CARLISLE, Pa. - The Immaculata University men's basketball team got back on track Saturday at Dickinson with a 70-66 victory over the host Red Devils behind Mike Piekarski's second double-double (25 points, 11 rebounds) and double-figure scoring days from Brandon McCullough and Jeffrey Powell-Young. Despite leading for all but five minutes of the game and leading by as much as 15, the host Red Devils battled back to make it a two-point game with under a minute left in regulation, but an Andre Allen steal on the final Dickinson possession sealed the road victory for the Macs.

The Mighty Macs had nine different scorers in effort, led by Piekarski's game-high 25. Powell-Young's 10 off the bench contributed to Immaculata's 20 from the reserves on the day.

HOW IT HAPPENED
-Dickinson got out to a fast start in Saturday's non-conference tilt by scoring six straight in the first three minutes. A pair of field goal each from McCullough and Piekarski vaulted the Macs into the lead for the first time and they would not look back from there, as IU led from that point on in a dominant first half.
-The Macs pieced together a 20-4 run over a six-minute stretch to take a commanding nine-point lead at the 10:44 mark of the first half, before stretching their lead out to a game-high 15 with just over two minutes remaining in the opening period. McCullough posted a game-high 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the first 20 minutes to pace the high-powered Mighty Mac offense to take an 11-point lead into the break. As a team, IU shot 51.5% (17-33) from the field.
-The Macs continued to keep their lead in double figures in the second half, as Piekarski netted nine of his 16 second-half points in the first ten minutes. Dickinson was able to cut the deficit down to seven with 9:40 left in regulation, but could not cut any deeper.
-The Red Devils battled back with a 10-2 run over the final four minutes to make it a one-possession game at 68-66 with 38 seconds left in regulation, but Andre Allen came up with a critical steal on Dickinson's final possession and dished to Piekarski who was fouled in the lane. The senior converted on both free throws at the line with seven seconds remaining to lift the Macs to the 70-66 victory.

TEAM COMPARISON
-The Macs shot 47.4% (27-57) from the field on the afternoon, including a 51.5% (17-33) showing in the first half. IU also shot 80% (12-15) from the free throw line.
-IU forced 16 Dickinson turnovers - 11 of which were steals - and scored 20 points off those chances.
-The Macs had 20 points from off the bench in the effort, led by Powell-Young's 10.
-Dickinson took the battle on the boards, 34-33.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
-Points: Piekarski 25, McCullough 14, Powell-Young 10
-Assists: Piekarski/McCullough/Kitchen
-Rebounds: Piekarski 11, Powell-Young/Bailey 5
-Steals: Piekarski 4, Kitchen 3

UP NEXT
Immaculata (3-8) returns home to Alumnae Hall Wednesday to host Alvernia at 7 p.m.