ROSEMONT, Pa.- The Immaculata men's basketball team will be making their eighth consecutive Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) postseason appearance this evening when they take to the road as the fifth seed to play the fourth seeded Rosemont College Ravens.
 
The Macs will be looking to break their string of recent struggles in the postseason as they have lost in the quarterfinals for the past four years bringing their CSAC postseason record to just 2-7 overall with their last win coming in 2012 over Gwynedd Mercy by a score of 94-82.
 
The last time the Macs and Ravens met in the postseason was on February 22^nd, 2014 when the Ravens defeated the Macs in Alumnae Hall by a score of 80-69 to eliminate them.
 
The Macs have tangled with the Ravens twice so far this season dropping both contests, losing 87-83 in the first meeting and then most recently falling by one point in overtime on Senior Night this past Wednesday.
 
On January 3^rd, the Macs traveled to Rosemont for the first meeting of the season where they fell 87-83. This first meeting was tight all the way seeing eight ties, nine lead changes, and neither team leading by double digits. The Macs were led by 19 points and four rebounds from sophomore Mike Piekarski in this meeting. Eric Pittman Jr. and Roy Ferrell Jr. contributed 17 and 15, respectively, but it was not enough to lead the Macs to victory. The Macs shot 47.6 percent from the field, and 32 percent from behind the arc in this contest, but it would not be enough.  The Ravens were led by Jamier Hughes who scored 26 points and added 15 rebounds to propel the Ravens to victory in this first meeting.
 
In the rematch on February 15^th, the Macs and Ravens treated the Alumnae Hall faithful to an exciting game that the Ravens would ultimately win 89-88 in overtime. The Macs were led by Ferrell Jr and his 19 points and three steals, meanwhile Piekarski added 16 points of his own. Mike Griffin and Pittman Jr. also added 15 points apiece to keep the Macs in it.
 
The game was close all the way as it was tied at 71, 73, and 75 over the final minutes of the game. The Macs held a four point lead in the final minutes of regulation but the Ravens would cut the lead in half with 46 seconds to go, and then they would tie the game at 79 with 38 seconds left. Neither side was able to break through in the closing seconds of regulation, thus sending the game into overtime.
Overtime was a different story for the Macs as the Ravens came out hot to get a lead they would never relinquish as they went on to win by a point when Pittman Jr.'s last second three point attempt was off the mark.
 
The Ravens were led by 22 points and 12 rebounds from Hughes and Kyle Lafferty added 19 points of his own to lead the Ravens.
 
The Macs have been led in the second half of the season by newcomer Pittman Jr. who is averaging 16.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. The Macs have also gotten consistent production out of Ferrell Jr. as he has averaged 15.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game so far this season.
 
The Macs currently sit sixth in the conference in points per game averaging 76.5 and they are fifth in the conference in points allowed giving up 77.9 points per game. The Macs other strength is their turnover margin which has them third in the conference with a plus 3.4 turnover margin. However, turnover margin is also an area of strength for the Ravens as they sit atop the conference with a plus 5.64 margin.
 
The Ravens have been led all year by Jamier Hughes and his 18.1 points per game which leaves him fourth in the conference in scoring average.  Hughes also sits fourth in the conference in rebounding with 9.6 boards per game. Clayton Wolfe, Kyle Lafferty, and Khai Roberts also all average double figures for the Ravens averaging 13.9, 12.5, and 11.5, respectively.
 
The Ravens offense is second best in the CSAC in points per game averaging 85.4 points per game but they are eighth in defense allowing 82.4 points per game.
 
Whether the Macs or Ravens win, they will be forced to wait for the results of the Gwynedd Mercy-Centenary (3 v 6 game) game to determine if they will be traveling to the top-seeded Neumann Knights, or second seed Cabrini Cavaliers.
 
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