Wilmington University jumped out to an early lead forcing the Chestnut Hill College Men's Basketball team to play from behind the entire game as the Griffins fell 84-80 to the Wildcats Sunday afternoon at the WU Athletic Complex in Newark, Delaware.

The Griffins drop to 10-8 overall and fall to 7-3 in Central Atlantic collegiate conference games.  Wilmington improves to 5-15 overall and 2-8 in CACC games.

Amir Warrick led three players in double figures for the Griffins, scoring 21 points and grabbing nine rebounds.  MJ Iraldi added 16 points while David Erebor chipped in 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

The Wildcats scored the first points of the game and later jumped out to a 19-12 lead just seven minutes into the half.    Neal Hill's three-point basket cut the lead to four at 21-17 before the Wildcats embarked on a 10-2 run to go up by double-digits 31-19.  Wilmington pushed the lead as high as 15, 46-31 in the final 90 seconds.  Layups from Iraldi and Nigel Haughton brought the Griffins within 11, 46-35 as the half ended.

Iraldi scored the first points of the second half to bring the Griffins within nine 46-37 but they would get no closer over the next ten minutes as the Wildcat lead oscillated between 11 and 14 points.  Trailing by 12, at the 9:24 mark, the Griffins cut into the lead with a 7-2 run, closing the gap to 72-65 before the Wildcats got it all back with a 7-2 run of their own to lead 79-67 with 5:32 remaining.

 Free throws by Noah Charles started a run of seven straight Griffin points to make it a two possession game at 79-74.  Erebor had a traditional three-point play and Iraldi added two free throws before WU's Danny Walsh (18 points) broke the streak.   Chestnut Hill had one last run in them, cutting the margin to two, 82-80 in the final seconds before Walsh nailed down the win with two free throws with just five ticks on the clock. The Griffins could not score, and the Wildcats had the upset victory.
Caleb Matthews led four Wildcats in double figures with 26 points while Walsh added 18.  Randy Rickards had 14 points and 12 rebounds and Ethan tarte chipped in 12 points. 

The Griffins dominated in the paint, outscoring the Wildcats 52-32 but struggled mightily from beyond the arc as Hill's three-pointer was the only one made by CHC on the day.  Chestnut Hill was outscored 24-3 from beyond the arc.  Chestnut Hill had but eight assists on 31 baskets while the Wildcats had 15 on 32 baskets.  On the glass, the Griffins held a 44-31 advantage, including a 19-8 mark on the offensive boards, leading to a 19-7 advantage in the second chance points category.

The Griffins return to action on Wednesday, February 2, 2022, traveling to Wilmington, Delaware to take on Goldey-Beacom college.  Tipoff is at 8:00 p.m.