The Chestnut Hill College Men's Basketball Team tipped off their 2024-25 season Friday night, taking on host Daemen University at the 2024 East Region Challenge, presented by Western New York Knee and Orthopedic Surgery PC  in Amherst, New York, falling to the host Wildcats 65-55.

Omari Salvi and IV Pettit were the lone CHC players to reach double figures.  Salvi made his Griffins debut after missing the past two seasons with injuries and scored 19 points (6-9 FG, 3-4 3FG).  Pettit added 13 points and led the team with three assists.

Neal Hill picked up where he left off last season, rebound-wise, pulling down a  game-high 11 while also recording two blocks.

The Wildcats led for much of the first half  but never pulled away, allowing the Griffins to remain close.  CHC closed out the half with a 7-0 run capped by a Slavi three-ball to lead 28-27.

Another three-pointer from Salvi and a layup from Hill opened the second half as the Griffins built a six point lead 33-27. Daemen countered with nine straight points to retake the lead 36-33 with 12:41 left.  Free throws from Kamal Lee put the Griffins back on top momentarily,  37-36 before the Wildcats exploded with a 16-3 uprising to take a double-digit lead 52-40 with 5:33 left in the game. The Griffins would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way with Donald-James Imo scoring the final five points of the game to make the final score 65-55.

For the game, the Griffins shot 37.5% (18-48) from the field while the Wildcats made 24 of 57 shots (42.1%).  CHC made 14 of 17 free throws (82.4%) compared to DU's 12-for-17 (70.6%).  The Griffins had a slight 34-33 rebounding advantage but turned to ball over 23 times, leading to 28 points from the Wildcats.

The men's basketball team returns to action on Saturday, November 9, 2024, when the play Roberts Wesleyan University in their final game at the tournament.