The Chestnut Hill College Men's Basketball rallied from a four-point deficit in the final 2:43 to defeat first place Jefferson University 84-79 Thursday night at Sorgenti Arena to move into a tie with the rams for first place in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference South Division.

The Griffins improve to 9-6 overall and 6-1 in CACC games.  Jefferson falls to 6-1 in league play and 10-4 overall.  The win breaks an eight-game losing skid against the Rams and also marks the first time in the 15-season history of the series that the Griffins defeated the Rams at Sorgenti Arena. (0-15 heading into tonight's game).

Nigel Haughton (Bel Air, Md.) led the Griffins with 21 points (7-12 FG).  Haughton also filled the stat sheet with seven assists and six rebounds.  Amir Warrick (Washington, D.C.) added 16 points on 6-for-13 shooting from the field while MJ Iraldi (West Deptford, N.J.) came off the bench to score 15 points and grab a team-high nine rebounds.    Conor Regan (Mullica Hill, N.J.) was the fourth Chestnut Hill player to reach double figures, scoring ten points (4-5 FG).  Trevonn Pitts (Wyncote, Pa.) scored seven of his nine points in the second half

It was Regan's three-point basket with 2:27 left that started the Griffins' final rally.  Trailing by four 76-72, the Griffins came out of a timeout with Noah Charles (Columbia, Md.) finding Regan open on the wing for the long-range bomb.  Charles added a layup following a defensive stop to put the Griffins ahead 77-76 and Haughton followed with a three-ball with 40 ticks on the clock to give the Griffins a four-point lead 80-76.  Haughton added two free throws with 28 seconds left to push the lead to six, Chestnut Hill's largest of the game at 82-76. 

Jefferson's Deondre Bourne (20 points) came down on the Rams next possession and made it a one-possession game with a three point with 20 seconds to go, 82-79.  Iraldi scored the final two points for the griffins with a pair of free throws with 16 seconds to go and Jefferson's last shot attempt fell short as the Griffins came away with the win off the 12-3 final rally.

The game featured 12 lead changes and 11 ties and neither team led by more than five until the Griffins took their six-point lead in the final seconds.  Chestnut Hill used a solid 60.7% shooting effort in the second half (17-28) to stay close the entire final 20 minutes and finished the game shooting 52.4% (33-63).

Erik Timko led the Rams with 22 points while Antonin Kemkeng led all players with 11 rebounds.

For the game, the Rams shot 49.1% (26-53) from the field and were 20-24 from the free throw line. (CHC -11-17) The Griffins held a 34-29 rebounding advantage while both teams committed just nine turnovers.
The Chestnut Hill College men's basketball team will return to action on Saturday, January 22, 2022 when they host Post University at Sorgenti Arena.  Tipoff is set for 3:00 p.m.