Ahmad Bickley, a freshman guard out of Cheltenham High School, calls a play for Chestnut Hill in last Tuesday's game at Jefferson University. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

by Tom Utescher

Last Tuesday night at Jefferson University, visiting Chestnut Hill College only trailed 33-29 at the intermission, but a sophomore for the host Rams, Deondre Bourne, funneled in 20 of his team-high 26 points in the second half to help Jefferson draw away to a 91-75 victory.

Shooting 10-for-16 from the floor, CHC sophomore Trevonn Pitts poured in a game-high 27 points, but this performance, along with 16 points from Keyon Butler and 14 from fellow sophomore Ahmad Bickley, were not enough to keep the Griffins from slipping to 3-15 overall and a record of 3-6 within the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. Both Bickley and Pitts are Cheltenham High School alums.

For Jefferson, Bourne and senior forward Josh Bradanese (24 points) formed a two-headed offensive monster as the Rams remained unbeaten in the CACC South Division, now at 9-0. The team’s overall record rose to 16-2 as perpetual head coach Herb Magee logged career victory number 1112.

Bickley bagged Chestnut Hill's first two field goals, but a pair of early three-pointers by Bradanese helped the Rams gain the upper hand (hoof?). When Bourne stroked his first trey from out on the right wing, CHC was down 17-8 and called time-out with 13 minutes left in the first half.

Coming back out after the peptalk, Butler hit three field goals and CHC freshman Conor Regan nailed a three-pointer from the top of the key. This 9-0 run lifted the Griffins into a 17-all tie with Jefferson as the middle of the half approached.

The visitors led twice by two points a little later on, then after the Rams levelled the score at 26-all the CHC offense faltered late in the half. Another "three" by Bradanese and a lay-up by senior guard Kylan Guerra helped Jefferson enjoy a 33-29 advantage at halftime.

It proved an ill omen for Chestnut Hill when the Rams' Bourne began the second period by sticking a trey from the right corner. He would toss in five more of them during the half, and with good ball movement around the set offense, his teammates often found him open.

Although Bourne's early three was matched by CHC's Pitts, the home team scored the next seven points and the Griffins huddled up in a time-out. They trailed 43-32 less than two-and-a-half minutes into the second round.

Five minutes in, the Griffins had the gap down at eight points (49-41) when freshman Scottie Spann, Jr. bagged a three-point shot and Pitts made a free throw. The problem was that this was one of the few times that Chestnut Hill was able to string together more than two or three points in a row. That's just not enough when you're down by four or five baskets.

In the middle of the second half, Bourne put in a three-pointer from the left corner to create an 18-point bulge for the Rams, 70-52. Later, the Griffins trailed 83-71 when they called time-out with 2:26 on the clock. They continued to play hard, with Pitts playing tenaciously around the rim to score several times on follow-ups.

Over the last minute or so, the Rams shot five-for-six from the foul line, and on the last attempt - a miss - Guerra grabbed the rebound and scored to fix the final score at 91-75.

CHC's Spann secured a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with nine points. Bradanese and Guerra led Jefferson on the boards with nine rebounds apiece, and Guerra finished with 13 points and DeVaughn Mallory scored 17 points and collected eight rebounds.