Men's Basketball Earns Gutsy Win at Chestnut Hill to Advance to CACC Semifinals

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Playing in the postseason for the first time since 2020, the third-seeded University of Bridgeport men's basketball team (17-12, 10-6) earned an 85-81 win at second-seeded Chestnut Hill in the CACC Quarterfinals on Tuesday night.

UB will now play top-seeded Dominican at Jefferson on Saturday night (5 p.m.) in the CACC semifinals. The Purple Knights and Chargers will meet for a third time this season.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Four in double figures piloted a UB offense that shot nearly 50-percent (36-of-73) from the field.

Aliou Cisse, who was named the CACC's Player of the Year earlier in the day, was once again outstanding on Tuesday night. The junior poured in a team-high 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting. He also added a team-best six rebounds.

Amadou Traore joined in with a terrific performance of his own. The Harlem, N.Y. native posted a stat line of 17 points (season high), five steals (season high) and five rebounds. He finished 8-of-11 from the floor.

Bridgeport's offense also featured a pair of 16-point efforts from Caleb Jacobs and Justin Hendrick. Jacobs dished out a team-high five assists as well while Hendrick knocked in four three-balls (team high).

Collectively speaking, bench points provided a major spark for the Purple Knights. UB put together a 31-7 advantage in that department while also enjoying a 48-36 edge in points in the paint.

UB forced 12 turnovers in the contest and posted a 17-8 margin in points off turnovers. Bridgeport, which led the CACC in rebounding this season, added 11 more offensive boards on Tuesday. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Purple Knights allowed just 37 points in the first half en route to building an eight-point lead at the break.

UB limited the Griffins to just 12-of-29 shooting in the first half. Bridgeport also knocked in five of their six three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes.

Following a 21-13 run to begin the second half, UB stretched its advantage to a game-high 16 points (66-50) with 11:07 remaining in regulation.

Chestnut Hill slowly cut into the lead until finally getting within two at 2:37 remaining and at 1:06 left. UB responded with buckets each time.

It was finally an offensive rebound and a putback from Traore with 11 seconds on the clock that put Bridgeport up four and clinched the win.

For all information regarding Bridgeport Athletics, visit www.UBKnights.com and follow UB Athletics on Facebook (UBPurpleKnights), Twitter (@UBPurpleKnights) and Instagram (@UBPurpleKnights).