The Chestnut Hill College Men's Basketball team struggled right out of the gate in their first game after the Christmas break falling to Felician University 83-63 in Rutherford, New Jersey Saturday afternoon.
The Griffins fall to 4-8 overall and 2-3 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference games. Felician improves to 5-0 in league play and 10-2 overall.
Alejandro Redondo Cybak led the Griffins with 24 points (8-12 FG, 6-8 FT), nine rebounds and four steals. Jeremiah Gorham added 15 points while Landon Shivers chipped in ten points and six rebounds. Amari Dow led the team with four assists while also contributing six rebounds.
Offensively, the Griffins struggled in the first five minutes, making just one field goal in their first 13 possessions as the Golden Falcons jumped out to a 12-2 lead. Chestnut Hill came back with six straight points to cut the lead to four 12-8 before Felician countered with an 11-4 spurt to go back up by double figures 23-12. A Cybak three-point basket started an 8-3 spurt for the Griffins as they cut the deficit to three 26-23 with 3:20 left in the half. The Golden Falcons, however, closed out the half with a 7-3 run to lead 36-26 at the break.
Cybak scored seven of the Griffins' first eight points of the second half as they battled back within six  40-34 just three minutes into the final period. The Golden Falcons then countered with a 7-0 spurt to push the lead back into double figures, 47-34. The lead oscillated between ten and 13 points until Kamal Lee's fastbreak layup at the 11:49 mark cut the deficit into single digits, 52-43. Felician.  This would be as close as the Griffins would get as the Golden Falcons steadily increased their lead as the game went on, taking a 22-point advantage following a 15-2 uprising to lead 67-45 with 7:49 left. Chestnut Hill thrice cut the deficit to 12 as the game progressed but would get no closer as the Golden Falcons closed out the contest on an 11-3 run.
For the game, the Golden Falcons shot 52.3% (34-65) from the field while the Griffins connected on just 33.3% of their shots (19-57). The Griffins did outscore their hosts 21-9 from the free throw line but that was not enough to offset the huge field goal discrepancy between the two teams. The Golden Falcons also outrebounded the Griffins 44-32.
The men's basketball team returns to action on Tuesday, January 6, 2006 when they travel to face Wilmington University in Newark, Delaware. Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m.
