La Plume, Pa.—Senior Night turned out to be something special for Keystone College's
Mark Gilliam (Philadelphia, Pa./High School of the Future),
Terrence Palmer (Atlanta, Ga./Lakeside) and
Bryan Williams (Los Angeles, Calif./Rialto) Wednesday at the Gambal Athletic Center.
Palmer and Williams scored 10 points apiece and Gilliam finished with six points, nine rebounds and two steals as the Giants kept their Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) playoff hopes alive with a 70-61 victory over Centenary University.
The win improves Keystone to 11-13 overall and 9-8 in the CSAC with one game remaining in the regular season. The Giants are now tied with Immaculata and Marywood for fifth place, one game behind Rosemont College for fourth place and a chance to host a quarterfinal game Monday evening. Keystone closes out the regular-season at Rosemont Saturday.
Keystone head coach
Brad Cooper made the decision to start all three of his seniors, and it's one he won't regret. The trio combined for 14 points in the opening five minutes of
the first half as the Giants jumped out to a 17-3 lead and were never seriously threatened after that. They led 32-18 at intermission and by as many as 25 points midway through the second half before the Cyclones put together a rally in the closing minutes to make the score look respectable.
Freshman guard Chris LaBelle led all scorers with 21 points for Centenary, which fell to 7-17 overall and 4-13 in the conference.
Keystone held a 53-35 advantage in rebounding, out-scored the Cyclones, 48-24, in the paint, and held a 19-point advantage in bench points.
Palmer, making just the second start of his career, tied his season-high in points, equaling his effort against SUNY Oneonta in the season-opener on November 15 and against Clarks Summit University on November 29. He also finished with six rebounds, four assists and a steal in 24 minutes of action. Williams recorded his fourth double-figure scoring output of the season and also finished with five rebounds, two assists and two steals in 25 minutes. Gilliam's nine rebounds were a season-high, eclipsing his previous mark of seven against Hamilton College on November 19.
