La Plume, Pa. – Keystone College held a 47-45 lead over 21
st ranked Neumann University in Colonial States Athletic Conference men's basketball action on Wednesday evening, but the Knights outscored the Giants 54-29 in the second half to pull away with a 99-76 victory. Neumann improves to 17-1 on the season including a perfect 11-0 in conference play while the Giants drop to 5-12 on the season and 2-9 in the CSAC.
Keystone raced out to a 12-4 lead in the first three and a half minutes of Wednesday's contest before Neumann reeled off eight straight points to tie the game. The Knights would go on to opened up a seven points lead, 35-28, with 6:06 remaining in the stanza, but the Giants battled back and took a 47-45 lead into halftime after
Mark Gilliam (Philadelphia, Pa./High School of the Future) drained a three-pointer from the corner just before the buzzer that closed out an exciting first 20 minutes of play.
Gilliam poured in 21 points in the first half including five three-pointers to lead all scorers while
John Kirkpatrick (Philadelphia, Pa./Northeast) added 10 points and four rebounds for Keystone.
Ray Mills (Philadelphia, Pa./Overbrook) dished out three assists for the Giants, who shot 55.2 percent from the floor including a 6-11 showing from three-point range and 9-12 effort from the free throw.
DeShawn Lowman paced Neumann with 14 points while Billy Cassidy netted 12 points in the opening 20 minutes of play. The Knights connected on 48.6 percent of their efforts from the floor in the first half while going 4-11 from beyond the arc and 87.5 percent from the charity stripe.
Neumann came out hot in the second half, outscoring Keystone 18-7 over the first 6:37 to open up a 65-54 advantage. The Knights extended their lead to 15 points before the Giants used a 7-2 spurt to pull to within 10 points at 75-65 with 6:50 left on the clock. The visitors seized final control of the contest with an 11-2 run that stretched the lead to 19 points before pulling away with the 23-point victory.
Lowman led five Knights in double-figures with a game-high 32 points while Darian Barnes (22 points, 18 rebounds) and Carl Wallace (18 points, 12 rebounds) adding double-doubles. Wallace, who reached the 1,000 career point milestone in the win, dished out a game-high five assists while Cassidy (16) and Tyaire Hudson (10) also reached double figures for Neumann, who shot 52.9 percent from the field for the game while going 30 percent from long distance and 63.6 percent from the line.
Gilliam scored a team-best 23 points to go along with six rebounds for Keystone while Kirkpatrick, Mills, and
Perry Belcher (Orlando, Fla./Colonial) each had 13 points. Mills led the squad with four helpers,
Khyle Diaz (East Miramar, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) pulled down six boards, and Belcher and
ShaShawn Drayton (Monticello, N.Y./Monticello) collected a pair of steals each for the Giants, who hit on 39 percent of their attempts from the floor on the evening including a 33.3 percent showing from downtown and a 69.7 night at the line.
Neumann held a 45-35 advantage on the glass in the contest and was plus-five in the turnover category (12-17).
Keystone will visit Immaculata University on Saturday afternoon for a CSAC contest starting at 3:00 p.m. in Immaculata, Pennsylvania.
