Box Score

LANGHORNE, Pa.- After dropping their first two games of the season in non-conference play, the Mighty Macs (0-3, 0-1 CSAC) opened up Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) play at Cairn (4-0, 1-0 CSAC) looking for their first victory, but the Highlanders outscored Immaculata, 50-32, after halftime and dealt IU a 91-78 defeat.
 
Junior Roy Ferrell Jr. led the Mighty Macs with a season-high 21 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field, and he added eight boards.  Freshman Mike Piekarski continues to impress early with his second straight double-double on 13 points and a career-high 15 boards.  Junior Matt Simon had his second straight strong shooting effort, going 4-for-9 from beyond the arc, on his way to 16 points.
 
Freshman Cordell Lord had a career and team-high five assists to go with six points, and junior Michael Griffin III contributed eight first half points off the bench.
 
The Mighty Macs played a solid first half as they shot 53.6% from the field (15-for-28), but Cairn controlled play out of the gates.  After five minutes of play, Cairn led by seven at 15-8, but the Macs would rip off 11 straight points over the next 4:15 to take a first half lead that they would not relinquish.
 
Four different Mighty Macs knocked down field goals with Piekarski hitting a pair of free throws to fuel the run, punctuated by a triple by Griffin III.  The Macs held the Highlanders to 0-for-4 with a turnover over that stretch as IU took a 19-15 lead and would hold a two point advantage midway through the first half.
 
The teams would trade buckets over the next few minutes before Griffin III hit a breakaway layup and Lord knocked down a pair of free throws to make it a ten point lead at 35-25 with five minutes remaining in the half.
 
The Macs would keep the lead through the end of the first half as they went to the locker room up 46-41, a season-high scoring output in a half for IU.  They were led by eight fast break points and 17 points off the bench.
 
The second half would be a different story as IU hit just 11 of their 37 second half field goal attempts while the Highlanders shot 22-of-39 to take control of the game.
 
IU took their final lead of the game at 53-51 with 15:56 to go on a triple by Simon, but Cairn would then go on a game-breaking run to take a commanding lead.  They outscored IU 23-7 over the next 8:15 to put IU in a 74-60 hole with 7:41 remaining in the game.
 
Ferrell Jr. would score the next four for IU to pull them within 10, but that was the closest they would get the rest of the way in a 91-78 defeat.
 
The Macs will seek their first victory of the season next Wednesday in their home opener against Cabrini at 6:30 p.m.