Box Score

GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa.- The Immaculata men's basketball team travelled to Gwynedd Mercy looking to snap their three-game losing streak on Saturday afternoon, but the Griffins (16-7, 11-5 CSAC) pulled away in the second half to deal the Mighty Macs (10-13, 8-8 CSAC) an 86-58 defeat.  The Mighty Macs are now locked in a three-way tie with Marywood and Keystone for the final CSAC playoff berth.
 
Sophomore Matt Simon equaled a season-high with 16 points on 5-for-11 from the field and three triples.  Simon has now made 47 threes this season, which is second most in school history in a single season.  Senior Mamadou Dikaite (9 rebounds) and sophomore Roy Ferrell Jr. (5 rebounds, 3 assists) each added 10 points.  Junior Tony Calamaro also had a solid game off the bench with nine points, six rebounds, and three assists.
 
Early on in the contest, the teams played close with Gwynedd holding the lead from the opening tip, but Calamaro gave the Mighty Macs an 11-10 lead with 13:24 to go in the first half.  It turned out to be the only lead of the game for IU.  Gwynedd would score the next five, but the Mighty Macs tied it back up at 15-15 behind a free throw by Ferrell Jr. and a three from Simon.
 
With the Griffins still holding a slim lead at 22-21 with 8:38 to go before the half, they went on a 15-4 run over the next six minutes to take their largest lead of the game at 37-25.  The Mighty Macs then responded with a 6-0 spurt of their own on a lay-up by Simon, a free throw by junior Ron Melton, and a three by Simon to trim the deficit to 37-31 with 1:08 left.
 
The Griffins then hit a desperation three pointer with eight seconds left to push their lead to 40-31 at the break.
 
Gwynedd Mercy went on an 18-5 run to open up the second half over the first six minutes to put the game away as IU trailed 55-36 with 14 minutes to go.
 
The Mighty Macs never got closer than 14 the rest of the way and took their fourth consecutive defeat.
 
IU will now enter the final week of their regular season, likely needing two victories to secure the final postseason berth.  They will start with Senior Night on Monday when they host Cairn at 6:30 p.m., followed by the regular season finale at Neumann on Wednesday night.
 
NOTES: Diakite now has the third most rebounds in a season in school history with 200, passing himself from last year.