Box Score

IMMACULATA, Pa.- The Mighty Macs (3-2, 1-1 CSAC) played their first game in Alumnae Hall of the 2017-18 season on Wednesday night as they hosted Centenary (1-4, 0-1 CSAC) in Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) action, and the Macs shook off a slow first half and dominated the second half en route to a 77-61 victory over the Cyclones.  Holding just a 30-28 lead at halftime, the Macs dominated the second half, outscoring Centenary 47-33 on their way to the win.
 
Freshman Brandon McCullough had the best scoring game of his career with 20 points (6-for-9 FG, 3-for-4 3 Pt, 5-for-6 FT) to lead the team and added five boards and five assists.  Junior Mike Piekarski earned his first double-double of the season with 16 points and 15 rebounds while chipping in five assists and five steals.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
-The game was tight early with four ties in the first four minutes, and with the score tied 10-10, sophomore Jordan Ambrose hit a three-pointer while Piekarski and sophomore Stephan Savage had a free throw to make it 15-10
-The game remained close throughout the half with Centenary tying it at 23-23 with 3:22 to go before halftime, but a quick 6-0 spurt by IU on layups by Ambrose, freshman Chris Lomax and freshman Joe McHugh ensured they would have the lead going into the locker room
-The Cyclones scored the first basket of the second half to make it 30-30, but IU then went on a 14-2 run over the next four minutes to open up a 12-point lead.  Piekarski had four points and McCullough had five in the run to make it 44-32 with 15 minutes to go in the game
-Centenary countered with a 10-3 run of their own to trim it to 47-42 with 12:38 left
-The Macs continued to lead comfortably between six and nine points until McCullough drilled a corner three with 6:53 to go to put IU up 57-46
-IU iced the game away at the line and ended with their biggest lead of 16 points at 77-61
 
KEY TEAM STATS
-The Macs were 50% from the field (29-for-58) and Centenary was 23-for-66 (34.8%)
-The Macs knocked down five of their 12 triples (41.7%) while holding Centenary to 3-of-20 from beyond the arc
-IU outrebounded Centenary, 47-34
 
KEY PLAYER STATS
-IU Point Leaders: McCullough 20, Piekarski 16, Krewson 9, Ambrose 8
-IU Rebound Leaders: Piekarski 15, McHugh 6, McCullough 5
-IU Assist Leaders: Piekarski 5, McCullough 5
-IU Steal Leaders: Piekarski 5, Lomax 3
 
WHAT THEY SAID
-Head Coach Jayson Hyman said, "We struggled to find a rhythm in the first half, but we executed much better in the second half to get our first conference win.  We are going to be very successful if we shoot the ball as well as we did, so if we take care of the ball, we should be able to build some momentum."
 
UP NEXT
The Mighty Macs will play at Cabrini at 3 p.m. on Saturday.