Candemeres reached the 1,000-point plateau by draining a three-pointer with 5:27 remaining in the second half during Keystone's rally that saw the hosts trim a 23-point deficit to a single point. The senior guard, who now has 1,011 career points for the navy and orange, becomes the 17th player in program history to reach the milestone and joins classmates Duncan Lunsford (Marietta, GA/Sprayberry) and Miles Dargan (Orlando, FL/Wekiva) as members of the exclusive club.
The two teams battled tightly over the opening 11 minutes before Keystone claimed a 27-22 advantage at the 8:58 mark when Candemeres connected from downtown. Marywood battled back and briefly took a lead before the Giants went back in front. With Keystone holding a 38-36 advantage with 3:19 left on the first half clock, the Pacers closed the period with a 13-0 run to hold a 49-38 lead at halftime.
Michael Rotell, Shane Kellaher, and Conner Callejas had eight points apiece to lead Marywood in the opening 20 minutes of play. Jonathan Velazquez led all players with seven rebounds for the Pacers, who shot 51.5 percent from the floor in the period while going 7-15 from beyond the arc and 8-11 from the free throw line.
Candemeres's eight first half points paced Keystone's offense while Deion Monroe (Kingston, NY/Kingston ) and Jesse Longmire (Harlem, NY/John S. Burke Catholic) chipped in with six points apiece. DaVaughn Roberts-Thomas (Port Arthur, TX/Silsbee) corralled a team-best five boards for the Giants, who connected on 43.3 percent of their field goal attempts in the opening stanza while going 5-15 from three-point land and 7-9 from the charity stripe.
Lunsford scored the first two points of the second half on a jump shot to make it a nine-point game, but Marywood quickly pushed their lead back to double-figures and stretched it to 23 points at 75-52 with 9:36 remaining in regulation. The resilient Giants would not go down without a fight though, and used a 12-0 run to draw to within 10 points at 80-70 with 4:40 left on the clock.
The Pacers pushed their lead back to 14 points with 2:43 remaining, but a 17-6 push over the next 2:14 by Keystone saw the visitors make it a one-possession game, 92-89, with 29 seconds remaining following a layup by Lunsford. Kellahar made it a four-point game by going 1-2 from the line with 27 seconds remaining but Lunsford made good on a three-point play at the other end with 15 ticks left on the clock to make it a one point game, 93-92. Callejas hit the front end of a pair of free throws with eight seconds remaining to make it a two-point game before Longmire grabbed the rebounds and Keystone took a timeout. The Giants drew up a play that culminated in Lunsford attempting a game-winning three-pointer from the top of the key, but the senior's shot would not fall after hitting the front of the rim.
Kellaher and Cameron Dean lead six Marywood players in double-figures with 14 points apiece while Callejas (13), Michael Rotell (12), Alex Barr (10), and Shane Letthand (10) also hit double-figures in the win. Velazquez pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for the Pacers, who finished the evening hitting on 49.2 percent of their attempts from the floor, 41.9 percent of their three-point shots, and 65.2 percent of their attempts from the line.
Candemeres's career-high 27 points came on a 9-17 shooting night that included a 6-9 effort from beyond the ar. Lunsford added 20 points, Longmire contributed 12 points, a game-high four assists, and a team-best six rebounds, while Rashaud Kelley (Sharon, PA/Paul Laurence Dunbar) chipped in with nine points for Keystone, who shot 47.1 percent from the floor for the game, 42.1 percent from downtown, and 77.6 percent from the stripe.
Dargan and Tyreek Peeples (Philadelphia, PA/Girard College) had three assists apiece while Roberts-Thomas finished with five boards for the Giants, who were plus-six in the turnover department, but were outrebounded by a 44-29 margin.
Keystone returns home on Saturday when they will host Cairn University in a conference matchup slated for 1:00 p.m. in the Gambal Athletic Center.