The Chestnut Hill College Men's Basketball team rallied from a double digit deficit then held off a second half rally by Holy Family University as they hung on to defeat the Tigers 65-62 to earn their first conference win of the season Wednesday night at Sorgenti Arena.
The Griffins improve to 1-2 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference games and 5-8 overall with the win, their ninth straight decision over the Tigers dating back to December 2019. The Tigers fall to 6-9 overall and 0-3 in league play.
Neal Hill led the Griffins with 13 points (6-8 FG) and 15 rebounds, recording his second double-double of the season and fourth consecutive game with 15 or more rebounds. Tommy Gardler came off the bench to score 12 points (3-6 3FG, 3-4 FT). Hill also led the team with four assists. Omari Salvi had three blocks on the night.
Holy Family led the entire first quarter, opening up a ten point lead midway through the period. The Griffins added an 8-2 run to pull with four 22-18 with 5:43 left in the period. The Tigers pushed the lead back yup to eight in the final minute before Kamal Lee sank a three-point basketball with one second left to cut the tigers lead 33-28 at halftime.
IV Pettit scored the first points of the second half, cutting the HFU lead to three. The Tigers lead  oscillated between one and three points for the next 7:11 until Hill's three-point basket tied the game at 45-45 and after a defensive stop, Hill scored again to give Chestnut Hill their first lead of the game at 47-45. Hill's two scores were part of a 14-0 run by the Griffins as they built an 11-point lead 56-45 with 8:11 left.
The Tigers began to crawl back into the game with an 8-0 run to pull within three 56-53 with 4:10 left, before a Noah Charles basket broke the run and increased the Griffins' lead to five 58-53.Najee Coursey added two  free throws and then a short jumper to cut the Griffins lead to one 58-57 with 2:14 remaining. Charles followed with a three-point basket and Alejandro Redondo Cybak added two free throws with 1:11 left to give the Griffins a six point lead 63-57.
Holy Family commenced to foul the Chestnut Hill players and send them to the free throw line as they attempted to come back. Enter Lucas Dunn. Dunn proceeded to grab three offensive rebounds off free throw misses over the final 56 seconds and a fourth offensive board on a three-point miss from Salvi, thus keeping the ball in his team's possession and forcing additional fouls by the Tigers. Holy Family pulled within two 64-62 on a dunk from Coursey with seven seconds left before Lee missed the second of two free throws and Dunn grabbed his fourth offensive board of the final minute preserving a 65-62 lead which held up as HFU's Jason Shields missed a desperation three point attempt as the buzzer sounded.
Coursey led the Tigers with 15 points while Tairi Ketner and Omarion Jett added 11 and ten respectively. Shields and CJ Mundell had eight rebounds apiece.
For the game the Griffins shot 38.2% (21-55) while holding the Tigers to just 33.3% (21-63). Chestnut Hill doubled up their opponent with eight three-point baskets to Holy Family's four. The Griffins struggled from the free throw line, making just 50% of their shots (15-30) while the tigers made 16 of 22 (72.7%). HFU had a slight edge on the glass, outrebounding the Griffins 47-41.
The men's basketball team returns to action on Saturday, January 11, 2025, when they travel to face Post University. Tipoff is set for 3:00 p.m.
