A second half rally fell short as the Chestnut Hill college Men's Basketball team dropped an 80-68 decision to area rival Jefferson University at the Gallagher Center in Philadelphia.
The Griffins fall to 7-10 overall and 3-4 in central Atlantic collegiate conference games. Jefferson improves to 10-7 overall and 4-3 in league play.
Four Griffins reached double figures led by IV Pettit's 16 points. Noah Charles added 15 points and a team high five assists. Neal Hill and Alejandro Redondo Cybak both recorded double-doubles with Hill scoring 11 points and grabbing a game-high 16 rebounds and Cybak pumping in ten points while grabbing 12 rebounds.
Jefferson shot their way to a 48-24 lead in the first half with some stellar three-point shooting (10-14).
Chestnut Hill opened the second half with a 23-4 run to nearly erase the 24-point deficit and close within five, 42-47 with 12:52 left.  Charles started the run with a three point basket and added two more field goals along the way. Lucas Dunn added five points during the run as did Pettit. Cybak completed the run with a turnaround jumper, his third basket during the scoring spurt.  The Rams countered with an 11-3 spurt to go back up by double digits, 62-51 with 8:32 left.
Hill's layup cut the Rams lead back to single digits before Jefferson scored seven straight points to lead 69-53. Chestnut Hill followed with eight straight points, capped by Hill's tip-in to close within eight 69-61. The Rams pushed the lead back to 12, 77-65 with 1:02 left before Hill sank a three-point basket to bring CHC within nine 77-68 with just 56 ticks left on the clock. Jefferson added three free throws in the final minute to make the final score 80-68.
In producing their 24-point halftime lead, Jefferson used runs of 20-4 and 16-8 to turn a one possession game in the first half into a 24-point lead, 48-24. The Rams scored 30 of their 48 first half points from three-point range, connecting on 10 of 14 shots from beyond the arc. (71.4%)
For the game, the Rams shot 44.3% (27-61) while the Griffins shot 34.8% (23-66). Jefferson cooled off from beyond the arc in the second half, making just four of 13 three point shot attempts to finish the game making 14 of 27 (51.9%). The Griffins shot 8-29 (27.6%) from three point range. The Griffins outrebounded the Rams 45-34, including a 15-6 advantage on the offensive glass.
The women's basketball team returns to action on Saturday, January 25, 2025, when they host Caldwell University at Sorgenti Arena. Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m.
