Brooklyn, NY—Apparently Keystone College junior guard JT Bennett likes the bright lights and big city.
In today's City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC)/Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) challenge, Bennett poured in 30 points, including 17 in the second half, to lead the Giants to a 94-80 victory over Medgar Evers.
Bennett connected on 10 of 17 shots from the field, including 8 of 13 from beyond the 3-point arc, as Keystone won its second straight game to improve to 9-11 on the season. The Giants also received 15 points off the bench from sophomore guard Jalen Flynn and junior guard Mark Perry finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, his fifth 'double double' in eight games since joining Keystone as a mid-semester transfer.
Senior guard Maurice Swaby II led Medgar Evers with 17 points and sophomore Joancarlo Bonilla and freshman forward Basheeru Camara combined for 25 points and 16 rebounds.
Bennett and Flynn combined for 25 first-half points as the Giants shot nearly 53 percent from the field to open up a 51-40 lead by intermission. The Cougars stayed within contention by knocking down five 3 pointers and by converting 50 percent of their field goal attempts.
Bennett then took over the game, knocking down four 3-pointers to ignite a 23-12 run in the opening six minutes of the second half as Keystone extended its lead to 22, 74-52. The closest the Cougars got the rest of the way was 13 points twice in the final three minutes of play.
Defensively, Keystone made 11 steals and converted 22 Cougar turnovers into 27 points. The Giants also out-scored Medgar Evers, 50-28, in points in the paint.
The Giants will return to Colonial States Athletic Conference action this Wednesday, February 7, against Cabrini University beginning 7:00 p.m. at the Gambal Athletic Center in La Plume. Cabrini, which defeated the Giants, 96-94, in Radnor, Pennsylvania, on January 6, is in first place in the CSAC, a half-game ahead of Gwynedd Mercy. Keystone is tied for fifth-place with Immaculata University.
The top six teams advance to the CSAC post-season tournament, which begins with quarterfinal action on Monday, February 19.