SCRANTON, Pa.—Marywood University overcame a 22-point halftime deficit to defeat Keystone College, 81-79, in Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) action Tuesday evening at the Insalaco Arena.

Junior guard JT Bennett (Kansas City, Kan./Washington) and sophomore guard Austin Smith (Titusville, Fla./Florida Air Academy) scored 21 and 20 points, respectively, as the Giants fell to 5-7 overall and 4-2 in the conference.  Marywood, now 8-4 overall and 3-3 in the CSAC, was led by junior guard Thomas Swartz with 29 points and senior guard James Curley and junior forward Jeremy Ringland added 17 and 12, respectively.

Keystone dominated the first half, as Bennett and Smith combined for 29 points by connecting on 10 of 13 shots from the field as the Giants rolled out to 53-31 halftime lead.    The Giants made 11 3-pointers in the first half and shot over 52 percent from the field.

The second half was another story.  Keystone struggled from the field and the free throw line, which allowed the Pacers to slice away at the lead.  The Giants shot less than 31 percent from the field and missed nine of 19 free throw attempts, several coming down the stretch.

Marywood took its first lead with 7:07 remaining on a pair of free throws by Ringland and the game remained a nip and tuck affair the rest of the way.  Swartz hit two free throws with 30 seconds left to give the Pacers a 3-point lead, 79-76, before Smith buried a deep 3-pointer from the left perimeter to tie it up with 19 seconds remaining.

With seven seconds left, Swartz capped off his 29-point effort with a game-winning jump shot before Giant senior guard Mark Gilliam (Philadelphia, Pa./High School of the Future) missed a 3-pointer on Keystone's final possession.  Sophomore center John Kirkpatrick (Philadelphia, Pa./Northeast) and sophomore guard Perry Belcher (Orlando, Fla./Colonial) chipped in 14 and 10 points, respectively, for the Giants, who will close out a three-game road trip this Thursday, January 11, against Centenary University in CSAC action beginning at 8:00 p.m.
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