The Chestnut Hill College Men's Basketball team rallied from a 21-point first half deficit to defeat host Caldwell University 70-64 Saturday afternoon at the Newman Center in Caldwell, New Jersey.

The come-from-behind win clinched a playoff spot for the Griffins in the upcoming Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Tournament as the team improves to 12-10 overall and 9-5 in CACC games.  Caldwell falls to 7-14 overall and 3-10 in league play.

MJ Iraldi (West Deptford, N.J.) led all scorers with 21 points (8-16 FG) while Nigel Haughton (Bel Air, Md.) recorded a double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds.  James Rider IV (Baltimore, Md.) also scored 13 points (4-7 FG, 3-3 3FG) while Amir Warrick (Washington, D.C.) rounded out the double figure scorers for the Griffins with 12 points. David Erebor (Lagos, Nigeria) led all players with four blocks.

Caldwell came out on fire in the first half opening up a 29-8 lead just 9:26 into the game.  Two straight three-balls from Rider cut the lead to 29-14.  Haughton later added a three to make the score 31-18 before the Cougars sank a three-pointer of their own to up their lead to 16, 34-18 with 7:31 left.  Chestnut Hill battled back, as the half wound down, cutting the lead to ten at the break 43-33.

Haughton's three-ball five minutes into the second half cut the deficit in half 50-45. Warrick's put back at the 11:23 mark brought the Griffins within two 55-53 and Iraldi tied the game at 55-55 with a layup with 10:40 left in regulation and Iraldi put the Griffins ahead for the first time 57-55 at the 9:14 mark capping a 24-12 run.  Caldwell scored two straight baskets to take a 59-57 lead before Haughton tied the game again at 59-59.  A breakaway layup from Haughton put the Griffins back on top 63-61 with 1:58 left forcing a Cougar timeout. Iraldi's layup made it a four-point game before CU's Anthony Cooper sank a three-point basket to close the gap to one, 65-64 with 1:02 remaining.  Iraldi followed with a three-pointer with the shot clock winding down to push the lead back to four with 34 seconds remaining. The Griffins made a defensive stop and Warrick sank two free throws with 12.5 seconds left to complete the comeback win.

Chestnut Hill made one less field goal then Caldwell but they were slightly more efficient shooting 24-62 (38.7%) to Caldwell's 33.3% (25-75).  Where the Griffins dominated was at the free throw line, outscoring the Cougars 14-5.  The Cougars outrebounded the Griffins 47-45.

Up next for the Chestnut Hill Men's Basketball team will be a road contest with nearby and first-place Jefferson University on Tuesday, February 15, 2022.  Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m.