In what can be described as the biggest win in its short history, Immaculata University upended Gwynedd-Mercy College 65-59, on Tuesday, February 20 in the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC) semifinals to earn a spot in the PAC Championship. The Mighty Macs, who are #3 seed in the playoffs, will face top-seeded Alvernia College in the title game on Friday, February 23 at 7 pm. The Crusaders defeated Eastern University, 71-48, to advance.
Freshman Scott Marston recorded his first career double-double with 15 points and a career-best 11 rebounds, while junior Robert Jones added a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman Jayson Hyman amassed 10 points, seven rebounds and three steals, while sophomore Dan Lepone collected seven points.
Immaculata (12-15) jumped out to a 14-5 lead with 12:21 left in the first half, but the Griffins (14-12) used a 13-4 run to knot the game at 18-18 with 9:18 remaining. The Mighty Macs broke the tie and pushed their lead to 31-27 with 4:35 left, but Gwynedd-Mercy scored the final five points of the first half and took a 32-31 lead, its first of the game, into intermission.
With the score tied at 34-34 with 17:48 left, Immaculata scored six straight points to post a 40-34 lead with 15:22 remaining in the second half. The Griffins whittled the lead down and eventually took a 52-51 lead with 7:45 left. However, the Mighty Macs responded and used a 9-2 run to grab a 60-56 lead at the 2:58 mark of the final half. But Gwynedd-Mercy cut the deficit to two, 60-58, with 1:17 left, before Hyman hit the shot of the night.
As the shot clock was winding and Immaculata up by only two, Hyman found himself one-on-one in the paint with David Smith. He calmly connected on a turnaround jumper before the shot clock expired to give the Mighty Macs a 62-58 lead with 0:43 remaining. The Griffins never recovered. Immaculata connected on three of four free throws down the stretch to earn the 65-59 victory.
Haven Wroten paced Gwynedd-Mercy with 18 points, while Chris DelBrocco registered 14 points.
