Clarks Summit, Pa. – Keystone College used a 21-6 run to close the first half on Wednesday night on its way to an 83-68 victory at Clarks Summit University in a Colonial States Athletic Conference men's basketball contest between the local rivals.
 
The Giants (3-3, 2-0 CSAC) and Defenders (1-3, 0-1 CSAC) swapped the lead eight times over the opening 11:45 of Wednesday night's game with neither team leading by more than three points during that stretch. 
 
Jalen Flynn (Reading, Pa./Muhlenberg) connected on a three-pointer with 7:49 remaining in the opening half to jumpstart a 13-0 run for Keystone that gave the visitors a 32-19 advantage with four and a half minutes remaining in the period.  The Giants maintained a double-digit lead and held a 40-25 advantage at the halftime break.
 
Clarks Summit trimmed its deficit to nine points early in the second half before Keystone used a 15-4 surge to claim a 55-35 cushion with 16:29 left on the clock. 
 
The Giants' lead swelled to 27 points with 6:18 remaining before the Defenders used a 16-2 push to pull to within 13 points in the final minute of the game, but the visitor's lead was too much for the Defenders to overcome.
 
Mark Gilliam (Philadelphia, Pa./High School of the Future) paced a balanced offense for Keystone with 13 points to go along with four assists and three steals while John Kirkpatrick (Philadelphia, Pa./Northeast) and Terrence Palmer (Atlanta, Ga./Lakeside) netted 10 points apiece.  Flynn and JT Bennett (Kansas City, Kan./Washington) chipped in with nine points each for the Giants, who shot 50 percent from the field for the game, 26.7 percent from three-point range, and 58.3 percent from the free throw line.
 
Devin Stricklin (Midland, Tex./Pro Vision Prep) led the visitors with six assists and six rebounds as Keystone held a 32-25 advantage on the glass for the game and committed just 12 turnovers to 19 for the hosts. 
 
Antwan Bradley tallied a game-high 19 points for Clarks Summit and was joined in double-figures by Reed Plantz (16) and Brion Elliot (11). 
 
The Defenders connected on 46.2 percent of their attempts from the floor in the loss while going 27.8 percent from beyond the arc and 78.9 percent from the line.
 
Keystone will host Neumann University on Saturday afternoon in a CSAC game starting at 3:00 p.m. in the Gambal Athletic Center.