La Plume, Pa. – Keystone College had five players reach double-figures on Tuesday evening as the Giants opened Colonial States Athletic Conference play with an 82-75 victory over Immaculata University in the Gambal Athletic Center. Keystone levels its record at 2-2 (1-0 CSAC) on the year while the Mighty Macs slide to 2-2 (0-1 CSAC).
Jalen Flynn (Reading, Pa./Muhlenberg) led a balance offense for the Giants with 17 points to go along with three assists,
JT Bennett (Kansas City, Kan./Washington) added 13 points, two blocks, and two steals,
Mark Gilliam (Philadelphia, Pa./High School of the Future) and
Michael Leak (Cleveland, Ohio/Leon) netted 11 points each, and
Perry Belcher (Orlando, Fla./Colonial) finished with 10 points in the win for the hosts.
Keystone built a 26-14 lead over the first 10:15 of Tuesday's contest before Immaculata used a 12-2 run to pull to within two points at 28-26 with 6:10 remaining in the first half. The Giants responded by outscoring the Mighty Macs 14-6 over the final five minutes of the opening frame to hold a 42-32 advantage at halftime.
Keystone extended its lead to as many as 15 points early in the second half and maintained a double-digit lead until Immaculata pulled to with seven points, 65-58, with 8:19 left in regulation. The Giants went back up by 10 points before the Mighty Macs the host's lead to 76-73 with 2:53 showing on the clock, but that was as close as the visitors would come as Keystone pulled away with the seven-point victory.
Bryan Williams (Los Angeles, Calif./Rialto) led the Giants on the boards with eight rebounds while
John Kirkpatrick (Philadelphia, Pa./Northeast) pulled down seven caroms.
Keystone shot 42.6 percent from the field for the game while going 31.3 percent from three-point range and 53.8 percent from the free throw line. The Giants also were plus-four (11-15) in the turnover department for the contest.
Jordan Ambrose led Immaculata with 16 points, Mike Piekarski netted 14 points, and Will Chapman chipped in with 11 points in the loss. The Mighty Macs hit on 42.4 percent of their attempts from the floor in the loss while going just 19.2 percent from beyond the arc. The visitors, who held a narrow, 44-43 edge in rebounds for the game, shot 73.7 percent from the line.
Keystone will return to the hardwood on Sunday afternoon with a non-conference tilt at Penn State Altoona starting at 3:00 p.m.