RANDOR, Pa. – The Cabrini College men's basketball team clinched its third consecutive bid to the NCAA Tournament with tonight's 86-79 win over the visiting Keystone College Giants. The Blue and White improved to 26-1 on the year, while Keystone fell to 21-6.
It was the kind of game that every basketball fans loves. Up and down the court, momentum swinging from bench to bench, two teams doing everything they could to knock the other out, two enthusiastic student sections. In the end, the Cavaliers remained standing and now call themselves three-time Colonial States Athletic Conference Champions.
Four Cavaliers tallied double figure points, led by junior Jeremy Knowles (Antioch, Cal./ Pittsburg) with 20 points. But it was freshman Aaron Walton-Moss (Camden, N.J./ Camden) who garnered championship game MVP honors with 18 points and 18 rebounds off the bench.
The game played out as one would expect from the two teams that led the CSAC all season. Having just played on February 15, both teams were very familiar with each other and it showed.
The Giants scored the game's first seven points before junior A.J. Williams (Wilmington, Del./ St. Elizabeth) opened the scoring for Cabrini nearly 90 seconds into play. Knowles' three-pointer capped a Cabrini 9-2 run to tie the score at 11. Keystone maintained a slim lead throughout much of the first half, but the Cavaliers never allowed the deficit to get out of hand.
A three-point play by Cabrini senior John Boyd (Trappe, Pa./ Perkiomen Valley) gave the Cavaliers their first lead of the game at 27-25 with 5:45 until halftime. The lead was short lived as the Giants tied the score on their next possession.
Six quick points gave Keystone its largest lead of the game at 37-29 with just under 2 minutes on the clock. The Cavaliers responded with an 8-1 run, sending the teams to the locker room with Keystone up 38-37.
The teams returned from the halftime break with renewed intensity. A Knowles lay-up on Cabrini's first possession of the half returned the lead to the Blue and White. Cabrini extended its lead to 51-45 after consecutive lay-ups by Williams, Walton-Moss, and Knowles.
Cabrini maintained a slim lead, eventually extending it to 64-57 after sophomore Fran Rafferty (King of Prussia, Pa./ upper Merion) knocked down two free throws. Keystone responded with a 12-2 run to retake the momentum and the lead at 69-66 with 6:21 to play.
The entire game and the 2012 CSAC title came down to five minutes of basketball. The teams found themselves tied at 70 after a Williams lay-up with five minutes to play. A Keystone dunk briefly gave the Giants the lead before Rafferty drained his only three-pointer of the game, giving Cabrini a 73-72 lead.
On Keystone's next possession, Rafferty took a charge reigniting Cabrini's fans. On the ensuing possession, senior Cory Lemons (Wilmington, Del./ Glasgow) made the play one would expect from a two-time conference player of the year. After working some time off the clock, Lemons knocked down a trey, extending Cabrini's lead to 76-72 with 3:35 to play.
The lead remained at four until another Rafferty defensive play sealed the game. The sophomore's block and subsequent rebound with 1:42 to play forced Keystone to begin fouling.
The Blue and White connected on 9-10 free throw attempts in the game's final 100 seconds to seal the game.
Lemons finished with 14 points, six rebounds and nine assists. Williams added 12 points, while Rafferty finished with nine points, five rebounds and Cabrini's two blocked shots.
Keystone senior Malcolm Boone (Sugar Loaf, N.Y./ Warwick) finished with 24 points, seven rebounds and seven blocks. Fellow senior Kenneth Hardnett (Plant City, Fla./ Plant City) added 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Tonight's win, Cabrini's 44th consecutive home win against CSAC opposition, makes the Cavaliers the first team to win back-to-back-to-back CSAC titles since Cabrini's teams of the mid-1990's won six consecutive titles between 1992-93 and 1997-98.
Cabrini must wait until Monday's NCAA Selection Show to learn its tournament fate.