Box Score Philadelphia, Pa. - (12/9/2017) – In another tale of two halves, Chestnut Hill College fell on the short end of a 64-56 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) final at the University of the Sciences (USciences). The Griffins shot a balanced 51.9% (14-of-27) from the floor in the first half and led USciences at intermission, 32-24, but a poor second half shooting performance (8-of-24, .333) and an eventual 49-29 rebounding deficit pushed the final score in the Devils' favor. Junior guard Liban Awl (Manassas, Va.) led the Scarlet and Gold with 17 points, three rebounds, three assists, and a pair of steals.
 
Chestnut Hill College (1-8, 0-3) executed their game plan off the opening tip, using the dribble penetration of senior guard Demetrius Isaac (Philadelphia, Pa.) to score the contest first's basket, 2-0 (18:48). A minute late (17:52), an Awl three point basket triggered a 21-9 Scarlet and Gold run that earned the Griffins a 15-point, 26-11, advantage with 8:15 remaining in the first half. Unfortunately, a couple of late turnover allowed USciences (7-3, 3-0) to reduce the deficit to eight points, 32-24, by halftime.
 
Ball control continued to trouble the Griffins early in the second half as the Devils came within four points, 32-28 (18:46), before Isaac and junior forward Tony Toplyn Jr. (Sicklerville, N.J.) reasserted Chestnut Hill College to a 13-point, 41-28 (16:28) advantage. From there, the roller coaster ride continued with the Devils returning the margin to just three points, 41-38 (12:27) and the Griffins extending it back to double digits, 50-38, midway through the period (10:40). But in the last ten minutes it was all USciences as the home team took the lead, 52-51, just after the five-minute mark (4:50) and built their own double digit lead, 62-52 (1:07), before the final buzzer.
 
Freshman guard Paddy Cassidy (Scranton, Pa.) led the Devils in scoring with 18 points, but it was double-double efforts from senior guard Flo Da-Silva (Moorestown, N.J.) and junior forward Beni Toure (Upper Darby, Pa.) that earned USciences the win. Da-Silva finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, a block, and seven steals, while Toure added three assists to his 10 points and 11 rebounds. Cassidy also provided five rebounds, three assists, a block, and four more of the Devils' 13 steals.

Awl hit three (3-of-6) from long range and all four (4-of-4, 1.000) of his free throw attempts. Junior guard Cartier Talford joined him in double figures, finishing with 10 points in excess of an assist and a steal. Isaac, Toplyn, and junior forward Roman Letterlough (Harrisburg, Pa.) recorded nine points apiece. Isaac added three rebounds and three assists to his, while Toplyn (9) and Letterlough (6) combined for 15 rebounds.
 
The Chestnut Hill College men's basketball team briefly breaks from their CACC schedule to visit Shepherd University for a 4:00 p.m. contest on Saturday, December 16.