IMMACULATA, Pa.- Immaculata junior forward Mike Piekarski knocked down a jumper with 28 seconds left to break a tie and give the Mighty Macs (13-7) a 64-62 lead, and the IU defense held several Rosemont (13-7, 9-5 CSAC) attempts down the stretch to eke out a 64-63 victory that moves them to 7-6 in Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) play.
 
Senior Matt Krewson and freshman Brandon McCullough scored 13 points to lead the Macs, and sophomore Jordan Ambrose netted 12.
 
The Macs are tied for fifth with Keystone, a game and a half clear of seventh place Marywood and a game and a half behind fourth place Rosemont.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Macs had a strong start to the contest scoring 19 of the game's first 28 points over the opening 10 minutes of the game
-Krewson hit a three-pointer to get the scoring started, and after the game tied at 5-5, Piekarski and McCullough hit three free throws and Chapman scored on a fast break to put the lead at 10-5
-The Macs continued to press the issue and McCullough drained a triple with 10:15 left in the first to make it 19-9
-Rosemont made a run back at the Macs and took the lead at 30-29 with 1:50 to go and took a 34-31 lead into the locker room
-Rosemont continued to lead in the second half with a 50-44 advantage, but the Macs scored seven straight on a three by Ambrose and back-to-back layups by McCullough to give the Macs their first lead at 51-50 with 12 minutes to go since the end of the first half
-The teams would be on the see-saw for the next six minutes, and with the score tied 58-58 with 6:11 to go, the Macs made their push
-Coming out of a timeout, Rosemont inbounded the ball under their own baskets and Asa Kitchen got a steal and quick basket, followed by the same from Krewson to make it 62-58 with 5:50 remaining
-The Macs then went five minutes without scoring, but Rosemont had their struggle as well, getting only one field goal with 3:13 to go and a pair of free throws with 49 seconds left to tie it up
-That's when the Macs bled the shot clock and Piekarski got a jumper from just inside the free throw line and knocked it down with 28 seconds to go in the game
-Rosemont was fouled and hit one free throw, but they missed the second which was rebounded by Piekarski
-Rosemont had a couple of last gasp efforts, but they failed and the Macs took the contest, 64-63
 
KEY TEAM STATS
-Both teams were efficient from the field as the Macs were 25-for-55 (45.5%) from the field and Rosemont was 25-for-51 (49%)
-The Macs were 6-of-14 (42.9%) from three and the Ravens were 5-for-15 (33.3%)
-Each team hit eight free throws, the Macs on 13 attempts and Rosemont on 12
-The Macs turned the ball over 19 times to 22 for Rosemont and Rosemont held a slight advantage in rebounds at 31-30
 
KEY PLAYER STATS
-IU Point Leaders: McCullough 13, Krewson 13, Ambrose 12, Piekarski 8
-IU Rebound Leaders: Piekarski 9, Ambrose 5
-IU Assist Leaders: Chapman 4, Piekarski 2, McCullough 2, Savage 2
 
WHAT THEY SAID
-Head Coach Jayson Hyman: "We really wanted to come out and give a strong effort tonight to set us up for the final few weeks of the regular season.  Tonight's win was big to keep us in the hunt for a home playoff game."
 
UP NEXT
The Mighty Macs will host John Jay at 2 p.m. on Saturday as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer CSAC/CUNY Challenge