The Chestnut Hill College men's basketball team returns home for their first game of 2022, hosting Felician University on Saturday at Sorgenti Arena.
 

The Basics
		Chestnut Hill Info (6-5, 3-0 CACC)
Date:	January 8, 2022
		Roster
Opponent:	Felician University	Schedule
		Statistics
Location:	Philadelphia, Pa.
		Felician Info (6-4, 1-1 CACC)
Time:	3:00 PM
		Roster
Arena:	Sorgenti Arena	Schedule
		Statistics
Video:	https://caccnetwork.com/chestnuthill
Livestats:	https://bit.ly/3F4tILJ

The Series:
Saturday's game between Chestnut Hill and Felician will be the 15^th meeting between the two teams. The series dates back to the 2007-08 season, Chestnut Hill's first as a member of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC).  Felician leads the all-time series 10-4 and has won the last two times these teams played each other at Sorgenti Arena.  The Griffins earned a 76-75 win in Rutherford, New Jersey the last two times the teams met on January 11, 2020.

Conference Action
Chestnut Hill won their first three CACC games this season earning wins over Holy Family, Goldey-Beacom and most recently Nyack.  Felician split their first two conference games, defeating Bloomfield while falling at nationally ranked Dominican.  Chestnut Hill sits tied atop the CACC South Division standings and their 3-0 start in conference play 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.   The Griffins' 3-0 conference start is their best since the 2011-12 season when Chestnut Hill won their first five CACC games of the season.

About the Griffins:
The Griffins enter Saturday's game with an 6-5 record following a big CACC win on the road vs. Nyack College.

Chestnut Hill is being led by a pair of newcomers.  Division I transfer Nigel Haughton is the team's leading scorer, averaging 13.5 points per game.  The sophomore guard is shooting 49.1% from the field, including a 35.0% mark from three-point range with a team-high 14 three-point baskets.   Haughton also leads the team with 18 steals and 32 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 11.6 points per game while shooting 46.8% from the field.  He also leads the team in blocks with 9. 
David Erebor is Chestnut Hill's leading rebounder, averaging 6.9 per game.  Erebor is also averaging 8.4 points per game and is shooting a team-best 53.3% from the field (5^th in CACC).  Conor Regan is averaging 9.0 points per game and is second on the team with eight blocks and 5.8 rebounds per game. 
James Rider IV is tied for the league lead shooting 50.0% from three-point range (14-28) and is averaging 7.7 points per game.  He made his first start of the season vs. Nyack and came through with 18 points.

Last time Out
A huge second half run by the Chestnut Hill College Men's Basketball team wiped out a five point deficit and propelled the Griffins to an 80-68 win over host Nyack College Wednesday night at the John J. Jones Athletic and Fitness Center in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Four players reached double figures to pace the Chestnut Hill offense.  James Rider IV (Baltimore, Md.)  and Trevonn Pitts (Wyncote, Pa.) scored 18 points apiece.  Rider connected on 7-of-11 shots from the field, including a 4-6 effort from three-point range.  Pitts was 7-for-13 from the field and made four of five shots from the free throw line. Nigel Haughton  (Bel Air, Md.) scored 13 points and added a team-high 12 rebounds while Conor Regan (Mullica Hill, N.J.) scored all 12 of his points in the second half, shooting a perfect 6-for-6 from the field in the final 20 minutes.  Regan also had a double-double with ten rebounds to go along with his 12 points.  Haughton led the team with six assists. 
 
Chestnut Hill cut a nine point first half deficit to one by halftime before falling behind by five in the second half. In the second half, the Griffins went on a massive 30-6 run to take a 72-53 lead with 4:41 remaining.  Chestnut Hill was a perfect 13-for-13 from the field over the course of the run which spanned just under nine minutes and saw six different players score at least one basket.   Nyack cut the lead to 15 on two occasions before Regan pushed the margin back to 18 with his sixth and final basket of the half to make the score 79-61
 
Two honors for Warrick before Christmas
Amir Warrick earned two honors for his performance in the Griffins game vs. New Haven on December 19.  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 against the Chargers.  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.


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 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 was on February 18, 2020 when three members of this year's squad, Amir Warrick (28 points), Trevonn 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				Golden Falcons
73.4		Pts/game		82.8
73.8		Pts allowed/game		78.0
47.0		FG%		47.2
45.1		FG% Defense		47.6
35.4		3PT FG %		31.4
64.3		FT %		72.3
36.5		Rebounds/game		34.8
32.9		Rebounds allowed/gm.		36.2
3.6		Rebound margin		-1.4
12.6		Assists/game		13.2

Scouting the Golden Falcons
The Golden Falcons are 6-4 overall and 1-1 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference games. Felician is coming off a 90-71 non-conference win over St. Michael's 19 days ago on December 20, 2021 and has not played since. 
Felician is averaging 82.8 points per game, the highest scoring average within the CACC and boasts four players scoring over 13 points per game. 
Justin Davis leads the way for the Golden Falcons, averaging 20.2 points per game, third best in the CACC.  Davis shoots 51% from the field and is an 81% free throw shooter. He is second on the team averaging 6.3 rebounds/game.
Jaylen Colon averages 14 points/game and is an 85% free throw shooter.  He is second on the team with 18 steals and 25 assists. Nas Amos is tied for the league lead in three-point FG% with CHC's James Rider shooting 50% while averaging 13.7 points/game.  He leads the team and the CACC in steals with 27 and is the team's top playmaker with 39 assists.
Dee-End McRae rounds out Felician's double figure scorers, averaging 13.1 points per game while shooting 52.6% from the field.  He is also the golden Falcon's leading rebounder, averaging 7.3 per game.

Last Time Out for Felician
The Felician University men's basketball team completed the non-conference portion of its 2021-22 schedule with a 90-71 victory over visiting Saint Michael's College on Monday evening (12/20/21) at Job Gymnasium. The teams were meeting for the first time in nearly 15 years, and for the first time ever with Felician as the host.
With the win, Golden Falcon head coach Ivan Lewis became Felician's all-time leader in men's basketball coaching victories. Monday was Lewis' 70^th career triumph – all at Felician – moving him one ahead of the number Dave DeFerrari amassed with the Golden Falcons from 2009-15.
 
On Monday, junior swingman Justin Davis led the Golden Falcons (6-4) with 26 points and eight rebounds. Freshman swingman Sean McCarthy totaled a season-best 17 points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes, and sophomore guard Nas Amos collected 13 points, seven rebounds, a career-high nine assists and three steals.
The Golden Falcons, who never trailed, shot a season-best 56.3 percent from the floor, led by McCarthy's 8 for 12 clip. Felician committed just nine personal fouls and allowed the Purple Knights to attempt only four free throws.