Five players scored in double figures as the Chestnut Hill College Men's Basketball team won their first game of the 2022-23 season Wednesday night, defeating host Bloomsburg University 87-78 at Nelson Field house in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania.
The Griffins improve yto 1-2 with the win while Bloomsburg falls to 0-1.
Amir Warrick led the Griffins with 16 points (7-11 FG) while
MJ Iraldi added 14 points. Joining Iraldi and Warrick in double figures were
James Rider (11 points).
Conor Regan (10) and
Trevonn Pitts (10).
Nigel Haughton grabbed ten rebounds and had four assists while scoring seven points.
The Griffins led the contest for the final 35 minutes of action after the two teams battled to an 11-11 tie in the first five minutes.
Ibrahim Sylla (eight points) broke the tie with a jumper in the paint and Rider followed with a three point basket to give the Griffins a 16-11 lead. Iraldi's three point field goal at the 6:45 mark pushed the Griffins' lead to double digits 30-20. The Huskies closed within six late in the half before a putback by
Neal Hill with two seconds left gave the Griffins a 40-32 lead at the half.
Bloomsburg cut the lead to five with an 8-2 run after the Griffins added to the lead to go up by 11 early in the second half. CHC's lead oscillated between seven and ten points over the next three minutes before a three-pointer from rider and a basket from Warrick gave the Griffins their biggest lead at 62-49 with 12:09 left in the half. Chestnut Hill still led by ten 66-56 when the Huskies exploded with a 13-4 uprising to pull within one 70-69 with 5:50 left. Some 70 seconds later a Husky three-point basket from Desmond Freeman tied the game a74-74. Haughton broke the tie with a pair of free throws and Warrick put the Griffins up four with a layup, 78-74. Freeman followed with a layup to pull Bloomsburg back within two before baskets from Pitts and Warrick started a 9-2 spurt to close out the game. The Griffins made five of six free throws in the final 39 seconds to seal the win.
For the game, both teams made 31 field goals with the Huskies taking three more shots than the griffins and making three more three-point baskets. Chestnut Hill held a big advantage on the free throw line, making 20 of 22 shots while Bloomsburg took only ten free throw attempts, converting eight. The Griffins held a 37-33 rebounding edge and committed four fewer turnovers (10-14).
The Chestnut Hill College Men's Basketball team returns to action on Saturday, November 19, 2022 when they host Millersville university for their home opener. Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m.
