The Chestnut Hill College men's basketball team seeks to rebound from its loss at home to Felician University on Saturday as they travel to central New Jersey to take on Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) South Division rival Georgian Court University on Tuesday afternoon.
 

The Basics
		Chestnut Hill Info (6-6, 3-1 CACC)
Date:	January 11, 2022
		Roster
Opponent:	Georgian Court University	Schedule
		Statistics
Location:	Lakewood, N.J.
		Georgian Court Info (2-11, 1-4 CACC)
Time:	2:00 PM
		Roster
Arena:	GCU Wellness Center	Schedule
		Statistics
Video:	https://caccnetwork.com/georgiancourt/
Livestats:	https://www.caccathletics.org/sports/mbkb/2021-22/boxscores/20220111_xq7d.xml

The Series
Tuesday's game will be the 15^th meeting between Georgian Court and Chestnut Hill.  The series dates back to the 2013-14 season which was the Georgian Court men's basketball team's first year as a program.  The Griffins hold a 10-4 lead in the all time series but have lost three of the last four games played between the two teams.    Chestnut Hill won their last meeting, 84-76 on January 29, 2020 at Sorgenti Arena.   Chestnut Hill has lost the last three games played at the GCU Wellness Center but still holds a 4-3 edge in games played at GCU's arena.

Conference Action
Chestnut Hill won their first three CACC games this season before losing their first CACC contest of the season on Saturday against Felician University.  Chestnut Hill sits in second place in the CACC South Division with a 3-1 record. The Griffins' 3-0 conference start was their best since the 2011-12 season when Chestnut Hill won their first five CACC games of the season.  Georgian Court won their only conference game back on December 7, defeating Holy Family University and holds a 1-4 record in league play.

About the Griffins
The Griffins enter Tuesday's game with an 6-6 overall and 3-1 CACC record following Saturday's loss at home to Felician University.

Chestnut Hill is being led by a pair of newcomers.  Division I transfer Nigel Haughton is the team's leading scorer, averaging 13.5 points per game.  The sophomore guard is shooting 48.4% from the field, including a 32.6% mark from three-point range.  He is second on the team with 14 three-point baskets.   Haughton also leads the team with 18 steals and 37 assists.   Freshman MJ Iraldi is averaging 12.8 points per game while shooting 50.9% from the field.  He is also tied for second on the team with ten steals.

Amir Warrick is the third Griffin scoring in double figures, averaging 11.4 points per game while shooting 47.4% from the field.  Warrick is second on the team with 22 assists and ten steals.  He also leads the team in blocks with nine. 
 
David Erebor is Chestnut Hill's leading rebounder, averaging 6.4 per game.  Erebor is also averaging 8.4 points per game and is shooting a team-best 53.8% from the field (5^th in CACC).  Conor Regan is averaging 8.8 points per game and is second on the team with eight blocks and 6.0 rebounds per game. James Rider IV has started the last two games and turned in two solid scoring performances. He ranks fourth in the league in three-point field goal%, shooting 45.9% from three-point range (14-28) and is averaging 8.5 points per game. 

Last time Out
The Chestnut Hill College Men's Basketball team battled throughout their contest Saturday Felician University but came out short, falling to the Golden Falcons 86-77 Saturday afternoon at Sorgenti Arena.

The loss was the Griffins first Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference defeat of the season after starting the year 3-0.  It was also their first home loss of the 2021-22 season.  The Griffins are now 6-6 overall and 3-1 in league play. Felician improves to 7-4 overall and 2-1 in league games.

Four players scored in double figures for the Griffins, led by James Rider IV's 16 points.  Nigel Haughton added 13 points, five assists and five rebounds while MJ Iraldi returned to action with a 12-point (5-7 FG) effort. Trevonn Pitts rounded out the double figure scorers for the Griffins with ten points (5-9 FG).  Conor Regan led the team with eight rebounds while Amir Warrick grabbed seven.
 
After starting the second half deadlocked at 39-39, the Griffins built a five-point lead 59-54 in the first 7:30 of the period before the Golden Falcons battled back with a 22-11 spurt to turn the tide their way and lead 76-70 with 4:38 remaining.  Baskets by Haughton and Pitts cut the deficit to two 76-74 with 3:50 left.  However, the Golden Falcons closed out the game with another run, this one a 10-3 uprising to pull away for the nine-point win.  The Griffins lone basket in the final 3:50 was a three-point bucket from Regan with 47 seconds left.
 
Haughton Named to the CACC Weekly Honor Roll
For the second time this season, Chestnut Hill College sophomore guard Nigel Haughton was named to the CACC Weekly Honor Roll for his performance in the Griffins two games last week.
 
Haughton recorded his first career double-double in the Griffins win at Nyack last Wednesday, scoring 13 points and grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds.  In addition, Haughton let the team with six assists.  He followed that performance with 13 points and five assists in Chestnut Hill's loss to Felician on Saturday.
 
For the week, Haughton averaged 13 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists.  He also shot 50% from the field (12-24).
 
Conference Honors
In addition to their Philadelphia Small College Basketball Association recognition, The Griffins have had at least one player earn conference honors in seven of the first eight weeks of the 2021-22 season. (The Griffins did not play in week seven).  The complete list is below.
 

Week Ending  01/09	Nigel Haughton		CACC Weekly Honor Roll
Week Ending 12/20	Amir Warrick		CACC Weekly Honor Roll
			PSCBA Weekly Honor Roll
Week Ending 12/12	David Erebor		CACC Weekly Honor Roll
			PSCBA Weekly Honor Roll
Week Ending 12/5	MJ Iraldi		CACC Weekly Honor Roll
			PSCBA Weekly Honor Roll
Week Ending 11/28	Amir Warrick		CACC Weekly Honor Roll
			PSCBA Weekly Honor Roll
Week Ending 11/21	MJ Iraldi		CACC Weekly Honor Roll
Week Ending 11/14	Nigel Haughton		CACC Weekly Honor Roll

 
First Win
Chestnut Hill Head Coach J.J. Butler earned his first win as a head coach on November 17 as his Griffins defeated Bloomsburg University 76-69.  Two newcomers MJ Iraldi and Nigel Haughton were the catalysts for the Griffins as was David Erebor on defense.  Iraldi and Haughton combined for 41 points while Erebor had four blocks and eight rebounds while also contributing 11 points.

Dynamic Duos
Twice this season, the Griffins had two players score 20 or more points in a single game when they played West Chester on November 21. Amir Warrick scored a team-high 23 points while Nigel Haughton added 22 against the Golden Rams. This marks the 15^th time since the 2014-15 season that Chestnut Hill has had at least two players score 20 or more points in a single game.
Chestnut Hill also had two players scored 20 or more points in their win over Bloomsburg as MJ Iraldi led the team with 21 points and Nigel Haughton added 20.  
The last time this feat occurred was on February 18, 2020 when three members of this year's squad, Amir Warrick (28 points), Trevonn Pitts (20), and James Rider (20) all reached the 20-point mark.  

Impressive Debuts
Freshman MJ Iraldi made eight of 11 shots from the field en route to 19 points in his collegiate debut against Adelphi on November 13. The following day, Iraldi made seven of 14 shots including three three-point baskets as he led the Griffins with 17 points in their 66-61 loss at Pace.  Iraldi shot 56% from the field in the two games and 50% from beyond the arc (5-10).  He also grabbed nine rebounds in the two games.  
Nigel Haughton made his Chestnut Hill College debut in the Griffins' season opener against Adelphi, scoring 24 points.  The Towson University transfer connected on 10 of 12 shots from the field, including one three-point basket.  Haughton also grabbed five rebounds and recorded three assists and two steals.  He added 12 points and seven rebounds the next day in a 66-61 loss at Pace University
 

Griffins				Lions
73.7		Pts/game		60.5
74.8		Pts allowed/game		77.3
47.0		FG%		37.5
45.6		FG% Defense		46.3
35.4		3PT FG %		37.2
65.1		FT %		76.0
35.9		Rebounds/game		31.5
33.5		Rebounds allowed/gm.		40.5
2.4		Rebound margin		-9.0
12.5		Assists/game		12.7

Scouting the Lions
Georgian Court is 2-11 overall and 1-4 in CACC games with their only win coming against Holy Family University back on December 7.
The Lions have three players averaging double figures, led by Clint Wright Jr.  Wright is averaging 15.3 points per game while shooting 42.3% from the floor and 40.6% from three-point range.  He is also one of the top free throw shooters in the conference, making 97.4% of his shots.
DJ Alicea is averaging 14.8 points per game but has not appeared in a contest since December 16.  Jelani Jackson is averaging 10.5 points per game and is shooting 42.9% from three-point range.  He is also averaging 2.6 assists per game to lead Georgian Court.
Shane Williams is the Lions leading rebounder, averaging 5.3 per game while Christian Armstrong-Thomas is pulling down an average of 4.8 rebounds per game.

Last Time Out for Georgian Court
Lakewood, N.J. - Georgian Court University, playing its first contest on its home hardwood in over a month (Dec. 4), welcomed Bloomfield College to the Wellness Center Saturday afternoon for Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) inter-divisional men's basketball action.

The visiting Bears survived a feisty Lions' lineup as the road team secured an eventual 82-68 triumph, providing BC its first conference victory of the season (3-9, 1-2 CACC). Georgian Court (2-11, 1-4 CACC) remains winless (0-9) all-time vs. Bloomfield.

Trailing by nine (41-32) at the 18:23 mark of the second half, the Lions pounced for a 16-7 run to tie the contest at 48-48 with 14:25 left. That would be as close as GCU would get the rest of the way as the Bears countered with a 34-20 cushion over the remaining minutes to seal "W".

GCU's Clint Wright Jr. topped all players with his 25 points over 37 minutes, which included four three-pointers for the sophomore sharpshooter. Davon Floyd added 13 points (including an explosive, one-handed slam in the first half) and five assists in the effort. Titus Beard netted 12 points of his own for the royal-and-blue.