MJ. Iraldi led three players in double figures but it was a basket in the final seconds by Caldwell University's that gave the Cougars a 70-68 win over Chestnut Hill college in men's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Sorgenti Arena.
The Griffins dropped to 10-11 overall and 5-6 in Central Atlantic collegiate conference games. The Cougars improved to 14-7 overall and 10-2 in league play.
Iraldi led connected on eight of 13 shots from the field, for a game-high 18 points.
Conor Regan added 12 points on four three-point baskets while
James Rider was a perfect 3-for-3 from three point range and added a layup to contribute 11 points.
Amir Warrick had nine rebounds and three blocks to lead the Griffins. Regan and
Noah Charles led the team with three assists apiece.
The Griffins led by as many as nine points late in the second half (63-54 with 5:55 left) and were still ahead by five 68-63 with just 2:17 remaining when the Cougars made their final surge, scoring the last seven points of the game. The cougars scored five straight points with free throws with Jarnel Rancy's (14 points, nine rebounds, 9 blocks) two from the charity stripe tying the game at 68-68 with just 34 seconds left. A missed layup by the Griffins gave the Cougars the ball with 15 seconds left and CU's Darnell Evans drove into the paint and shot a highly contested layup that dropped in to give Caldwell the 70-68 lead with 1.1 seconds left. Chestnut Hill could not get a shot off and the Cougars hung on for the win.
In the first half, the Cougars led for a good portion of the period with both teams playing within one possession of each other for the first 13-plus minutes. Caldwell led 19-16 with 6:19 left in the period when the Griffins offense came to life, producing a 17-3 uprising to take a 33-22 lead at the half. Charles tied the game at 21-21 with a layup before Rider connected on three straight three point attempts to put the Griffins up by nine 31-22 with just 61 ticks left on the clock. Iraldi added a fadeaway jumper as time expired to give the Griffins their biggest lead of the game (11 points) as the teams headed to the locker room for the break.
Evans led the Cougars with 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists while Rancy and Mark Heber had 14 points apiece.
For the game the Griffins shot 42.6% (26-61) from the field, making thee more field goals than the Cougars (23-59, 39%). The Cougars dominated on the free throw line with a 21-for-32 effort (65.6%) while the Griffins made just eight of 14 (57.1%). Both teams had identical rebound totals of 38.
The men's basketball team returns to action on Tuesday, January 31, 2022 when they travel to face Wilmington University in New Castle, Delaware. Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m.
