Men’s Basketball falls in home opener to Fifth Ave. adversary Chatham

PITTSBURGH --- Carlow University men's basketball lost its home-opener, 67-51, against Chatham University Saturday afternoon.

Riley Comforti (Scottdale, Pa./Southmoreland HS/Alderson-Broaddus University) went 6 for 7 from the foul line to lead the Celtics with 12 points. Nehemiah Brazil (Pittsburgh, Pa./Nazareth Prep HS) recorded two assists and one steal in the effort.

The Cougars shot 50 percent from the field with four treys and forced 15 Carlow turnovers in the first half.

Trailing 9-6 early on, three costly turnovers in a row by the Celtics allowed Chatham to gain a 13-6 advantage. A fast break three-pointer put the Cougars ahead 16-8, but the Celtics kept the game within reach throughout the half.

Carlow trailed, 25-18, with 4:22 remaining in the half before Blaine Gartley snagged a steal and hit a layup that set off an 11-2 run for the Cougars to give Chatham an 18-point lead heading into halftime.

The Celtics outscored the Cougars 31-29 and went 6 for 6 from the foul line in the second half but could not recover from the first half deficit.

At 40-24, neither team scored for over three minutes until Chatham drained another three-pointer to end the scoring drought.

The Celtics were in a double bonus situation for the final five minutes of the game, outscoring the Cougars, 14-6. First year guard Gavin Moyer (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern York HS) entered the game with two minutes left and sank Carlow's first three-pointer of the day. Devin Lewis (Warrenton, Va./Fauquier HS/Pitt Bradford) followed with the Celtics' second trey just 30 seconds later with an assist from Clayton Cook (Brookville, Pa./Brookville Area HS).

The Cougars shot 43.3 percent (26 for 60) from the field and held a 37-29 rebounding margin over the Celtics. Carlow went 15 for 21 from the foul line (71.4 percent), while Chatham outscored the Celtics 36-20 in the paint.

Drew Vizenor scored a game-high 13 points off the bench for the Cougars, and Blaine Gartley added four assists and three steals. Diaun Pinkett tallied five steals on the day, and Lovenson Xavier recorded seven rebounds.

The Celtics return to action at the Stevenson Tip-Off Classic Nov. 15 and 16.