BOX SCORE

IMMACULATA, Pa.- Looking to avenge a loss to Gwynedd-Mercy (12-9, 11-3 CSAC) from five days earlier, the Immaculata men's basketball team (10-11, 9-5 CSAC) battled back to send the game into overtime on the strength of two clutch free throws by senior Kendall Peters with 0.3 seconds left, and after one overtime couldn't decide the conference matchup between the teams, the Griffins pulled away in the second overtime to win the back-and-forth affair 73-67.
 
Immaculata trailed 53-51 when the Mighty Macs got possession with 12 seconds left in regulation.  With time running down, Peters drove to the hoop and drew a foul and two free throws.  He calmly knocked down both to send the game into an extra session as Immaculata was looking to avenge the loss from last Wednesday against Gwynedd-Mercy.  Peters played very well tallying his first career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
 
In overtime, Immaculata jumped out to a 61-57 lead with 2:14 remaining after a three-pointer by freshman Tyreek Peeples (6 points).  However, the Griffins scored the final four points of the first extra session, including the tying bucket by Frank Champion (29 points) with 45 seconds remaining.  Each team had one last try to win the game in the first overtime, but both sides came up empty.
 
In the second overtime, Gwynedd-Mercy scored the first five points including the first of two threes in the second session by Darnell Artis.  Peters responded with back-to-back three pointers to give the Mighty Macs a 67-66 lead with just 1:47 remaining in the game.
 
That's when Artis knocked down his second three-pointer of the second extra session to put the Griffins back on top by two in this tight conference matchup.  Immaculata would have two more possessions with a chance to tie or take the lead, but a missed three-pointer and a turnover gave the ball back to Gwynedd-Mercy.  Gwynedd-Mercy knocked down their four free throws to ice the game away and give the visitors a 73-67 victory.
 
Junior Brandon Smith (14 points, 5 rebounds) was a big part of the Immaculata offense as they attempted to claw their way back throughout the second half.  Trailing 30-29 at the break, Immaculata only led early in the half after a layup by Smith and a jumper by senior T.J. Klinger (8 points).   The rest of the half, they battled to stay in the game which gave Peters a chance to tie it in the end.
 
Gwynedd-Mercy led 51-46 with just over two minutes left before Peeples knocked down his first three of the game and Smith hit a lay-up wrapped around a Gwynedd basket to put Immaculata down just two with 47 seconds left.  Gwynedd had the ball and with twelve seconds left, senior Todd Stokley forced a shot clock violation by tipping a pass which gave Immaculata the ball back and allowed Peters to knock down the game-tying free throws.
 
In the first half, each team had their share of big runs as the Mighty Macs opened with an 11-4 start led by senior Nelson Torres (7 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists).  The Griffins immediately responded with a 14-0 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 18-11 halfway through the opening period.  From there, Immaculata outscored Gwynedd 18-12 for the remainder of the half to make it a one-point game at the break.
 
Despite the loss, Immaculata clinched a berth in the CSAC conference postseason tournament due to Marywood falling at Neumann.
 
Immaculata will look to end their three-game losing streak on Wednesday when they travel to Centenary for a 7 p.m. tip-off.  Immaculata defeated Centenary 69-63 on January 19^th.
 
NOTES: Klinger moved into 6^th on the all-time three-pointers made list with 60 after passing John Boyd (2008-10) … Torres now has the 6^th most assists in a single season in Immaculata history with 56 helpers.