Langhorne, Pa. – Keystone College made a season-high 15 three-pointers and
Mark Gilliam (Philadelphia, Pa./High School of the Future) scored 23 points to lead the Giants to a 92-72 victory over Cairn University in a Colonial States Athletic Conference men's basketball contest on Wednesday night. Keystone lifts its record to 5-8 overall and 2-5 in conference play while the Highlanders see their record drop to 2-10 on the season and 1-6 in the CSAC.
Keystone raced out to a 12-3 lead over the first 3:43 of Wednesday's contest before Cairn used a 7-2 spurt to pull to within four points at the 14:22 mark. The Giants counted with the next six points to claim an 11-point advantage, but the Highlanders cut their deficit to 26-19 with just over nine minutes remaining in the opening half.
Keystone took control of the game though by closing the first half on a 24-6 run to hold a 50-25 lead at halftime.
Gilliam and
Deion Monroe (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston ) scored 14 points apiece with Monroe grabbing a team-high five rebounds in the first half to lead Keystone.
Perry Belcher (Orlando, Fla./Colonial) dished out six assists while
Ray Mills (Philadelphia, Pa./Oakbrook) had four helpers for the Giants, who shot 55.6 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play including an impressive, 10-18 showing from three-point range.
Seil Park paced Cairn with nine points while Gerroid Doughty II had seven points in the frame as the Giants held the Highlanders to just 27.3 percent shooting from the floor and 1-8 from beyond the arc in the first half.
Cairn opened the second half with a 12-0 run to pull to within 13 points, but Keystone pushed its lead back to 21 points at 62-41 with just over 13 minutes remaining when Gilliam converted a pair of free throws.
The Highlanders used an 11-3 run to trim its deficit to 10 points at 71-61 with 7:19 left in regulation, but the Giants put the game away by outscoring the hosts 17-7 over the final five minutes.
Gilliam poured in a season-high 23 points and handed out six assists for Keystone while Monroe (14),
Terrence Palmer (Atlanta, Ga./Lakeside) (13), and Mills (11) also reach double-figures in the win. Monroe also pulled down a game-high eight rebounds while Belcher led all players with eight assists on the night. Mills also handed out six assists while Belcher corralled six boards for the Giants.
Keystone shot a season-high 54.7 percent from the field including a 51.7 percent showing from downtown with a season-high 15 made three-pointers. The Giants also went 7-10 from the free throw line while holding a 43-34 rebounding advantage.
Zachary Dolton paced Cairn with 16 points while Doughty (14) and Chris Uhrich (12) also reached double-figures for the hosts, who went 39.7 percent from the floor, 14.8 percent from long range, and 71.4 percent from the stripe in the loss.
Keystone will host Cabrini University on Saturday afternoon in a CSAC tilt starting at 3:00 p.m. in the Gambal Athletic Center in La Plume.
