Noah Charles scored a career-high 23 points as the Chestnut Hill college Men's Basketball team fell short in their first conference game of the season with Wilmington University earning a 76-69 win in Newark, Delaware.

The Griffins are now 0-7 and 0-1 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference games.  The Wildcats improve to 3-4 overall and 1-0 in league play.

Charles connected on seven of 15 shots from the field, including five three-point field goals and four free throws for his career high 23 points.  He was one of two Griffins players in double figures.  Adam Angwafo scored 16 points.  Neal Hill led all players with ten rebounds to go along with six points.  Angwafo and Alejandro Redondo Cybak had four assists apiece.

The Griffins held a slim lead five minutes into the game until a 20-7 uprising from the host Wildcats put the Griffins into a 12-point deficit 25-13 midway through the half.  Back-to-back three-point baskets from Charles and Kamal Lee cut the deficit in half as the Griffins battled back.  Angwafo's three-ball tied the game at 33-33 before the Wildcats took a two-point lead at the half 40-38.

Three ties highlighted the opening minutes of the second half.  Charles then gave the Griffins their first lead since the 15-minute mark of the first half with a three-ball at the 15:46 mark, 47-44.  Two straight baskets from the Wildcats gave the hosts a 48-47 lead, forcing the Griffins to play from behind again.  CHC rallied to tie the game two more times, the last on a dunk by Angwafo at the 8:07 mark, making the score 57-57.

The Griffins stayed within striking distance as the Wildcats never led by more than six points until the final two minutes when they opened a 69-62 lead with 1:51 remaining.  Wilmington made seven of eight free throws in the final 1:21 to seal the six-point win, with CHC never getting any closer than five points down the stretch.

For the game, the Wildcats shot 45.3% (29-64) from the field while The Griffins connected on 41.4% of their shots (24-58).  Both teams missed their share of free throws with Chestnut Hill producing a slightly better percentage (66.7% (12-18) to 57.9% (11-19) for the Wildcats.).  Chestnut Hill held a 43-34 rebounding advantage including a 16-13 advantage on the offensive glass, translating into a 19-13 scoring advantage in the second chance points category.  The Griffins, however, committed 16 turnovers to the Wildcats five as Wilmington scored 23 points off the CHC turnovers (23-6).

Taalib Holloman led the Wildcats with 16 points.  Nalik Veasley had nine rebounds.

The men's basketball team returns to action on Saturday, December 2, 2023, when they host area rival Jefferson University at Sorgenti Arena.  Tipoff is set for 3:00 p.m.