Three players reached double figures as the Chestnut Hill College Men's Basketball team cruised to their second consecutive victory, defeating Cheyney University 68-54 Wednesday night at Sorgenti Arena.

The Griffins evened their record at 12-12 with the win while Cheyney dropped to 5-16.

Amir Warrick led the Griffins with 16 points (7-11 FG) and eight rebounds.  MJ Iraldi knocked down four three-point baskets and added a free throw to finish with 13 points.  James Rider added ten points (three 3FG).  Nigel Haughton dished out seven assists while scoring eight points and grabbing six rebounds.  Conor Regan also had six assists.

The first nine minutes of action saw two ties and three lead changes before the Griffins came to life both offensively and defensively.  Defensively they held the Wolves to just four points over the final 10:40 of the half and scoreless for the final 6:12. Offensively, the Griffins exploded with a 22-4 run over the same stretch.

Trailing 19-18 Iraldi started the run with a four-point play and followed with another three-ball to give the Griffins a 25-19 lead. Warrick then added two baskets to make the score 29-21.  After a Cheyney basket by Jabril Baxter with 6:12 left. The Griffins scored the final 11 points of the half, making five of eight shots in the final stretch of the first half to take a 40-23 lead into the locker room at the break.  Chestnut Hill shot a blistering 57.1% from three-point range (8-14) in the first half and 53.6% overall in the period.

The Griffins opened the second half with a 9-4 run to take their biggest lead of the game 49-27 with 16:52 left.  Warrick had the first six points of final period and rider added a three-ball to complete the run.  CHC's lead oscillated between 18 and 20 points until a dunk from Adam Angwafo again put the Griffins up by 22, 61-39 with just under ten minutes remaining.    Still leading by 20 following a jumper from Ibrahim Sylla with 5:10 left, the Griffins were outscored 10-4 the rest of the way but still maintained their double-digit lead as they cruised to the 14-point win.

Kian Nixon led Cheyney with 23 points and 10 rebounds.  Nathan Pettus added a game high 13 rebounds to go along with his 12 points.

For the game, the Griffins shot 41.7% (25-59) while Cheyney shot 44% (22-50).  The Griffins made nine three-point baskets while holding Cheyney to an 0-8 effort from beyond the arc.   Cheyney held a 35-32 rebounding edge but had nearly twice as many turnovers 17-9 than the Griffins.
The men's basketball team returns to action on Saturday, February 11, 2023 when they host Alliance University at Sorgenti Arena.  Tipoff is set for 3:00 p.m.