Box Score ASTON, Pa.- In need of a victory over Neumann and a Keystone loss to Marywood to secure their sixth straight Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) playoff berth on the season's final day, the Mighty Macs (12-13, 10-8 CSAC) took care of business against Neumann with a 74-61 victory and then got help from Marywood who defeated Keystone to help IU earn the No. 6 seed in this year's postseason. Immaculata will travel to No. 3 Centenary on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. in the CSAC Quarterfinals.
The Mighty Macs blew open an 18-18 game in the middle of the first half with a 15-0 run and never allowed the Knights to get their lead under 10 points en route to the season-saving victory.
Junior
Rodney Duncan led the way for IU, who shot 27-for-53 (50.9%) from the field, with 21 points and eight rebounds. Senior
Mamadou Diakite added 16 points and eight rebounds, and junior
Tony Calamaro had a strong night with 11 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the field. Sophomore
Roy Ferrell Jr. filled up the stat sheet with nine points, and a team-high nine rebounds and six assists.
In addition to their efficient shooting from the field, the Mighty Macs were 7-for-16 (43.8%) from beyond the arc and 13-for-15 from the free throw line to pick up the big road victory.
The early part of the game was a defensive struggle, much like the first game between the two teams that Neumann won 51-48 at Alumnae Hall, as the teams traded the lead four times and saw the score tied 18-18 with 7:06 to go in the first half. That's when IU went on the game's decisive run to take a big lead that they never allowed Neumann to cut into.
Duncan started it by scoring the first 10 points on his own with two jumpers and two three-pointers before Ferrell Jr. hit a three, and Diakite finished up the run with a lay-up as the Mighty Macs went on a 15-0 run to go up 33-18 with 1:49 to go. Neumann finally snapped the run with a basket with 1:30 to go, snapping a scoreless drought of nearly six minutes. IU took a 35-23 lead into the locker room.
Neumann attempted to get back in the game early on, but a dunk by Diakite three minutes in kept IU up by 14 points at 39-25. That basket started a 6-0 run with Ferrell Jr. and Diakite each scoring as the Mighty Macs swelled their lead to 18 points.
Neumann would make it a 13-point game, but IU got it back up to 22 points at 57-35 midway through the second half on a lay-up by Duncan as they refused to let Neumann back into the game. The Mighty Macs got their lead as large as 25 points and finished off the IU victory, 74-61.
The Mighty Macs will now shift their attention to the CSAC Quarterfinals when they travel to No. 3 Centenary on Saturday at 3 p.m. The teams split their games this season with each winning on their own home floors.
