Box Score

DOYLESTOWN, Pa.- The Immaculata men's basketball team came out in impressive fashion to start the 2017-18 season as they never trailed in a wire-to-wire 72-60 victory over the Delaware Valley College Aggies on Wednesday night.
 
Sophomore Jordan Ambrose was impressive in the opener with 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, 3-for-5 from three and 6-of-7 from the line.  Junior Mike Piekarski was also in double figures with 18 points while freshman Brandon McCullough had 13 points in his collegiate debut.  All three of them tied for the team lead with six boards.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Mighty Macs fired out of the gates by scoring the first five points on a three by Piekarski and a lay-up by McCullough in what turned out to be the start of the Macs leading all night
-IU ended up scoring 11 of the first 15 points to take an 11-4 lead after consecutive three's by Piekarski and Ambrose just five minutes into the game
-The lead remained at seven midway through the first half after an Ambrose free throw made it 21-14
-The Aggies then ripped off nine of the next 12 points to trim the lead to just one point, but sophomore Jeffrey Powell-Young (8 points) and Piekarski hit jumpers to grow the lead back to five at 28-23
-The Macs took a 35-32 lead into the locker room at the half
-To open the second half, McCullough scored five straight around a Del Val bucket to make it 40-35 as the freshman continued to play well
-A pivotal moment in the game came at the 14:30 mark after a Del Val bucket made it 51-47, freshman Joe McHugh (5 points), Powell-Young and McHugh again ripped off a mini 6-0 spurt to give the Macs their first double digit lead of the game at 57-47 with 13:16 remaining
-Delaware Valley never got closer than seven points the rest of the way as the Mac defense held the Aggies to just 13 points over the final 14:30 to seal the 72-60 victory
 
KEY TEAM STATS
-FG%: Immaculata 42.1% (24-for-57), Delaware Valley 38.1% (21-for-55)
-Free Throws: Immaculata 17-for-23 (73.9%), Delaware Valley 12-for-21 (57.1%)
-Rebounds: Immaculata 41, Delaware Valley 32
 
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
-Points: Ambrose 23, Piekarski 18, McCullough 13
-Assists: Piekarski 3, Powell-Young/Ambrose 2
-Rebounds: Ambrose/Piekarski/McCullough 6
-Steals: Piekarski 4, McCullough/Ambrose 3
 
WHAT THEY SAID
-Head Coach Jayson Hyman: "We are extremely pleased to get the season started on such a positive note with a road win at Del Val.  Jordan was outstanding on the offensive end, and defensively we played very well as a unit to hold them to just 60 points.  We forced turnovers and rebounded the ball which gave us a great chance to win."
 
UP NEXT
-The Macs open play at the Penn State-Harrisburg weekend tournament against the hosts on Saturday at 1 p.m.