Boxscore
PIKE CREEK, Del. – A late three-point shooting spree and solid free-throw shooting down the stretch propelled Chestnut Hill College over the Goldey-Beacom College men's basketball team, 82-70 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference play Tues. night at the Joseph West Jones Center.
With the loss, the Lightning fell to 14-5 overall and 8-2 in conference play while CHC improved to 9-10 overall and 5-5 in the league.
Senior guard Kyle White scored a game-high 24 points on 6-of-12 from the field and a perfect 11-for-11 from the free-throw line, and junior guard Sam McDuffie scored 21 points to go with seven rebounds, but it was not enough as the Lightning had double the Griffins' turnovers (16-8) and were outscored in the paint, 40-24.
GBC had no answer for CHC's 6-4 junior forward Larz Jeter (21 points, four rebounds) and freshman guard Francis Ashe (12 points, eight assists). Ashe picked apart the Lightning defense in the second half with eight points and six assists. Mark DiRugeris, Jr. (14 points) was also lethal in the second half, nailing two consecutive three-point field goals in a span of 30 seconds to lead Chesnut Hill on its 10-0 spurt around the five-minute mark that gave the Griffins control of the game.
The Lightning opened the game on a 6-0 run courtesy of layups by senior forward Troy Esquilin (two points, five rebounds, four blocks), junior forward Terrence Parkes (12 points, eight rebounds) and McDuffie. They would lead by as many as eight (29-21) after two free throws by junior guard Jon Crawford, but a 13-4 Griffins run, capped by a Mike Perry, Jr. layup at the 1:20 mark gave CHC its first lead of the game, 34-33. The lead changed hands twice more before White's three-point field goal with four seconds left gave GBC a 38-36 advantage at halftime.
Junior point guard Azeez Ellegood (seven points, two rebounds) opened the scoring in the second half when he forced a steal and cashed in with an easy layup to put the Lightning up, 40-36. The Griffins would respond by scoring six unanswered and 16 of the next 22 points to take a 52-46 advantage at the 13:53 mark.
Trailing 54-48, the Lightning went on an 11-2 run capped by two Ellegood free-throws to regain the lead, 59-56. But it was all Griffins from there. A Jeter layup at 6:28 started a devastating 10-0 CHC run that included back-to-back three-point field goals by DiRugeris, and Chestnut Hill went back ahead 66-59.
Ellegood tried to give the Lightning back some life with a three-pointer at the 4:40 mark to bring his team within four, but CHC came right back down the floor with another trey, this time from Ryan Cook (11 points). GBC's next trip down the floor saw White make both his free-throws to close the gap to five, but that would be as close as the Lightning would get the rest of the way. The Griffins would make 13-of-14 from the line down the stretch to seal the victory.
These two schools have now split the season series the last two seasons. Last season, both teams won on their respective home floors while this season, both teams lost on their home floors.
The Lightning, who have yet to lose consecutive games this season, will try to bounce back as they host another CACC South Division opponent, the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (USP) at the Jones Center Thurs. night in the final game of their four-game homestand.
