La Plume, PA – The Rosemont Ravens (13-11, 11-6 CSAC) ended their longest road stretch of the season with an 88-75 win over the Keystone Giants (8-15, 8-8 CSAC). The Ravens went 3-1 on their four-game road stretch. Today's win ensured the Ravens of a return to the CSAC Championship Tournament for the second straight year.
The first half of today's game opened up with intensity as neither team could earn a significant difference on the scoreboard. The Ravens were starting to get some separation from the Giants when Dom Scafidi made a layup on an assist from Nadir Stukes to take a 28-20 lead with five minutes left in the half. Still leading by seven points with 3:11 left on the clock, Keystone put together an 8-3 run to chop Rosemont's lead down to only two points as the Ravens took a 38-36 lead into the locker room.
Still up by two, 40-38, Rosemont scored the next seven points to take their largest lead of the game, nine points, as they held a 47-38 advantage early in the second half. The Giants would come back to within three points several times as Rosemont led 53-50 with 12:26 remaining. From that point the teams traded defensive stops until back-to-back treys from Charles Presley would up the Raven's lead to nine points, 59-50 with 10:49 left.
Leading 61-51 with 9:11 left, the Giants scored six straight to get to within four points. Ahead 63-59 with 7:03 on the clock, Marcus Thomas would drain another big three-ball to give the Ravens a seven-point cushion, 66-59 with 6 ½ minutes left. The Giants would make small inroads into the Rosemont advantage, but with Rosemont ahead 68-63, the Ravens put together a key 11-1 stretch to put the game away, as they now held a 15-point lead with 1:41 remaining.
The Giants tried to extend the game by playing the fouling game towards the end, but Rosemont converted enough free throws down the stretch to hold on to the victory.
The Ravens had a scoring double-threat from the floor as Marcus Thomas (6-for-10) led the Ravens with 22 points while Dom Scafidi (9-for-16) scored 21 points. Nadir Stukes and Khai Roberts also scored in double-digits, with 13 and 12 points respectively. Presley scored all nine of his points on 3-for-3 shooting from beyond the arc. Scafidi led the Ravens with 10 rebounds to snag a double-double.
The 22 assists credited to the Ravens were their most this season.
The Giants were led by Duncan Lunsford's 18 points. Dan Candemeres (14) and Miles Dargan (13) also hit for double-digits for the home side.
The seeding for the CSAC tournament will likely not be known until after the Ravens complete their regular season play, which will be a home game against the Centenary Cyclones on Wednesday, 2/18. It will be Senior Night, and the men's game is slated for an 8:00pm tip-off.
