Trevonn Pitts' putback with 12 seconds left in overtime gave the Chestnut Hill College Men's Basketball team a 79-78 win over host Georgian Court University Tuesday afternoon at the GCU Wellness Center in Lakewood, New Jersey.

The win gives the Griffins a 7-6 overall record and a 4-1 mark in Central Atlantic collegiate Conference games.  Georgian Court falls to 2-12 overall and 1-5 in league play.

Pitts (Wyncote, Pa.) finished with 11 points on the afternoon but none bigger than his final basket.  MJ Iraldi  (West Deptford, N.J.) came off the bench to lead the Griffins with 19 points while Nigel Haughton (Bel Air, Md.) added 17.   James Rider IV  (Baltimore, Md.) rounded out the Griffins double figure scorers with 11 points.  Haughton led the team with eight rebounds and five steals.

Haughton's two free throws gave the Griffins a three-point lead in the final 30 seconds of regulation before GCU's Clint Wright Jr. tied the score at 70-70 with 14 seconds left.  Haughton missed a final jumper and the game went into overtime.

The Lions scored the first four points of the overtime to take a 74-70 lead.  Conor Regan's (Mullica Hill, N.J.) two free throws and a steal and subsequent layup from Pitts tied the game again at 74-74.  Regan then added a free throw to put the Griffins on top 75-74.  After a free throw from the Lions, Noah Charles (Columbia, Md.) had a steal and a layup to give the Griffins a 77-75 lead.  GCU's Davon Floyd came right back to give the Lions the lead, 79-78 with 29 seconds left before Pitts made his game-winning shot.  GCU had one last chance, but their shot fell short at the buzzer.

Haughton, Rider and Iraldi helped stake the Griffins to a 42-32 lead at halftime, combining for 28 of the Griffins 42 points.  The second half however belonged to the Lions as they slowly chipped away at the Griffins lead, using a 7-0 run to cut a 53-43 lead to 53-50 with 12:45 left in regulation.  After a Haughton layup pushed the lead back to five, the Lions scored the next five points to tie the game at 55-55at the midway point and eventually took their first lead since early in the first half 64-63 on a Wight three-point bucket. Another three point basket from the Lions with 3:39 left put their lead at three 67-64.  Iraldi scored the next four points, and the Griffins regained the lead at 68-67 with 2:14 left before the frenzied final minute with Haughton's free throws and Wright's game tying three-pointer. 

For the game, the Griffins shot 42.0% (29-69) from the field while the Lions were slightly better at 24-54 (44.4%).  Georgian court made 12 three point baskets (Wright-6) to the Griffins five and had two more made free throws.  The Griffins doubled up the Lions on the offensive glass (16-8) and held a 41-34 rebounding advantage overall.  Chestnut Hill committed just 13 turnovers while Georgian Court had 19

The Griffins are back in action on Tuesday, January 18, 2022, when they host University of the Sciences in a CACC South Division contest at Sorgenti Arena.  Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m.