READING, Pa. – Freshman Nelson Torres poured in a game-high 18 points and sophomores Robert Siter and John Boyd each added 13 points as Immaculata used an 18-0 run to start the second half to overcome Delaware Valley, 60-58, in a non-league men's basketball game at the Alvernia Tip-off Tournament.
Immaculata (1-1) opened the second half outscoring Delaware Valley, 18-0, over the first 7:53, as the Mighty Macs turned a 41-24 halftime deficit into a 42-41 lead. Boyd led a group of six different Immaculata scorers during the spurt with six points. The Aggies were 0-for-7 from the field and committed nine turnovers during the scoreless streak.
James Jones ended the stretch for Delaware Valley with a pair of free throws at the 11:49 mark, putting the Aggies back ahead by one, 43-42, and the Aggies would extend that margin to 49-42 midway through the half.
Immaculata again put together a 9-2 run to knot the score at 51-all with 6:06 remaining in the contest. Following Chris Ellis' layup with 5:48 left to pull the Aggies ahead, Torres made both ends of his free throws to tie things up at 53-53 with 4:27 to play. Torres later put the Mighty Macs ahead with 3:49 remaining on his fifth made free throw of the contest.
Delaware Valley took the lead once more after Ellis made a jumper with 2:13 remaining, but Siter's 6-for-6 free-throw shooting during the final two minutes proved the difference for the Mighty Macs. Jon Evans sunk a three as time expired for Delaware Valley to make the final margin 60-58.
Immaculata received eight points from junior Eric Barefield and six from freshman Kendall Peters. Delaware Valley (1-1) got 11 points from Jones and 10 points from Ellis, Chris Mayo and Jeremy Beckett in the loss.
Boyd led all Mighty Mac players with 10 rebounds to finish off his double-double. Torres also grabbed seven rebounds, and Siter had a team-high three assists. Senior Jeff DeSantis led Immaculata with four blocked shots.
Immaculata meets the winner of the Alvernia-Valley Forge Military Academy contest in the championship game of the Alvernia Tip-off Tournament Saturday. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.
