READING, Pa. – Despite placing three players in double figures in the scoring column, Immaculata was unable to defeat Alvernia, 75-61, in the championship game of the Alvernia Tip-off Tournament.

Freshman Nelson Torres led the Mighty Macs' trio with 17 points, while junior Eric Barefield finished with 13 points and sophomore Robert Siter added 12. Torres also led Immaculata on the glass with nine rebounds and Siter grabbed seven boards.

The only lead Immaculata (1-2) had in the game was after Torres sunk two free throws just 14 seconds into the contest. Alvernia (3-0) would outscore Immaculata, 11-3, over the next 4:32 to take an 11-5 lead with 15:14 remaining in the opening half.

The Crusaders held their largest margin of the first stanza, 27-13, with 9:38 left to play in the half. The Mighty Macs cut the deficit to single digits, 31-23, on a Barefield jumper with 3:30 remaining in the half, but Alvernia was able to push the margin back to 10 points, 37-27, by halftime.   

The Crusaders pushed the lead back to 14 points just 1:35 into the second half, when the Mighty Macs made a push to cut the difference. Immaculata went on a 10-0 run over 4:30 to trail just 44-40 with 13:29 left in the game. The Mighty Macs would later cut the lead to three, 48-45, with 10:43 remaining in the half, but the Crusaders extended the margin back to 10 points just over three minutes later.

Immaculata trailed by just five points, 58-53, with 4:25 to play, but Alvernia pulled away using an 8-0 run to go on for the win.

Seth Cornell led a group of Alvernia scorers in double figures with 19 points. Nick Rivera had 16 points to go along with his team-high six rebounds.

Immaculata travels to Rowan on Tuesday, Nov. 24 for a 6 p.m. tip-off against the Profs.