PHILADEPHIA, P.A. – The Bloomfield College men's basketball team held off the Griffins of Chestnut Hill in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) battle Saturday afternoon in the Sorgenti Arena. Freshman forward Nick Davidson (Lumberton, N.J.) erupted for a career-high 26 points to lead the Bears to their third consecutive victory after beginning the season at 0-3. Down the stretch, Chestnut Hill had erased multiple double-digit deficits to secure a three-point lead (84-81) with 1:36 to play but the Bears closed out the game on a 9-2 run to hand the Griffins their first conference loss. 
 
Bloomfield (3-3, 2-0) jumped out to a 9-2 lead right out of the gates after a Davidson 3-pointer off a feed from junior guard, Clarence White (Bronx, N.Y.). The point margin would extend to ten (34-24) after a jumper by senior guard, Marvin Williams (Jersey City, N.J.) at the 5:47 mark. Chestnut Hill (2-5, 1-1) walked into the halftime break down 44-37 with senior guard Christian Walck (Lancaster, Pa.) sinking two freethrows to close out the period's scoring. Davidson netted 13 points in the opening frame and along with starters Claude Blue (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Matt Hall (Brooklyn, N.Y.) who each poured in 9 points, paced the Bears first half attack.

Bloomfield kept a double digit lead as late as the 6:44 minute-mark (73-63) before the Griffins chipped away at the advantage, reeling off a 13-3 run with 3:17 to play. A slam dunk by Chestnut Hill's senior center Filip Sekulic (Danilovgrad, Montenegro) made it 81-80 as the clock ticked under 2:41. The Griffins forced a Bear turnover and took their first lead of the afternoon, 82-81, on a Walck layup with 2:16 remaining. Two freethrows by Walck then pushed the Bloomfield deficit to 84-81 with just 1:36 to go in the contest. The Bears dug deep and Hall willed his way to the rim for back-to-back layups on consecutive possessions to give Bloomfield the lead, 85-84 and they would not look back again. Bears guard Clarence White (Bronx, N.Y.) secured a steal and was intentianally fouled by Chestnut Hill to give Bloomfield the ball back after the junior split the charity stripe offerings(86-84). White eventually scored the Bears final five points of the contest, securing the game at the freethrow line, 90-86 once the Griffins were forced to foul.

All of Bloomfield's starters finished with double-digits in the scoring column led by Davidson's game-high performance on 12-for-16 shooting from the field. White had a team-high 8 rebounds to go along with 11 points and 3 steals for the afternoon. Williams and Blue contributed evenly, notching 14 points each and snagged 5 rebounds apiece. Hall posted 18 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals to the winning effort. Sekulic powered the Griffin attack, recording his second double-double in three games with 22 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. Walck contributed 21 points on 6-of-10 (60.0%) shooting from the field and a perfect 7-of-7 performance at the line. He also added seven rebounds and five assists. 

Next up the Bears will host the Chargers of Dominican College on Satuday, December 13. Bloomfield will look for their 4th consecutive victory with tip-off set for 3:00 pm. Stay up-to-date with the latest news, including game previews and recaps, from the Bloomfield College athletic department by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter or Instagram @GO_BCBears.