Men’s Basketball Picks Up First CACC Victory of the Season After Defeating Chestnut Hill, 89-79

Philadelphia, Pa. – The Holy Family University men's basketball team had five players score in double figures as the Tigers defeated Chestnut Hill College, 89-79, in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) contest at the Sorgenti Arena Thursday night.

With the win, Holy Family improves to 3-11 overall and 1-3 in the CACC, while snapping its eight-game losing streak. Chestnut Hill falls to 2-8 overall and 0-3 in the CACC.

Junior Tim Smith (Philadelphia, Pa./Cardinal Dougherty) (Philadelphia, Pa./Cardinal Dougherty) and freshman Nate Hodge (Columbia, Md./Oakland Mills) (Columbia, Md./Oakland Mills) combined for 47 points to lead the Holy Family offense. Smith finished with a game-high 25 points to go along with 11 rebounds and five assists. Hodge tallied a career-high 22 points after knocking down three three-pointers and going a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line.

Freshman Alberto Munoz (Morrisville, N.C./Cardinal Gibbons) (Morrisville, N.C./Cardinal Gibbons) tallied 11 points and grabbed seven boards, while sophomore Khiry Hankins (Cincinnati, Ohio/Summit Country Day School) (Cincinnati, Ohio/Summit Country) and junior Sam Mushman (Hackettstown, N.J./Pope John XXIII) (Hackettstown, N.J./Pope John XXIII) contributed 11 points off the bench for the Tigers.

For Chestnut Hill, junior Dan Comas led the team in scoring with 23 points and 12 rebounds to record the double-double. Senior Trenton Davidheiser tallied 12 points, while fellow classmate Brandon Williams added 11 points. Junior Uros Kovacevic contributed ten points off the bench for the Griffins.

Holy Family trailed by as many as 12 points midway through the first half as Chestnut Hill held a 22-10 advantage. However, Holy Family went on a 24-8 run to close out the half and take a 34-28 lead entering the locker room at halftime.

In the second half, Holy Family increased its lead to double-digits after Mushman scored on a lay up basket to make the score 47-36 with 15:27 left to play.

Chestnut Hill responded with a 15-5 run to come within one point of Holy Family's lead after Francis Ashe scored a lay up as the Tigers led 52-51 with less than ten minutes to play in regulation.

Later in the half with the game tied 60-60, Holy Family regained the lead for good after Hankins converted a three-point play after being fouled while scoring a lay up with 6:58 left on the clock. Hankins scored all of his 11 points in the second half.

From that point on Holy Family outscored Chestnut 29-19 as the Tigers went on to the 89-79 victory. Holy Family shot 54.2-percent from the field and converted 27-of-30 from the free throw line in the second half. The Tigers were 31-of-37 from the free throw line for the game.

Holy Family is back in action on Saturday, Jan. 8 as the Tigers host Dominican College in a CACC contest. Game time is slated for 3 p.m.

- HFU -

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