La Plume, Pa. –Tyheim Monroe posted game-highs of 28 points and 21 rebounds to lead visiting Cabrini College to an 80-72 victory over Keystone College in Colonial States Athletic Conference men's basketball action on Thursday night in the Gambal Athletic Center. The Cavaliers move to .500 on the season with the win, improving to 5-5 overall and 3-1 in conference action.
The first half of Thursday evening's contest was a fast-paced, seesaw battle between to the two sides as the teams swapped the lead 15 times over the first 20 minutes of play. Cabrini took an early, 6-2 edge, before
Eric Hardaway (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights) sandwiched a pair of field goals around a three-pointer from
Deion Monroe (Kingston, NY/Kingston ) to give Keystone (0-9, 0-4 CSAC) a three-point lead at the 15:03 mark.
The game remained a single-possession contest over the next 11 minutes before the Cavaliers pieced together a 10-2 run to hold a 37-30 lead with 2:42 remaining in the period. The visitors would take a 39-34 lead into halftime after
Tyreek Peeples (Philadelphia, PA/Girard College) scored on a layup in the final minute for the last two points of the half.
Cabrini's Deryl Bagwell led all scorers with 11 points in the first half while Monroe added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Cavaliers, who shot 44.4 percent from the field in the opening frame while going 4-16 from three-point range and 3-5 from the free throw line.
Hardaway paced the Giants with 10 points and
ShaShawn Drayton (Monticello, NY/Monticello) chipped in with eight points for Keystone. Drayton,
Devin Williams (Monticello, NY/Monticello), and
Bryan Williams (Los Angeles, CA/Rialto) corralled four boards apiece for Keystone, who hit on 41.7 percent of their field goal attempts in the first half while going 2-10 from beyond the arc and connected on both of their free throw attempts.
Keystone narrowed their deficit to three points four times in the first nine minutes of the second half, but were unable to pull any closer. Holding a 52-49 lead, Cabrini rattled off seven-straight points to extend their lead to 59-49 with 9:24 remaining. The Giants drew to within six points with six and a half minutes remaining when Monroe converted on a pair of free throw attempts, but the Cavaliers countered with another 7-0 run to claim their largest advantage of the game, 70-57, with 3:38 showing on the clock and the hosts would come now closer than within seven points the rest of the way.
Monroe's huge night for Cabrini came on 10-15 shooting from the floor and an 8-10 performance at the free throw line. Bagwell added 18 points while Jair Green (15) and Ace Henry (10) also reached double-figures in scoring in the win. Ivan Robinson led all players with six assists for the Cavaliers, who finished the contest shooting 41.5 percent from the field, 24 percent from long range, and 69 percent from the line.
Keystone's Monroe was the Giants' leading scorer with a career-high 16 points while Drayton added his fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Hardaway and
Devin Williams (Monticello, NY/Monticello) netted 10 points apiece while Peeples finished with eight points and a team-best three assists.
Devin Williams (Monticello, NY/Monticello) and
Bryan Williams (Los Angeles, CA/Rialto) added seven boards apiece for the hosts, who held a 42-20 edge in rebounding on the night.
Keystone returns to the hardwood on Saturday afternoon with a CSAC game at Cairn University. Opening tipoff against between the Giants and Highlanders is set for 1:00 p.m. in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.
