La Plume, Pa. – Keystone College reached the century mark for the first time in nearly four years in a 101-78 victory over visiting Penn State Altoona in non-conference men's basketball action on Friday night in the Gambal Athletic Center. The Giants improve to 3-5 on the season while dropping the Lions to 4-5 on the year with the win.
Keystone scored 100 points in a game for the first time since a 102-87 win at Cabrini College on January 19, 2013.
Penn State Altoona built a 21-16 lead midway through the first half of Friday night's contest before Keystone embarked on a 20-5 surge to claim a 36-26 advantage with 5:11 remaining in the first half. The Lions pulled to within seven points before the Giants scored nine of the contest's next 10 points to build a 15-point advantage before taking a 57-42 lead into the halftime break.
ShaShawn Drayton (Monticello, N.Y./Monticello) netted 14 points while
Deion Monroe (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston ) scored 12 points to lead Keystone in the 20 minutes of play.
John Kirkpatrick (Philadelphia, Pa./Northeast) added nine points while
Mark Gilliam (Philadelphia, Pa./High School of the Future) pulled down a team-best five rebounds for the Giants, who shot a hot, 52.6 percent from the field in the first half while going 4-12 from beyond the arc and 13-17 from the free throw line.
Penn State Altoona's Ishimeal Nance led all scorers with 16 points in the first half while Andrew Gal tallied eight points for the Lions, who connected on 44.8 percent of their attempts from the floor in the first stanza while going 7-15 from three-point range and 9-14 from the charity stripe.
The visitors trimmed their deficit to 12 points early in the second half, but Keystone used a 17-5 burst to build a 24-point advantage at76-52, with 12:48 left in regulation. Penn State Altoona pulled to within 18 points before a 13-2 spurt by the Giants put the game out of reach as the hosts led by as many as 29 points before closing out the 23-point victory.
Drayton and
Perry Belcher (Orlando, Fla./Colonial) finished with 16 points apiece to lead Keystone while Monroe finished with 14 points. Kirkpatrick,
Terrence Palmer (Atlanta, Ga./Lakeside), and
Eric Hardaway (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights) added nine points apiece for the Giants, who finished the evening with a strong, 53.4 percent showing from the floor while going 25 percent from long distance and 73.9 percent from the line.
Devin Stricklin (Midland, Tex./Pro Vision Prep) led all players with seven assists while Drayton added a game-best four steals. Kirkpatrick had a team-leading eight rebounds for Keystone, who held a 44-32 advantage on the glass and were plus-five in the turnover department (14-19).
Nance led four Lions in double-figures with 16 points while Jordan Smith contributed a double-double on 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Javon Wilson added 11 points while Gal finished with 10 points for Penn State Altoona, who shot 41 percent from the field, 28 percent from three-point land, and 72.4 percent from the stripe in the loss.
Keystone will return to action on Saturday, December 31 when it travels to Amherst College, currently the top-ranked team in the nation, for a non-conference tilt starting at 1:00 p.m. in Amherst, Massachusetts.
