LANSDOWNE, Pa.—Junior guard Mark Perry continues to get more comfortable with his Keystone College teammates.
Playing in just his third game since transferring from Millersville University, Perry poured in 24 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead the Giants to an 80-69 victory over Cairn University in Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) action Saturday afternoon.
Keystone also received 14 points from sophomore guard Perry Belcher, 12 from junior guard JT Bennett, and nine points apiece from sophomore guard Austin Smith and sophomore center John Kirkpatrick to improve to 7-8 overall and 6-3 in the CSAC.
Cairn, which fell to 5-10 overall and 2-8 in the conference, was led by sophomore guard Malachi Hall with 29 points and freshman forward Antoine Nunnally finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Perry came through when the Giants needed him most.
After Cairn built up a four-point lead with 10:10 remaining, Perry scored 10 points in the final six minutes of play as the Giants ended the game on a 29-14 run to pick up a conference road win they so sorely needed. His 10 points came during a four-minute span that turned a four-point lead into a comfortable 12-point advantage.
Keystone also drained a number of 3-pointers that helped erase the momentum after the Highlanders fought back from a 39-29 halftime deficit. Bennett knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers, the first coming after Hall gave Cairn a 55-51 lead with a lay-up and his next one put the Giants ahead for good, 60-59, with 8:17 left. Sophomore guard Jalen Flynn then buried another one a minute later to extend Keystone's lead to four with 7:12 remaining.
Perry then took over down the stretch as Keystone finally opened up some breathing room. He has now recorded a 'double double' in points and rebounds in each of his last two games.
The Giants got out of the gates quickly, shooting over 53 percent from the field to open a 10-point lead in the first half. Perry made 5 of 6 shots from the field and finished with 12 points in 15 minutes of action by intermission.
Keystone will return home this Monday, January 22, to host Gwynedd Mercy University in CSAC action beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Gambal Athletic Center. The Griffins are in second place in the CSAC, a half-game behind Cabrini, while Keystone is in fifth place, a half-game behind Neumann and Rosemont for third place.