Four players scored in double figures as the Chestnut Hill College men's basketball team's strong second half performance powered the team to defeat Caldwell University 75-65 at Sorgenti Arena Saturday afternoon.
The Griffins snap two-game losing streak with the win and improve to 8-10 overall and even their conference record in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference to 4-4. The Cougars fall to 12-6 overall and 4-3 in league play.
Alejandro Redondo Cybak led all players with a game-high 17 points (6-10 FG, 4-5 FT). IV Pettit added 15 points (5-8 FG, 4-4 FT) while Noah Charles chipped in 13 points. Neal Hill recorded his second consecutive double-double and his ninth straight game with double digit rebounds, scoring ten points and grabbing a game high 15 rebounds. Hill also led the team with five assists.
Hill scored all ten of his points in the second half and nearly had a double-double in just the half with nine rebounds in the period as the Griffins overcame a double-digit deficit. Caldwell opened the second half with a 6-2 run to take a 37-26 lead just 1:47 into the final period. The Griffins quickly cut the cougar lead to three with eight straight points with Cybak opening the run with his lone three-point basket and Pettit scoring the next five to make the score 37-34.
Caldwell quickly pushed their lead back to eight before the Griffins rallied again, this time with a 12-3 spurt to take their first lead since early in the game, 46-45 with 11:58 left. Cybak's dunk-and-one capped the run. CU's DeAngelo Horn flipped the score back to CU's favor 47-46 before another big run from the Griffins, a 13-3 uprising, swung the momentum and gave the home team a 59-50 lead with 6:04 remaining. Pettit's layup and Kamal Lee's three-point basket started the run while Omari Salvi put the finishing touches on the run with five straight points over a 21-second time frame. Two baskets from the Cougars cut the margin to five before Hill sank his second three-point bucket of the game to push the lead back to eight 62-54 with three minutes remaining.
The Griffins earned the remainder of their points at the free throw line, connecting on 13 of 14 shots over the final 2:30 to secure the ten-point win, 75-65. Charles and Lee made four apiece.
In the opening half, the Griffins led early and held a two-point advantage before the cougars produced an 11-3 run to take a six point lead 20-14 with 8:29 left. The cougar lead oscillated between three and eight points the rest of the half before the visitors settled in for a seven -point advantage 31-24 at halftime before upping the lead to double digits early in the second half.
Five Cougars reached double figures with Melvin Evans and Isaiah Philbert scoring 14 and 13 points, respectively. Horn recorded a double-double with 11 points and ten rebounds while Derrick Bueno and Kirk Parsons finished the game with 11 and ten points, respectively. Bueno paced all players with three steals.
For the game, the Griffins held a big advantage at the free throw line, making 22 of 26 on the afternoon (84.6%) while the Cougars made just nine of 17 (52.9%). Caldwell made one more three point basket than Chestnut Hill and was more efficient with their attempts, (8-13 -53.3% to CHC's 7-24- 29.2%). The Cougars overall shot slightly better 42.1% (24-57) to the Griffins' 39.7% (23-58). The Griffins held a 44-35 rebound advantage and made the most of their second chance opportunities, scoring 21 second chance points to Caldwell's seven.
The men's basketball team returns to action on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, when the host Wilmington University at Sorgenti Arena. Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m.
