Rosemont, Pa. –Five Rosemont College players reached double-figures on Saturday afternoon to lead the Ravens to an 89-78 victory over visiting Keystone College in Colonial States Athletic Conference men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon. Rosemont levels its record at 3-3 on the year and improves to 2-1 in league play while the Giants fall to 2-4 overall and 0-3 in the CSAC.
The first 15 minutes of Saturday's conference tilt was a back-and-forth battle that saw the teams swap the lead nine times.
Devin Stricklin (Midland, Tex./Pro Vision Prep) put Keystone up 30-29 on a layup with 4:55 remaining in the first half, but Rosemont went back in front with a three-pointer that started a 14-5 run by the Ravens to close the half as the hosts held a 43-35 advantage at the intermission.
Jamier Hughes, Clayton Wolfe, and KyleLafferty all had eight points apiece to lead Rosemont in the first half as the Ravens shot 48.5 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes of play while going 5-11 from three-point range and 6-8 from the free throw line.
John Kirkpatrick (Philadelphia, Pa./Northeast) paced Keystone with 12 points while
Mark Gilliam (Philadelphia, Pa./High School of the Future) netted 11 points in the first stanza for the Giants, who connected on 44.8 percent of their field goal attempts in the half including a 40 percent showing from beyond the arc while the visitors made five of eight attempts from the charity stripe.
Perry Belcher (Orlando, Fla./Colonial) scored on a layup to bring Keystone to within six out of the gate in the second half, but Rosemont outscored the Giants 22-10 over the next six minutes to open up a 65-47 advantage with 13:18 remaining in regulation. The visitors slowly chipped away at the Ravens' advantage and pulled to within eight at 80-72 at the 3:19 mark on a
Deion Monroe (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston ) field goal, but Keystone was unable to come any closer as the hosts closed out the 11-point victory.
Hughes finished with a game-high 20 points for Rosemont and was joined in double-figures by Wolfe (16), Khai Roberts (16), Lafferty (12), and Alex Epps-Ortiz (10). Hughes led the Ravens with nine assists while Wolfe dished out 10 assists to round out a double-double for the hosts, who shot 47.1 percent from the field, 40.9 percent from downtown, and 69.6 percent from the line in the win.
Gilliam finished with a season-high 17 points for Keystone while Kirkpatrick recorded his second double-double of the season on 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Monroe,
Bryan Williams (Los Angeles, Calif./Rialto), and
Khyle Diaz (East Miramar, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) tallied nine points apiece for the Giants, who connected on 45 percent of their attempts from the floor while going 28.6 percent from long range and 72 percent from the line.
Stricklin led all players with four steals while Belcher handed out a team-best four assists for the visitors in the loss.
The Giants held a 39-36 advantage in rebounding for the game, but were minus-seven in the turnover department, giving the ball away24 times to 17 turnovers for Rosemont.
Keystone will travel to Dover, Delaware next Saturday for a non-conference game against Division I Delaware State University. Opening tipoff between the Giants and Hornets is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
