PHILADELPHIA - - Playing in front of a raucous "Red-Out" fan section, the Chestnut Hill men's basketball team hit over half its shots on the night, leading wire-to-wire in defeating Wilmington University, 86-67, in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference action on Tuesday night in Sorgenti Arena.
The Wildcats (4-17, 4-9 CACC) could not stem an early onslaught on the road, finding themselves down 19-8 only six minutes into the contest. After a brief 2-2 tie, the Griffins (11-9, 7-4 CACC) never looked back and took a 44-27 lead into the halftime break before eventually taking as large as a 28 point lead late in the second half.
Chestnut Hill nearly shot the lights out of the building, going 17-for-30 (56.7 percent) from the floor, including an outstanding 7-for-12 from beyond the three-point arc in the first half alone. The Griffins cooled down slightly in the second half, shooting 16-for-30 (53.3 percent) including a 2-for-6 performance from three-point territory. The only shooting blunder for the home team was the 11-for-17 performance from the foul line.
On the flip side, the Wildcats struggled from the floor, shooting 28-for-66 (42.4 percent) for the game, including a 5-of-16 (31.3 percent) performance from three-point land. Wilmington only managed to get to the foul line on nine occasions, hitting six of the attempts.
Senior Brandon Fox led the Wildcats in scoring for the fourth time in the last five games, scoring 17 points while shooting 8-for-19 for the game. Junior Herb Dennis was the only other Wildcat to reach double figures, scoring 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including hitting 2-of-3 from downtown. Fox and Dennis also dished out five assists each.
The hot shooting led to three Griffin players in double digits, paced by Mark DiRugeris Jr. who poured in a game high 29 points, hitting 7-of-11 from three-point land. Francis Ashe hit on 9-of-13 from the floor to score 21 points and added a team high seven rebounds. Jordan McDaniel was the final Griffin in double figures, scoring 12 points off the bench, shooting 6-of-7 from the floor.
In support of the American Heart Association the Griffins took a stand against heart disease during the CACC doubleheader on Tuesday, encouraging all in attendance to participate and wear red in support of the cause. For the past two weeks, the men's and women's basketball teams sold the official "Rock the Beat" with the proceeds going towards AHA.
The Wildcats remain on the road for their next two games, first heading to CACC North Division foe Bloomfield on Saturday. The men will play second in the conference doubleheader, with the opening tip slated for a 3 p.m. start.