The 2022-23 basketball season got off to an inauspicious start for the Chestnut Hill college Men's Basketball team as Saint Michael's college rallied from a nine-point second half deficit to defeat the Griffins 77-70 in the season opener for both teams at the NE10-CACC Conference Challenge at Assumption University in Worcester, Massachusetts Friday night.

Three players scored in double figures for the Griffins, led by MJ Iraldi's 22 points.  Amir Warrick added 16 points while Conor Regan scored all ten of his points in the second half.  Iraldi also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds while Trevonn Pitts pulled down eight.  Pitts also led the team with three assists.

The Griffins had a 13-0 run to erase a seven-point deficit early in the second half and added a 12-4 spurt after the Purple Knights pulled within one to go up by nine 63-54.  Five different players scored to key the first run with James Rider scoring five of the 13 points.  Regan had eight of the 12 points in the second run.   St. Michael's countered with 15 straight points as the Griffins offense went cold to retake the lead at 69-63 with 5:27 remaining.  Warrick's jumper with 3:53 left pulled the Griffins within two 70-68 but that would be as close as they would come with St. Michael's making seven of eight free throws down the stretch and Iraldi providing the only basket in the final three minutes.

Iraldi scored 17 of his 22 points in the first half including nine in the final 6:33 as the Griffins came back from a nine-point deficit to briefly take the lead in the final 90 seconds of the half.  St. Michael's led 26-17 with 7:27 left in the half when the Griffins exploded with a 19-6 run taking the lead at 34-32 on a traditional three-point play from Pitts.  Two free throws from Amir Warrick put the Griffins up 36-32 with just over a minute left.  St. Michael's Alan Brzezinski followed with two three pointers to give the Purple Knights a 38-36 lead at the half.

For the game the Griffins shot 39.1% (27-69) while the Purple Knights made 37.9% (25-66) of their shot attempts.  The big difference was in three-point shots:  St. Michael's connected on 11 of 35 (31.4%) while Chestnut Hill made just four of 14 (28.6%).  The Griffins held a slight 44-43 rebounding edge and outscored the Purple Knights in the paint (40-28) in points of turnovers (13-9) and second chance points (15-9).

The Chestnut Hill College Men's Basketball team returns to action on Saturday, November 12, 2022, when they conclude their two-game conference challenge with a contest against host Assumption University.  Tipoff is set for 5:00 p.m.