Four players reached double figure scoring as the Chestnut Hill College Men's Basketball team won their first game of the 2025-26 season, defeating Mercy University 80-66 Saturday afternoon in their home opener at Sorgenti Arena.

The Griffins are now 1-4 overall.  The Mavericks dropped to 0-4.

Amari Dow led all scorers with 17 points (6-11 FG and a perfect 3-3 from three-point range).  Kamal Lee added 13 points on 4-6 shooting from the filed and 3-4 from three-point range.  Jeremiah Gorham and Alejandro Redondo Cybak rounded out the double-figure scorers with 12 and 10 points respectively.  Tyler Spencer and Landon Shivers contributed nine points apiece.

Cybak led the Griffins with eight rebounds while Dow and Spencer grabbed six apiece. Lee and Gorham had five assists apiece.

Lee hit two three point baskets in the first three minutes as the Griffins opened the game by scoring the first ten points of the contest and added on to lead 17-2 just six minutes into the game.  A 10-4 run followed, highlighted by three-point buckets from Gorham and Malcolm Day (eight points), giving the Griffins their biggest lead at 27-6 midway through the period.  Chestnut Hill stilled by 19 with two minutes left in the opening half before the Mavericks scored the final six points to pull within 13, 35-22 at halftime.

Chestnut Hill's lead never dipped below 12 points, oscillating between 12 and 18 points for the entire second half.  The Mavericks closed within 12, 67-55 with just under seven minutes remaining but an 8-2 run by the Griffins pushed the lead back to 18, 75-57 with just 3:16 left in the game.  Dow started the run with his final three-point basket of the game and Spencer capped it off with a layup.   Mercy cut the lead back to 12 with a 9-3 run before Lee closed out the scoring with a pair of free throws with 49.9 seconds left to make the final score 80-66.

The Griffins shot a solid 53.6% from the field, making 30 of 56 shots.  Equally impressive was their three-point shooting, making nine of 17 for a 52.9% effort.  The defense held Mercy to 40.7% shooting from the field (22-54) which included a 7-27 effort (25.9%) in the first half.  The Mavericks also turned in a good performance from long range, making eight of 19 three-point shots (42.1%). 

The free throw line was one spot the Griffins struggled, making just 11 of 18 (61.1%) while the Mavericks made 14 of 17 (82.4%).  Chestnut Hill had a big 36-24 rebounding advantage and committed two fewer turnovers (17-19), leading to a 17-10 scoring advantage in the points off turnovers category.

The men's basketball team returns to action on Tuesday, November 25, 2025 for their first conference contest of the season, hosting Post University at Sorgenti Arena.  Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m.