Junior guard Isaac Greer (Philadelphia, Pa./Cardinal Dougherty) scored 16 of his game-high 25 points in the second-half to lift previously winless Chestnut Hill College to a 76-64 upset of The University of Scranton in an opening round game of the Radisson Invitational at the Long Center Saturday afternoon.
Junior forward Mike Devine (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) added 18 points and junior guard Shawn Bolling (Philadelphia, Pa./Cardinal Dougherty) came off the bench to connect on 6 of 7 shots from the field to finish with 16 points, five rebounds and five assists as the Griffins improved to 1-9. Chestnut Hill, which shot 52 percent from the field in the second half and 50 percent for the game, advances to Sunday’s championship game against Alvernia College, which defeated Curry College (Mass.), 80-48, in the other semifinal game.
Sophomore center Tom Bicknell (Melbourne, Australia/St. Bede’s College) led the Royals, now 8-3, with 14 points and seven rebounds and freshman forward Paul Hawk (Audubon, Pa./Methacton) had a season-high 13 points and seven rebounds.
The Royals, playing for the second consecutive game without three starters and a key reserve sidelined by injuries, connected on only 7 of 24 field goal attempts (29.2) in the opening 20 minutes of the first half to fall behind 31-26 at intermission. Chestnut Hill, behind 10 points by Bolling and nine by Greer, shot 48 percent in the first-half.
Devine hit a pair of 3-pointers during a 12-4 run in the opening four minutes of the second-half as the Griffins built up their first significant lead, 43-30. The Royals continue to chip away at the lead and cut the margin down to two, 60-58, on two free throws by junior center Mike Kreuter (Penllyn, Pa./Shipley), who finished with 11 points, with 2:57 left. Devine and Bolling answered with layups and Greer sandwiched four free throws around a pair of free throws by Scranton’s Michael Riccobono (Chester, N.J./Mendham) to give Chestnut Hill a 68-60 lead with 1:10 left.
The Griffins, who hit 18 of 19 free throws for the game, connected on eight free throws in the final minute of play to ice the game. The Royals shot only 35.7 percent (20 of 56) from the field and were guilty of 16 turnovers to have a 16-game home winning streak snapped. Scranton’s last loss at home was a 76-69 defeat to DeSales University on February 14, 2004.
CHESTNUT HILL COLLEGE (1-9) Greer, Isaac 7-16 10-10 25; Devine, Mike 6-12 2-2 18; Bolling, Shawn 6-7 4-516; Grubisic, Antonio 2-4 2-2 8; Tamburo, Steve 2-4 0-0 4; Graham, Darien 1-3 0-0 3; Swoyer, Joe 1-1 0-0 2; Simmons, Juno 0-0 0-0 0; Burke, Dan 0-2 0-0 0; Lyons, Dwight 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-50 18-19 76. THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (8-3) Tom Bicknell 3-6 8-10 14; Paul Hawk 5-10 2-2 13; Mike Kreuter 3-4 5-9 11; Randy Arnold 3-11 0-0 8; Michael Riccobono 2-3 2-2 7; Nick Alfier 2-5 0-1 5; James Powell 1-7 0-0 3; Ryan Kirk 1-9 0-0 3; Paul Biagioli 0-0 0-1 0; Bill Burke 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 20-56 17-26 64. Chestnut Hill College......... 31 45 - 76 The University of Scranton.... 26 38 - 64 3-point goals-Chestnut Hill College 8-19 (Devine, Mike 4-7; Grubisic, Antonio 2-4; Graham, Darien 1-2; Greer, Isaac 1-5; Burke, Dan 0-1), The University of Scranton 7-27 (Randy Arnold 2-5; Michael Riccobono 1-2; Paul Hawk 1-5; Ryan Kirk 1-7; James Powell 1-4; Nick Alfier 1-4). Fouled out--Chestnut Hill College-Tamburo, Steve, The University of Scranton-Randy Arnold. Rebounds-Chestnut Hill College 33 (Tamburo, Steve 7), The University of Scranton 34 (Paul Hawk 7; Tom Bicknell 7). Assists-Chestnut Hill College 13 (Bolling, Shawn 5), The University of Scranton 12 (Randy Arnold 4). Total fouls-Chestnut Hill College 21, The University of Scranton 21. A-275