Amherst, Mass. – Perry Belcher (Orlando, Fla./Colonial) scored a game-high 20 points to lead four Keystone College men's basketball players in double-figures on Saturday, but host Amherst College, currently ranked third in the nation, cruised to a 119-69 win over the Giants.  Amherst improves to 9-1 on the season with the win while Keystone closes 2016 with a 3-6 mark.
 
Amherst scored the first nine points of Saturday's contest and held a 28-5 advantage after the first seven minutes of play.  Keystone used a7-0 run to trim its deficit to 16 points midway through the period when Khyle Diaz (East Miramar, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) drained a three-pointer, but the hosts outscored the Giants 36-15 the rest of the half to hold a 68-31 advantage at the intermission.
 
Jayde Dawson paced Amherst with 11 first half points while Johnny McCarthy and Jeff Racy tallied nine points apiece for the hosts who shot at a blazing, 71.4 percent clip for the field in the frame while going 7-13 from three-point range and 11-19 from the free throw line.
 
Belcher led all scorers with 15 points for Keystone while Diaz added six points in the opening 20 minutes of play.  Belcher also had three assists for the Giants, who connected on 30 percent of their attempts from the floor in the stanza while going 2-12 from beyond the arc and 5-6 from the charity stripe.
 
Keystone battled Amherst tighter through much of the second half, but the hosts were able to extend their lead to as many as 52 points before closing out the win.
 
Dawson led Amherst with 16 points while McCarthy finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.  Racy added 12 points while Michael Riopel netted 10 points for the hosts, who shot 64.8 percent from the field for the game including a 50 percent showing from downtown along with a 54.5 percent day at the line.
 
In addition to his game-high 20 points, Belcher led all players with 11 rebounds to pair with a team-best four assists.  John Kirkpatrick (Philadelphia, Pa./Northeast) added 16 points while Diaz and Devin Stricklin (Midland, Tex./Pro Vision Prep) netted 10 points apiece for Keystone.  Mark Gilliam (Philadelphia, Pa./High School of the Future) blocked a pair of shots for the Giants, who finished the afternoon hitting on 30.1 percent of their field goal efforts while making just a pair of three-pointers.  The visitors went 69.7 percent from the stripe in the loss.
 
Amherst held a 46-38 advantage on the glass in the contest and forced the Giants into 14 turnovers while giving the ball away 11 times as a team.
 
Keystone will resume the Colonial States Athletic Conference portion of its schedule on Tuesday night at local rival Clarks Summit University.  Opening tip between the Giants and Defenders is set for 8:00 p.m. in Clarks Summit.