ROSEMONT, Pa. - The Immaculata men's basketball team trailed by as much as 19 in the first half to host Rosemont Thursday night in Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) play, but a second-half rally got the Mighty Macs within two with three minutes left in regulation before ultimately falling to the Ravens, 78-70. Asa Kitchen led four Mighty Macs to get into double figures with 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting, followed by 16 from Mike Piekarski.

The loss snaps a two-game win streak and drops the Macs to 3-4 in CSAC play.

HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Macs fell victim to a 23-6 Rosemont run in the first eight minutes of play, before IU responded with a 10-4 run of its own capped off by a Brandon McCullough three to cut the deficit to 29-18.
-The Ravens continued their sharp-shooting performance all the way through to halftime, pulling away from the Macs by a score of 44-27. Rosemont shot 17-of-27 (63.0%) from the field opposite IU's 11-of-26 mark (42.3%).
-The second half was a completely different story, as the Macs roared out of the break with a 9-3 run thanks to five from McCullough and two each from Jordan Ambrose and Will Chapman.
-Despite trailing by 17 at the 12-minute mark of the second half, Immaculata continued to claw its way back with an 18-5 run to cut the deficit to two with just over three minutes remaining in the contest, forcing Rosemont to use a timeout to regroup. Piekarski registered ten of the Macs' 18 points on the run, including a clutch pair of threes and a layup to make it a one-possession game.
-However, Rosemont would rebound to score ten of the final 14 points of the game as the Macs shot 1-of-5 over the final three minutes, allowing the Ravens to escape with the 78-70 win.
-The Macs were the dominant side in the second half, outscoring the Ravens, 43-34.

KEY TEAM STATS
-IU shot 28-of-57 (49.1%) from the field opposite Rosemont's 29-of-58 (50.0%) night.
-The Macs were efficient from beyond the arc, shooting 6-of-10 (60.0%) while the Ravens were only 4-of-16 (25.0%).
-Rosemont did much of its heavy lifting from the free throw line, compiling a 16-of-20 (80.0%) mark compared to the Macs' 8-of-11 (72.7%) night.
-The Ravens won the battle on the boards, 44-21.

KEY PLAYER STATS
-IU Point Leaders: Kitchen 17, Piekarski 16, Ambrose 14
-IU Assist Leaders: McHugh 2
-IU Rebound Leaders: Ambrose 7, Chapman 4

UP NEXT
Immaculata (6-7, 3-4 CSAC) returns to action Saturday to host Marywood in CSAC play. Tip off from Alumnae Hall is scheduled for 3 p.m.