Keystone Towers Over Bears

BROOKLYN, NY – The St. Joseph's College men's basketball team could not keep pace with the high-powered Keystone Giants' offense that poured in 11 three-pointers en route to an 88-57 non-conference victory in the opening game of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Brooklyn Technical High School.

Keystone jumped out to an early 17-4 lead seven minutes into the game on a three-pointer by Ryne Luce.  St. Joseph's would climb back into the game scoring the next seven points unanswered with sophomore guard Antoine Forehand (New York, NY/Rice) all six of his first half points during the run. 

That would be as close as the Bears would come, as Keystone held St. Joseph's to nine field goals in the half and 29 percent shooting to take a 46-27 lead at the break.

The Bears improved their shooting to 45.8% (11-for-24) in the second frame but Keystone continued to dominate in all facets of the game slowly building their lead to its largest margin of 31 at the final.

Nearly half of Keystone's shots came from behind the arc as they attempted 33 three-pointers.  The Giants also dominated inside, scoring 34 points inside the paint.  Keystone had 16 steals, forcing 20 Bears turnovers which they converted into 19 points.

In his first appearance this season after regaining eligibility, junior guard Justin Gist (Newsome, FL/Newsome) led the Bears with 13 points and grabbing five rebounds in 20 minutes of work.  Senior forward Wilkerson Exantus (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth) scored a season-high 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting (75.0%).  Forehand finished with 10 points and dished out a game-high four assists.  Freshman center Ismael Dabo (Bloomfield, NJ/St. John's Prep) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds (four offensive), one short of his season-high.

For Keystone (6-3), Kenneth Hardnett fell one rebound shy of a double-double, leading four Giants in double-figures with a 20 point, nine rebound performance.  Tercel Taylor scored 18 points and had three assists.  Spencer Lunger chipped in 12 points, connecting on four three-pointers.  Ryne Luce hit three triples and added 10 points.  Malcolm Boone pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.

St. Joseph's (1-9) returns to action on Monday, January 11 as the nightcap of a doubleheader on the road against Brooklyn rival City Tech.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.