A second half rally by the Chestnut Hill College Men's Basketball team fell short as Felician University handed the Griffins an 80-72 loss Saturday afternoon at the Job Gymnasium in Rutherford, New Jersey

The Griffins fall to 10-9 overall and 5-4 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference games.  The Golden Falcons with the win improve to 5-13 overall and 1-8 in league play.

Conor Regan led four Griffin players in double figures with 15 points (6-12 FG).  MJ Iraldi returned to action after missing the last several games with an injury to score 13 points (5-7 FG, 2-3 3FG) while Nigel Haughton added 11 points. Trevonn Pitts rounded out the double figure scorers with ten points.
Haughton also led the team with five rebounds and four assists.  Iraldi also grabbed five rebounds.

The Golden Falcons led wire-to-wire, quickly opening up a double-digit advantage less than five minutes into the game and led by as many as 16 before the Griffins cut the lead to 13 at halftime, 45-32.

Felician outscored the Griffins 17-6 in the opening six minutes of the second half, putting the Griffins into a 24-point deficit 62-38.  The Golden Falcons still led by 19, 69-50 with 9:07 to go when the Griffins began to claw their way back, scoring ten straight points to cut the lead to single digits, 69-60 with 5:03 left.  The Golden Falcon lead oscillated between nine and 13 points over the next 3:31 when Haughton sank a three-pointer and Noah Charles followed with a long two-point basket to cut the margin to eight 77-69 with 1:04 left.  The Griffins could not get any closer despite the Golden Falcons struggling at the free throw line, making just three of eight in the final minute to hang on for the eight-point win.

Sean McCarthy led Felician with 19 points and 11 rebounds while Dieker Pedrino added 18 points.

Statistically speaking, Felician's big advantage came at the free throw line, connecting on 22 of 28 attempts while the Griffins took just 12 free throws the entire game, making eight.  The Golden Falcons also outrebounded the Griffins 37-25.
 
The men's basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, January 25, 2023 when they host Jefferson University at Sorgenti arena.  Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m.