Philadelphia, Pa. – (1/8/2019) – Playing at home for the first time in 2019, Chestnut Hill College welcomed local league rival, Jefferson to Sorgenti Arena for tonight's Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) contest. Despite a 21-point, 52-31, halftime differential and a 17-point, 85-68, Ram victory, the affair was highly-competitive as the Scarlet and Gold combatted a 26-point, 18-rebound double-double from junior forward DeVaughn Mallory (Smyrna, Del.) with strong interior defense and four double digit scorers.
 
Jefferson (9-6, 4-2) built their 52-31 halftime advantage with a 61.8% (21-of-34) first half shooting performance and a 22-10 rebounding edge. In the second half, the post play of freshman forward Keyon Butler (Chester, Pa.) and senior forward Tony Toplyn Jr. (Sicklerville, N.J.) kept Chestnut Hill College (3-11, 0-5) on the Rams' heels. After a big block, Toplyn was the rewarded on the other end with a layup that cut the Jefferson lead to 11 points, 54-43, with 15:06 remaining in the contest. Although a Ram run reestablished the deficit at 18 points, 62-44, just five minutes later (10:18), Butler's continued hard work on the block eventually returned the difference to just a dozen points (12), 62-50, with 9:07 left to play. The 12-point, 65-53, spread remained two minutes later (7:10), unfortunately, that is as close as the contest would get with the Rams outscoring the Griffins 20-15 the rest of the way.
 
Mallory was 12-of-17 (.706) from the floor and 2-of-4 (.500) from the free throw line, while adding an assist, a block, and two steals to his double-double. Three other Rams finished in double figures, including junior forward Josh Bandanese (Billerica, Mass.) (20 points), junior guard Kylan Guerra (White Plains, N.Y.) (15), and junior forward Prince Hickson (Amityville, N.Y.) (11). Guerra also provided three rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
 
Finishing 9-of-15 (.600) from the free throw line, Butler's workmanlike effort led four Griffins in double figures with 15 points. He also recorded nine rebounds. Freshman forward Amir Warrick (Washington, DC) and senior forward Ed McWade (Wildwood, N.J.) each totaled 13 points; the former also recorded a career-high nine rebounds and three assists, while the latter additionally offered two rebounds and an assist. Toplyn finished with 12 points, four rebounds, two assists, and matched a career-high with a second straight five-block effort.
 
Chestnut Hill College continues their CACC schedule on Saturday, January 12, when they host Bloomfield College in a 3:00 p.m. contest.