The Chestnut Hill College Men's Basketball will travel to play Wilmington University on Saturday.  This contest was originally scheduled for January 5, 2022 but was postponed due to health and safety protocols involving the coronavirus.
 

The Basics
Date:	January 29, 2022
Opponent:	Wilmington University
Location:	Newark, Del
Time:	2:00 PM
Arena:	WU Athletic Complex
Chestnut Hill Info (10-7, 7-2 CACC)
Roster	Schedule	Statistics
Wilmington Info (4-15, 1-8 CACC)
Roster	Schedule	Statistics
Video/Livestats:	https://griffinathletics.com/coverage

The Series:
Saturday's contest will be the 27^th meeting between Wilmington and Chestnut Hill.  The Wildcats hold a 14-12 lead in the all-time series and have won the last four times these two teams have met.  The Griffins are 3-5 at WU Athletic Complex  and last defeated the Wildcats on their home court on February 13, 2018, 79-77. Prior to the 2012-13 season the Wildcats played at the Pratt Center in New Castle, Delaware where the Griffins won four out of the five games played at that site, giving Chestnut an overall record of 7-6 in games at Wilmington.

Conference Action
Chestnut Hill defeated Holy Family University 63-59 Wednesday night to improve to 7-2 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) games and remain in second place in the CACC South Division behind Jefferson University (8-1).  Their 7-2 CACC record is their best since the 2011-12 season when the team started out 9-2 in CACC games on the season en route to an 11-6 conference record and a berth in the CACC Championship Tournament.   Wilmington sits in seventh place in the CACC south with a 1-8 conference record. The Wildcats have lost their last seven conference games.

About the Griffins:
The Griffins enter Wednesday's game with a 9-7 overall record and a 6-2 mark in CACC games.  They are in second place in the CACC south Division, one gamer behind league leading Jefferson University.

A trio of players are averaging double figures to lead the Griffins offense. Division I transfer Nigel Haughton is the team's leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 13.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.  The sophomore guard is shooting 48.0% from the field, including a 31.7% mark from three-point range.  He is second on the team with 19 three-point baskets.   Haughton also leads the team with 25 steals and 53 assists. 
 
Freshman MJ Iraldi is averaging 12.9 points per game while shooting 48.8% from the field. (35.9% from three-point range).  He is third on the team with 13 steals and is averaging 4.8 rebounds per game. Amir Warrick is the third Griffin scoring in double figures, averaging 11.9 points per game while shooting 46.4% from the field.  Warrick is third on the team with 30 assists and second on the team with 19 steals and 11 blocks. He is tied for third on the team with a 5.2 rebounds per game average.
 
Trevonn Pitts is averaging 9.5 points per game and is tied for fourth on the team with 12 steals. Conor Regan is averaging 8.7 points per game, is tied for second on the team with 19 three-point field goals and third in rebounding (5.2/game) He leads the team in blocks with 15.
 
David Erebor is averaging 7.2 points per game and is shooting a team-best 52.7% from the field (9^th in CACC).  Erebor is second on the team in rebounds, averaging 6.0 per game.  James Rider IV recently moved into a starting role and is now averaging 8.7 points per game. He is leads the CACC in three-point field goal%, shooting 47.3% from three-point range (26-55).  Noah Charles is second on the team in assists with 39 and has 12 steals while averaging 4.1 points per game. 

Last time Out
The Chestnut Hill College Men's Basketball team got back on the winning track Wednesday night as they held off a furious second half comeback attempt by Holy Family University to defeat the Tigers 63-59 at Sorgenti Arena.

The Griffins improve to 10-7 overall and 7-2 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference games.  The Tigers fall to 7-14 overall and 2-9 in league play.

Amir Warrick and MJ Iraldi led all scorers with 15 points apiece.  Warrick also grabbed a team high nine rebounds.  James Rider IV added nine points while David Erebor came off the bench to score seven while grabbing six rebounds.  Conor Regan had three blocks.

Chestnut Hill scored the first seven points and jumped out to a 12-2 lead following two free throws from Warrick.  Still leading by ten at 20-10, Erebor added two straight baskets to push the lead to 24-11 and continued to expand the lead as the half wore on, pushing the margin as high as 16, 35-19 with their final points of the period, an Iraldi layup. 

Regan opened the second half with a three-point basket to give the Griffins their biggest lead of the game at 38-19.  The Tigers followed with a 16-7 run to cut the lead to ten, 45-35 with 121:26 remaining and cut the deficit to single digits less than two minutes later, 47-39.  Rider's three-point basket again put the Griffins up by double digits but the Tigers clawed they way back with a 9-1 run to make it a one possession game 51-48 with 6:51 left.   Both teams exchanged three-point baskets and later free throws to keep the score within three 56-53 with 3:21 left. 

A minute later HFU's Eric Esposito sank a three-point basket to tie the game at 56-56.  With both teams again exchanging points, the game remained tied as it entered the final minute of play.  A great back door cut by Noah Charles with a perfect pass fed to him by Erebor put the Griffins back up by two 60-58 with 38 seconds left.  Nigel Haughton added a free throw with 12 seconds to go to push the lead back to three 61-59.  Chestnut Hill fouled to prevent a game tying three-point basket and the Tigers made the first free throw and then turned the ball over on a lane violation on the second.  Haughton ended the scoring with two more free throws with 1.6 seconds left.

Haughton Named to the CACC Weekly Honor Roll for Fourth Time This Season; Adds PSCBA Honor
Chestnut Hill College Men's Basketball player Nigel Haughton  for the third consecutive week, has been named to the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Weekly Honor Roll for his performance during the Griffins' three games last week.

It is Haughton's fourth time overall earning conference honor roll status, having been recognized during the first week of the season.  In addition Haughton was named to the Philadelphia Small College Basketball Association Weekly Honor Roll for the second consecutive week.

Haughton averaged 14.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game in leading the Griffins to a 2-1 record last week.

Opening the week against USciences, Haughton was not needed necessarily to score against the Devils so he contributed big in another way – grabbing a career high 16 rebuonds in just 24 minutes of playing time.  Haughton also added an assist and a steal.

Against Jefferson two days later, Haughton's offense was essential to the Griffins 84-79 upset win, scoring a team-high 21 points (7-12 FG) while dishing out seven assists and grabbing six rebounds.

In the Griffins one-point loss to Post, Haughton had 16 points (7-10 FG) five assists and four rebounds.

For the week Haughton shot 58.6% from the field  (17-29) with 26 total rebounds, 13 assists  and two steals. Griffins.
 
The complete list of Chestnut Hill Men's Basketball players who have received CACC or PSCBA accolades this season is below:
 

Week Ending 01/23	Nigel Haughton		PSCBA Weekly Honor Roll
			CACC Weekly Honor Roll
Week Ending 01/16	Nigel Haughton		CACC Weekly Honor Roll
			PSCBA Weekly Honor Roll
Week Ending 01/09	James Rider IV		PSCBA Weekly Honor Roll
	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 prior to this season was on February 18, 2020 when three members of this year's squad, Amir Warrick (28 points), Trevonn Pitts (20), and James Rider IV (20) all reached the 20-point mark.  

 

Griffins				Wildcats
73.9		Pts/game		68.3
73.2		Pts allowed/game		75.7
46.5		FG%		43.2
44.3		FG% Defense		44.1
34.9		3PT FG %		26.8
66.2		FT %		70.1
37.2		Rebounds/game		34.5
34.0		Rebounds allowed/gm.		40.9
3.2		Rebound margin		-6.4
12.5		Assists/game		12.2
6.3		Steals/game		6.6
2.8		Blocks/game		3.2

Scouting the Wildcats
Wilmington University is 4-15 overall and 1-8 in CACC games, sitting in seventh place in the CACC South Division.
The Wildcats have three players averaging double figures led by Randy Rickards 13.5 points per game average.  Rickards is shooting 51.3% from the field and is averaging a team-best 8.1 rebounds per game.  He also leads the team with 23 steals and 17 blocks.
Justin Thomas is averaging 13.1 points per game while shooting 44.3% from the field.  He is second on the team, averaging 5.8 rebounds per game and second on the team with 38 assists.  Danny Walsh is the third Wildcats scoring double figures at 11.3 points per game.  Walsh leads the team in free throw percentage, making 88.6% of his attempts and is also the team's leading playmaker with 54 assists.
Caleb Matthews also has 38 assists  and is averaging 9.1 points per game  while Nalik Veasley, who recently returned to action is averaging 6.7 rebounds per game in six games played.

Last Time Out for Wilmington
 Danny Walsh's three-pointer touched every part of the rim before falling out with seconds left in the game as Jefferson escaped with an 87-82 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference South Division victory over the Wilmington University men's basketball team on Wednesday night at the WU Athletics Complex.

The Wildcats (4-15, 1-8 CACC) again turned things around in the second half after a slow start. The second half saw 12 lead changes and eight tie scores as the Wildcats once again saw themselves in a tight battle down the stretch.
The Rams' (12-4, 8-1 CACC) Deondre Bourne hit three consecutive three-pointers on Rams' possessions in the final 2:25, the final with 54 seconds left to break a 78-78 tie. The Wildcats missed on the ensuing possession, but the Rams only made one of two from the foul line with 29 seconds to play, keeping the Wildcats alive.

Nalik Veasley made a bucket to get it to within 84-82 with 12 seconds left and a missed free throw at the other end kept hopes alive once again for the Wildcats. But Danny Walsh's straight away three circled the whole rim before falling out, essentially ending the contest.

Justin Thomas scored 13 of his team-high 23 in the second half while he added five rebounds and five assists as well. Randy Rickards finished with 17 points and five rebounds while Danny Walsh added 17 points and five assists as well. Caleb Matthews chipped in with 11 points.