In a rescheduled game, the Chestnut Hill College Men's Basketball team will travel to Jersey City, New Jersey to play Nyack College in their first game of 2022
  The Series:
Wednesday's contest will be the 14^th meeting between these two teams.  The series dates back to the 2007-08 season when the Griffins joined the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference and became an active NCAA Division II member.  Chestnut Hill won six of the first seven meetings between the two teams but have dropped five of their last six, including the last four times they played each other.  The Griffins last win against the warriors came on January 12, 2016 at Sorgenti Arena as CHC won 81-69.  Chestnut Hill is 2-4 all-time against the Warriors away from the friendly confines of Sorgenti.  This will be the first time the two teams face each other while playing in the John Jones Center in Jersey City.

Conference Action
Chestnut Hill won their first two CACC games this season earning wins over Holy Family and Goldey-Beacom.  Nyack has played just one conference game, defeating Caldwell on December 7.  Chestnut Hill sits tied atop the CACC South Division standings with Jefferson  The Griffins' 2-0 start marks just the second time in the programs Division II history that they have started the season 2-0 in conference play with the first occurring in 2011-12.

About the Griffins:
The Griffins enter Wednesday's game with an 5-5 record after having their four-game winning streak snapped at New Haven.  Chestnut Hill defeated CACC opponents Holy Family University and Goldey-Beacom College and had non-conference wins over UDC and Mercy. 
The Griffins are being led by a pair of newcomers.  Division I transfer Nigel Haughton is the team's leading scorer, averaging 13.6 points per game.  The sophomore guard is shooting 48.0% from the field, including a 36.8% mark from three-point range with a team-high 14 three-point baskets.   Haughton also leads the team with 17 steals and 26 assists.   Freshman MJ Iraldi is averaging 12.9 points per game while shooting 49.5% from the field.  He is also second on the team with ten steals.
Amir Warrick is the third Griffin scoring in double figures, averaging 12.0 points per game while shooting 47.1% from the field.  He also leads the team in blocks with 9. David Erebor is Chestnut Hill's leading rebounder, averaging 7.3 per game.  Erebor is also averaging 9.0 points per game and is shooting a team-best 53.4% from the field (6^th in CACC).  Conor Regan is averaging 8.7 points per game and is second on the team with eight blocks and 5.4 rebounds per game. 
James Rider IV is 6^th in the CACC shooting 45.5% from three-point range (10-22) and is averaging 6.4 points per game

Last time Out
The Chestnut Hill College Men's Basketball team had their four-game winning streak snapped Sunday afternoon as regionally ranked University of New Haven handed the Griffins an 88-69 loss at Chargers Gymnasium in West Haven, Connecticut.

The Griffins fall to 5-5 overall with the loss.  New Haven, ranked #10 in the most recent D2SIDA East Region poll, improves to 7-3.

Amir Warrick  (Washington D.C.) led the Griffins with 24 points (9-15 FG) and seven rebounds.  The senior forward also added three steals.  Conor Regan (Mullica Hill, N.J.) joined Warrick in double figures with 11 points.  Nigel Haughton (Bel Air, Md.) and MJ Iraldi (West Deptford, N.J.) added seven points apiece.  Haughton led the team with four assists.
 
Two honors for Warrick before Christmas
Amir Warrick earned two honors for his performance in the Griffins two games last week.  On Monday he was named to the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Men's Basketball Weekly Honor roll while on Wednesday he was named to the Philadelphia Small College Basketball Association's (PSCBA) Weekly Honor Roll.

Both honors were his second of the season.

In the Griffins lone game, Warrick led the team with 24 points, scoring 17 of them in the second half as the Griffins fought valiantly but unsuccessfully to overcome a double-digit halftime deficit.  The senior guard connected on nine of 15 shots from the field (60%), including a perfect 2-2 from three point range.  Warrick also grabbed seven rebounds and recorded three steals in 35 minutes of playing time.

Philadelphia Small College Basketball Association
The Philadelphia Small College Basketball Association (PSCBA) is an organization devoted to the promotion of small college basketball in the Philadelphia area that has been in existence since 1986 with Chestnut Hill College joining the organization in 2003-04, their first season of play. The Player of the Week Award, once only given out at the organization's bi-monthly luncheons has been expanded to a weekly Player of the Week honor with additional players earning honor roll status in an effort to further promote small college basketball in the area.
Chestnut Hill has had a different player make the honor roll in each of the last four weeks.  The Griffins are one of just two Division II schools to have three different players recognized this season either as Player of the Week or honor roll.

Conference Honors
In addition to their PSCBA recognition, The Griffins have had at least one player earn conference  honors in each week of the 2021-22 season. The complete list is below.

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 last Wednesday night 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
For the second time 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), Trevon 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				Warriors
72.7		Pts/game		79.6
74.4		Pts allowed/game		86.7
46.2		FG%		46.7
45.6		FG% Defense		49.1
35.2		3PT FG %		37.8
64.6		FT %		72.5
36.1		Rebounds/game		33.6
33.8		Rebounds allowed/gm.		38.6
2.3		Rebound margin		-5.0
12.2		Assists/game		16.4

Scouting the Warriors
The Warriors are 3-4 overall and 1-0 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference games.    Nyack is coming off an 87-48 exhibition game loss to Division I St. Peter's.  The Warriors defeated Caldwell University 76-74 in their last game that counted. 
Nyack has a trio of players averaging double figures, led by Isayas Aris' 19.3 points per game. Aris is also averaging 10.4 rebounds per game while shooting 56.3% from the field. He ranks among the tops five in the CACC in all three categories.
Joel Bailey is the warriors leading playmaker, dishing out 28 assists in their seven games.  He is also scoring 11.9 points per game and leads the team with 14 steals.  Bailey has connected on 25-28 free throw attempts for an 89.3% average.
Jayden Dawson is also averaging 11.9 points per game and is tied with Bailey for the team lead with 14 steals.
Jordan Rodriguez and D'Ondre Dent have made 17 and 10 three point baskets respectively to pace the Nyack squad and are averaging nine and eight points per game respectively.

Last Time Out for Nyack
Jersey City, NJ -- The Nyack College men's basketball program hosted the Caldwell University Cougars for the Warrior's home and conference opener. Nyack edged out the Cougars with a final score of 76-74. With the win, the Warriors improve to 3-4 and 1-0 in conference play. 
The Cougars got off to a better start with a quick 11-3 run to open the game. Nyack tied the game back up with 10 minutes left in the first half and from there the game went back and forth and finished with a halftime score of 30-29. 
The second half continued as the first had finished. The game saw several tied scores and lead changes. With two minutes left in the game, the score was tied at 71 each before Joel Bailey's three-pointer put the Warriors up by three. Jayden Dawson would extend the lead with a trip to the foul line to 75-71. Caldwell came within one with a made layup and a successful and-one opportunity with 53 seconds left in the game. Nyack earned another trip to the free-throw line with six seconds left. Luis Escobar converted one of his two attempts which put the Warriors up by two. Caldwell tried to clinch the win with a final effort from halfway but came up short in a game that ended with a final score of 76-74 in favor of Nyack. 
Isayas Aris continued his impressive form with another double-double of 25 points and 13 rebounds. Joel Bailey scored 17 points and added two steals, while Jordan Rodriguez finished the day with 11 points and three assists shooting 50% from behind the arc.