Freeman (Washington, DC) gave the Wildcats a quick breath, 50-37 (13:15), but five minutes later the turnovers returned. Senior forward Dan Comas (Philadelphia, PA) stole the ball and senior guard Brandon Williams (Philadelphia, PA) laid it up to make it 58-50 with 8:24 to go. A minute later (7:18), a Comas dunk made it six, 58-52, and over the next six minutes the Griffins continued to tighten their grasp on the Wildcats. Heading to the final minute of play (1:15), Dickson nabbed another steal, hit his free throws, and the Griffins had the lead, 68-67. Miscommunication gave the Wildcats a second chance at surviving, but with four ticks on the clock (0:04) DiRugeris swooped in for another steal and hit the first of two resulting free throws to make it 69-67 (0:02), Griffins. The Wildcats promptly called a timeout to plan their final attack, but the football-inbound was intercepted by Comas and the greatest comeback in Griffin history was complete.
 
Freeman led the Wildcats with 18 points, six rebounds, a block, and four steals. He was supported by 11 points and five rebounds from senior guard Corye Payton (Burlington, NJ), and ten points and six rebounds from junior guard James Pee (Newark, DE).
 
Comas was the linchpin in the Griffin rally, offering his seventh double-double production of the season, 21 points and 12 rebounds, while contributing a block and five steals to the defensive effort. Ashe totaled 14 points, six rebounds, four assists, while DiRugeris made four steals and did the grunt work for nine points on a poor shooting night (1-of-10, 10.0%).
 
The men's basketball team continues their CACC scheduled with a weekend road trip to Post University. Tip-off is schedule for 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 11.