Philadelphia, Pa. - Sophomore Alberto Munoz (Morrisville, N.C./Cardinal Gibbons) scored a game-high 25 points, however the Holy Family University men's basketball team came up a tad short as the Tigers lost a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) contest at Chestnut Hill College by the score of 77-75 Tuesday night at the Sorgenti Arena.
 
Holy Family is now 3-4 overall after dropping its fourth straight contest by five points or less.  The Tigers are now 0-2 in CACC action, while Chestnut Hill improves to 7-3 overall and starts conference play with a 1-0 mark.
 
Munoz led all scorers as he tied his season-high with 25 points.  He shot 8-of-14 from the field, including 5-of-9 from three.  He also grabbed five rebounds and shot a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line.  Freshman Richard Council (New York, N.Y./Rice) scored 14 points for the second straight game, while senior Rickie Crews (Deptford, N.J./Deptford) added nine points and nine rebounds. 
 
For Chestnut Hill, junior Mark DiRugeris scored a team-high 20 points to lead the Griffins' offense.  He converted 9-of-12 free throw attempts and came up one rebound shy of a double-double as he grabbed nine boards.  Freshman Alssene Sanitilus finished with 18 points after shooting 6-of-7 from the field, while fellow classmate added 15 points to go along with four assists.
 
Holy Family nearly erased a 16-point deficit as the Tigers played catch up the entire game.  The Tigers found themselves in a 16-point hole midway through the second half after Dickson nailed a jumper for the Griffins to make the score 64-48. 
 
However, Holy Family began chipping away at the Chestnut Hill lead and went on an 18-4 run the next 5:14 to come within two points of the Griffins.  Munoz's three-pointer at the 4:53 mark capped the run and made the score 68-66.  He also scored ten of the Tigers' 18 points during that stretch.
 
Chestnut Hill would go ahead and increase its lead to six points later in the final minute of regulation after DiRugeris converted a pair of free throws to make the score 76-70 with :42 seconds on the clock.
 
On the following Holy Family possession, freshman Eric Fleming (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) scored a layup after grabbing a key offensive rebound to make the score 76-72 with :26 seconds remaining. 
 
After a pair of missed free throws by Chestnut Hill, Holy Family took the ball down the court and cut the lead to one point after junior Khiry Hankins (Cincinnati, Ohio/Summit Country Day School) drained a three pointer.  Hankins' three made the score 76-75 with :13 seconds showing on the clock.
 
On Chestnut Hill's next possession, Holy Family immediately fouled sending DiRugeris to the free throw line.  DiRugeris missed his first attempt but made his second to give the Griffins a two-point lead (77-75) with only nine seconds to play in regulation.
 
On the ensuing possession, Hankins managed to get a shot off in an attempt to tie the game but was blocked by the Griffins Mike Perry as he swatted the ball out of bounds.  Holy Family had one more chance to tie the game, but were unable to get another shot off as only one second remained after the blocked shot by Perry as Chestnut Hill went on to the two-point victory.
 
Holy Family is back in action on Saturday, Dec. 10 as the Tigers host Felician College in a CACC contest.  Game time is slated for 3 p.m.