LA PLUME, Pa. – Guard Chris LaBelle and forward Tom Weiler combined for 37 points and 21 rebounds which helped the Centenary University men's basketball team hold on for an 86-84 win at Keystone College on Wednesday night in Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) play.
The Cyclones forced the Giants into two big turnovers in the final 30 seconds to extend their current win streak to six straight games. That ties last year's squad for the longest win streak in program history.
"I thought D'Angelo Blackmond was a beast tonight on the block and Keystone didn't really have an answer for him," said interim head coach Jason Geleski. "Billy Veras had a big game for us as he grabbed several boards in traffic and converted them for scores."
"Tom was clutch for us down the stretch and had his second straight double-double," added Geleski. "Chris was a couple of assists shy of his second triple-double of the year and Tyler White has been playing his best ball of the season at the right time."
The Cyclones and Giants went back-and-forth trading baskets early. Back-to-back buckets from Jalen Flynn and Jeremy Jordan gave Keystone an 11-8 lead with 15:28 to go in the period.
The two sides continued to battle as Flynn's three-pointer at 12:10 put Keystone on top, 19-18.
Five straight points from Blackmond put Centenary back on top, 23-19 with 10:04 showing on the clock.
Keystone scored the next five points in the contest and took a 24-23 edge with 9:24 left in the half.
A 10-0 run gave the Cyclones a 33-24 edge with 6:19 remaining in the period. Blackmond had four points in that stretch.
Keystone scored the next 11 points in the contest and claimed a 35-33 advantage with 2:48 left in the period.
Centenary scored eight of the final 10 points and took a 41-37 lead at the break. LaBelle scored four points during that scoring spurt for the Cyclones.
Three-pointers from Veras and Weiler helped the Cyclones take a 47-39 lead with 19:15 remaining in the game.
A jumper from White gave Centenary a 51-43 lead with 16:52 showing on the clock.
Keystone scored 12 of the next 14 points and took a 55-53 lead with 13:48 to go in the game. Tone Cockrell had seven points during that stretch.
A three-pointer from Ray Mills gave the Giants a 59-55 edge at the 11:49 mark.
Four straight points extended the Keystone advantage to 69-63 with 8:02 to play in the game.
Centenary scored 10 of the next 12 points and regained the lead, 73-71 with 4:54 remaining in the contest. LaBelle struck for six straight points in that stretch.
A triple from Weiler extended the Centenary advantage to 81-76 with 1:36 to go in the game.
Keystone scored eight of the next ten points and grabbed an 84-83 edge with 31 seconds showing on the clock. Mills had five points in that stretch.
Centenary forced Keystone to turn the ball over with 26 seconds on the clock.
Blackmond scored off an assist from Weiler to give the Cyclones an 85-84 lead with 23 seconds to go.
The Cyclones forced the Giants into another turnover with four seconds left and White hit 1-of-2 from the free throw line to give the visitors an 86-84 edge.
Keystone missed a last second three-point attempt and Centenary claimed the victory.
Centenary shot 48.5 percent from the field and made nine three-pointers. Keystone posted a 40.5 field goal percentage and hit 14 three-pointers in the game. The Cyclones held a 43-42 edge in the rebounding battle.
Weiler finished with a team-high 20 points, 11 rebounds and three assists for the Cyclones. LaBelle contributed 17 points and 10 rebounds to go along with seven assists. Veras posted 17 points and nine rebounds while Blackmond had 15 points and seven rebounds. White added nine points and six assists.
Flynn led Keystone with 20 points in the game.
The Cyclones are back in action when they close out their home regular season slate by hosting Cairn at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 15. The game will be a battle for the top seed in the CSAC standings as Centenary is 11-1 in conference and Cairn is 9-2. Centenary will honor its seniors, Weiler and Pablo Vasquez before the game.