RADNOR, Pa. – The #11 Cabrini College men's basketball team survived its toughest test of the young season today, with a 95-92 win over the visiting Keystone College Giants today at Nerney Field House. The Cavaliers now stand at 5-0 on the season and 3-0 in conference play.
For the full 40 minutes, Cabrini and Keystone battled as one would expect with the last two unbeaten teams in Colonial States Athletic Conference Play. The game featured everything a fan could want, 11 ties, eight lead changes, a career milestone, and a game-winning three-pointer off the glass.
Cabrini jumped out to an early lead as senior Cory Lemons opened the scoring with a lay-up. Seven minutes into the game, a three-pointer by junior Jeremy Knowles pushed Cabrini's lead to five points at 16-11. The Giants 9-0 run to take a four point advantage of their own.
After runs from both teams, Keystone took a 47-40 lead in the halftime break. This was the first time Cabrini trailed at the break since the first game of the year, when Haverford went to the break with a 38-32 lead.
Though Keystone maintained the lead through the first 10 minutes of the second half the Cavaliers continued to chip away. A Lemons' lay-up gave the Cavaliers their first lead since the 5:51 mark of the first half.
The Giants retook the lead, but the Blue and White kept them within arm's reach. With 5:09 to play, Lemons sank two free throws, giving Cabrini an 85-83 lead. A John Boyd three-pointer at the 2:15 mark gave Cabrini a four point lead. The Giants tallied four points in the next 45 seconds, setting the stage for a dramatic finish.
After a Cabrini turnover with 00:43 on the clock and the score knotted at 92, the Cavaliers turned up the defense, forcing a Keystone miss. Knowles' second rebound of the game Cabrini the ball and a chance for the game's final shot.
As time wound down, Lemons held the ball by the midcourt line. Cabrini entered its offense with about 12 second to play. After a series of screens Lemons found Boyd in front the Cavaliers' bench. The senior fired a 25-footer that was perfectly off-target, as the shot ricocheted of the glass and through the net with just 1.7 seconds on the clock.
Not only was today's win huge for the Cavaliers as a team, but it was also special for Boyd. His game-winning three-pointer gave him 31 points for the game, which ties a career high. His seven made three-pointers was also a career best.
His first three-pointer, at the 1:38 mark of the first half, pushed the senior over the 1,000 career collegiate point mark. The senior recorded 573 points in two years at Immaculata before transferring to Cabrini.
Three other Cavaliers recorded double-figure scoring in the win. Lemons recorded 18 points, to go with his five rebounds and six assists. Junior A.J. Williams and Knowles added 12 and 10 points, respectively. Junior Goran Dulac grabbed added eight points to his team-high nine rebounds.
Seniors Kenneth Hardnett and Malcolm Boone paced the Giants with 26 points, 14 rebound and 25 points, 10 rebound performances.
The Cavaliers will try to remain undefeated on Saturday, December 10, when they welcome Baptist Bible College to Nerney Field House for a 1:00 p.m. CSAC game.