BRYN ATHYN, Pa. - The Immaculata University men's basketball team trailed by 12 points with just under seven minutes remaining in regulation Wednesday night at Bryn Athyn, but a 20-10 Mighty Mac run over the final five minutes - capped off by a pair of Asa Kitchen free throws - sent the game to overtime where the Macs ultimately fell to the host Lions, 105-99. Kitchen finished the night with a career-high 21 points - all of which were scored over the course of the second half and overtime - while Mike Piekarski recorded first double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Jordan Ambrose also poured in a 20-point night with an 8-for-14 shooting effort from the field.

Piekarski, two weeks removed from scoring 1,000th career point, also finished the night with three blocks, making him the all-time program leader in blocked shots with 70.

The Macs'  99 points came five points shy of tying the program record for the most points in a single game, and are the most points scored since the Macs' 102-point effort against Clarks Summit on February 4, 2017.

HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Macs raced to a big lead early thanks to a 10-2 run to open the contest, with six of the ten points coming from Ambrose. The Lions were able to draw even at the 12:43 mark of the opening half, and later pulled away to take a nine-point lead into the half at 43-34.
-Bryn Athyn was able to control a double-figure lead into the halfway point of the second half, and led by as much as 12 with just under seven minutes remaining in regulation. Jeffrey Powell-Young had a tip-in off a loose ball on the boards and knocked down a pair of free throws before Ambrose drained a three to cut IU's deficit to seven. Following a Piekarski jumper and a pair of Brandon McCullough points from the line with under two minutes remaining, Kitchen battled in the lane to get to the line for two more cutting the Lion lead to four before hitting a close-range jumper to make it a two-point game with 48 seconds remaining.
-Following a missed Bryn Athyn three on the other end, Kitchen again forced his way to the line and knocked down one of his two free throws, setting up a one-point game with 15 ticks left on the clock. On the ensuing defensive rebound, Piekarski came up with a huge steal and kicked to McCullough who missed from three, but Kitchen was there to haul it in and was fouled on the way down with four seconds remaining. The sophomore went on to his one-of-two from the stripe, sending the game to overtime tied at 83.
-The Lions countered Immaculata's second-half comeback by shooting 5-of-8 from the field and converting on 10 of its 12 free throws in the extra period to come away with the 105-99 victory.

TEAM COMPARISON
-The Macs shot 35-of-89 (39.3%) from the field on the night, but could not keep pace with Bryn Athyn's 37-of-78 (47.4%) performance.
-The Lions shot an even 50 percent (14-28) from beyond the arc while the Macs were just 7-of-27 (25.9%).
-The Macs held the edge in rebounds, 53-51.
-IU forced the Lions into 22 turnovers while only committing 17 of their own. 15 of the 22 turnovers resulted in Mighty Mac steals.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
-Points: Kitchen 21, Ambrose 20, Piekarski 17
-Rebounds: Piekarski 11, Ambrose 9, Kitchen 7
-Assists: McCullough 5, Piekarski 4
-Blocks: Piekarski 3
-Steals: Piekarski 5, McCullough 4

UP NEXT
Immaculata (2-6) travels to Wesley Saturday for its first-ever Atlantic East Conference game in program history.