Chestnut Hill College Wins Battle Of Spurts To Defeat C.W. Post, 93-80
PHILADELPHIA, PA–On Wednesday night, GMC Hoops took the long trip down to the northern portion of Philadelphia to take in some Division II College Hoops action between the Griffins of Chestnut Hill College, and the Pioneers of C.W. Post. Â Former Cardinal McCarrick standout, Vince Rosario transferred to C.W. Post after being at Division I Central Connecticut State.
GMC Hoops arrived at the game with 8:23 to go in the first half, and Chestnut Hill leading 15-12. Â Over the next several minutes, C.W. Post took over the game with an 11-2 run that was sparked by a jumper and two free throws from Vince Rosario, and then capped off by an emphatic one handed slam dunk that forced Chestnut Hill to call for time at about the five minute mark with the Pioneers now in front, 23-17.
The Griffins didn’t get on the board again until the 4:23 mark with a score underneath. Â Chestnut Hill actually would score five of the next seven points to draw within three at 25-22, but Terry Coleman got a kind bounce on a foul line jumper for a 27-22 lead with 2:45 to go in the first half. Â The Griffins responded with six straight points including a layup by Mark Di Rugeris at the 2:15 mark, and then by layup by Dan Comas at the 1:47 mark for a 28-27 lead.
Following a timeout with 52.6 seconds to go in the first half, Chestnut Hill College closed the half with a jumper from the right corner by Seamus Radtke, and a three pointer by Luke Dickson from nearly the exact same spot for a 33-27 lead at the intermission. Â The Griffins closed the half with a 16-4 tear in the last five minutes. Â Chestnut Hill continued to pour it on at the start of the second half as Radtke scored a layup and Dickson added another three to highlight a 7-2 spurt over the first several minutes to take a 40-29 lead.
The momentum of the game, which seemed to swing wildly at times for both teams, turned again as C.W. Post went on a 19-6 tear over a span of about four minutes to take a 48-46 lead. Â Keying the run was Stefan Bonneau, who hit several threes during the rally including back to back treys from deep on the left wing, and another triple from the right wing. Â Bonneau also added a jumper while Tobin Carberry added a field goal and two foul shots, and Terry Coleman also chipped in with a score.
However, the home team Griffins wouldn’t go away as they put together a rally of their own. Â Over a span of nearly four minutes, Chestnut Hill put together a 18-7 tear including several scores by reserve Francis Ashe, and a layup at the 10:55 mark by senior Brandon Williams, who became the fourth player in Chestnut Hill College history to reach 1,000 points for his career. Â Following a C.W. Post timeout, the Griffins got another score from Ashe to cap the run for a 64-55 lead a little more than halfway through the second half.
Chestnut Hill continued to maintain that lead despite a C.W. Post 7-4 rally over the next 2:40 prior to the Pioneers calling a 30 second timeout with 7:22 to play in the game. Â Leading 68-62, the Griffins went on a 7-5 run over the next 2:40 to take a 75-67 lead with 4:42 remaining. Â Rosario had two free throws for C.W. Post during the stretch. Â The Pioneers would climb to within six on a couple of occasions, but Chestnut Hill College, which got a score earlier from Williams, got a layin from Ashe, and then a follow to take an 81-71 lead with 2:50 left.
Following a C.W. Post timeout, Bonneau got going again with another triple as he was fouled for an unconventional four point play, and an 81-75 Griffins lead, but Jakeem Bogans got a three to bank in from the left corner for an 84-75 advantage at the 2:14 mark. Â After the Pioneers crept to within six again, Chestnut Hill put the game away with two straight scores including a two handed dunk by Comas for an 88-78 lead. Â From there, the Griffins wrapped up the 93-80 victory with five free throws down the stretch.
This was a great win for Chestnut Hill out of the CACC. Â Last season, the Griffins were only 12-16 while C.W. Post was 21-10. Â The Pioneers had a highly heralded team coming into the season. Bonneau led all scorers with a game high 28 points while Comas led six different Chestnut Hill players in double figures with a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds. Ashe was a huge spark off the bench with 15 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals. Dickson chipped in with 13 points and 8 assists for the winners while Coleman had 16 points in a losing cause for C.W. Post. Rosario ended up with 9 points and 2 rebounds.
With the victory, Chestnut Hill improved to 4-1 on the season while C.W. Post dropped to 2-1 on the season. Read the article on the game courtesy of Chesnut Hill’s athletic department as well as the game stats and play-by-play.