La Plume, PA – With the score tied at 71 apiece and the shot clock set to expire, Rashaud Kelley (Sharon, PA/Paul Laurence Dunbar) hit a clutch three-point to put Keystone College ahead and the Giants held on for a thrilling, 75-72 victory over Neumann University in Colonial States Athletic Conference men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon.  The win boosts Keystone's record to 6-13 overall and 6-6 in conference play while the Knights slip to 10-9 on the season and 7-5 in the CSAC.
 
Neumann, who defeated Keystone 80-68 in Dec. 6 in Aston, trailed by as many as 16 points in the second half of Saturday's game before rallying to tie the score at 71-71 with 2:22 left in regulation.  The score remained that way for the next 1:27, and with time winding down on the Giants' 35-second clock, Kelley launched a deep three from the top of the arc that bounced high off the rim before falling through to put the hosts up by two. 
 
DeShawn Lowman hit the backend of a pair of free throws with 29 seconds remaining to cut the score before Dan Candemeres (Holbrook, NY/Sachem East) did the same at the other end to restore Keystone's three-point advantage.  The Knights quickly pushed the ball up the floor, but their three-point attempt to force overtime at the buzzer clanked off the rim to give the Giants the victory.
 
Tied at 16-16 with 7:15 elapsed in Saturday afternoon's contest, Keystone went on a 14-4 run over the next four minutes to build a 30-20 lead with just over nine minutes remaining in the first half.  The Giants pushed their lead to as many 17 points before taking 44-29 cushion in into the halftime break after shooting 53.6 percent from the field in the half while going 9-16 from downtown and 5-6 from the charity stripe.
 
Duncan Lunsford (Marietta, GA/Sprayberry) led all players with 13 points in the first 20 minutes of play while Deion Monroe (Kingston, NY/Kingston ) added seven points and six rebounds for Keystone in the period.  Miles Dargan (Orlando, FL/Wekiva) chipped in with six points in the period while Candemeres dished out three assists.  The hosts outrebounded Neumann by a 20-11 margin in the first half while getting 16 points from off their bench compared to just two for the Knights.
 
James Butler, Andrew Moye, and DeShawn Lowman had eight points apiece to lead Neumann's offense in the first stanza.  The Knights shot 37.9 percent from the floor in the half while going 2-9 from beyond the arc and 5-6 from the free throw line.
 
A three-pointer by Kelley early in the second half pushed Keystone's lead to 47-31, but the Knights battled back to within six points, 65-59, with 6:11 left in regulation.  The Giants extended their lead back to nine points when Dargan hit all three free throw attempts after being fouled on a long-range attempt with 5:34 left on the clock, but the Knights countered with a 12-3 run over the next 3:12 to tie the score at 71-71 to set up the thrilling finish.
 
Lunsford finished with 21 points to lead Keystone while Monroe added 12 points and a game-high eight rebounds.  Candemeres and Dargan added nine points apiece while Tyreek Peeples (Philadelphia, PA/Girard College) and Jesse Longmire (Harlem, NY/John S. Burke Catholic) chipped in with seven points apiece for the Giants, who finished the game hitting on 50 percent of their field goal attempts including a 54.2 percent effort from three-point land and a 66.7 performance from the free throw line.
 
Peeples paced the hosts with five assists while Candemeres added four helpers.  DaVaughn Roberts-Thomas (Port Arthur, TX/Silsbee) added seven boards for Keystone, who held a 36-30 edge on the glass for the contest while Kelley added three blocked shots to his decisive three-pointer.
 
Lowman led Neumann with a game-high 22 points to go along with seven rebounds while Denzel Yard added 14 points and a game-high six assists.  Moye ended the contest with 12 points and Butler contributed 11 points and a game-high three steals for the Knights, who shot 45 percent from the floor for the game, 36.4 percent from beyond the arc, and 50 percent from the line.
 
Keystone overcame a negative-eight (16-8) deficit in turnovers with strong play from their reserves as the Giants' bench outscored the Knights' 23-4 for the game.  
 
Keystone will host Gwynedd Mercy University on Wednesday night in another important conference matchup that is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in La Plume.  The Giants will be looking to avenge a 112-74 setback suffered to the Griffins on November 25^th.