Box Score

IMMACULATA, Pa.- The Immaculata men's basketball team hosted Centenary College (10-8, 6-5 CSAC) on Saturday afternoon at Alumnae Hall looking to end a recent slide where they have lost three of their past four in Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) play, and the Mighty Macs (7-11, 6-5 CSAC) did just that as they outlasted the Cyclones in overtime, 85-78, to move into a tie with them in fifth place, two games clear of a playoff spot.
 
Junior Roy Ferrell Jr., senior Rodney Duncan, and freshman Mike Piekarski did a lot of the heavy lifting for the Mighty Macs as they accounted for 70 of the team's 85 points on the day.  Ferrell Jr. followed up his 31 points on Wednesday with 28 more today with 13 of them coming at the free throw line on 18 attempts.  Duncan was an efficient 7-for-11 from the field, including 4-for-6 from deep, and 7-for-7 from the line for 25 points and six boards.  Piekarski added 17 points on 5-of-8 from the field and 7-for-7 from the line to go along with a team-high nine boards.
 
As a team, the Mighty Macs were 27-for-35 from the line.
 
In a tightly contested game the whole way, it was the Mighty Macs outscoring the Cyclones 13-6 in the extra session that was the difference.
 
To get to overtime, the Mighty Macs needed to claw their way out of a 67-63 hole with four minutes to go in the game.  Duncan hit two free throws to halve the lead before Ferrell Jr. converted a layup to tie the game at 67-67 with 2:51 to go.  The Cyclones then took a two-point lead, but Ferrell Jr. went 2-of-4 at the charity stripe on consecutive trips to tie the contest at 69-69 with 1:04 remaining.
 
After Ferrell Jr. came up with a steal on one end, Duncan drove the lane and got fouled before calmly knocking down both free throws to put IU up 71-69 with 36 second remaining.  After the Cyclones turned it over again, Ferrell Jr. hit 1-of-2 at the line to make it a three-point lead.
 
On the ensuing Centenary possession, Deshawn Batts hit a three-pointer from the right wing to tie the game with six seconds remaining.  Ferrell Jr. drove the lane to try and win the game, but his attempt was blocked and the game went to an extra session with it tied 72-72.
 
Piekarski got IU started on the right foot in overtime with a basket, but Centenary quickly tied it with a pair of free throws.  The Macs then scored the next five points and never looked back en route to the victory.  Ferrell Jr. hit a jumper from just inside the three point line, then Piekarski converted an old-fashioned three point play by driving hard on the right side and getting the bucket to go while getting fouled for a 79-74 IU lead.
 
The Macs then locked it down defensively and scored their next four from the free throw line, and the Cyclones never got closer than four points the rest of the way.
 
Centenary dominated a majority of the first half, leading by as much as 11 at one point, but the Macs whittled the deficit down to one point by the break at 36-35.
 
IU then took the lead in the early portion of the second half, going up by as much as six points, but Centenary tied the game at 53-53 and took the lead until the waning moments.
 
IU will be playing their third straight home game on Monday night as they host Gwynedd Mercy at 8 p.m.