IMMACULATA, Pa. – Immaculata fell to Arcadia 86-73 on Saturday afternoon at Alumnae Hall. The Knights used a strong second-half surge to pull away from the Mighty Macs in its home opener.
Steven Dao scored a career-high 17 points to lead Immaculata in scoring as Asa Kitchen and Brandon McCullough chipped in with 16 points apiece.
Da'Kquan Davis recorded a double-double in the win with 27 points and 11 rebounds while Steve Pendleton went 4-for-7 from long distance to finish with 22 points.
The Knights jumped out to a quick 8-3 lead in the home opener for the Macs, but McCullough made his first three of the game to make it 8-6 with 17:43 left.
Arcadia maintained its hot start from the field as it made its first seven three pointers and shot 80 percent from the floor through the first 10 minutes of the half. The Knights held a 31-18 advantage with 10:27 left in the opening frame.
Immaculata closed the half on a 14-4 run to make the score deadlocked at 44 after 20 minutes of action. Jordan Ambrose closed the run with a layup with 23 seconds remaining as the Macs erased the Knights lead. Arcadia led by as much as 13 in the first half.
McCullough led the Macs with 11 points as Jordan Ambrose joined him in double figures with 10 points after the first half. Pendleton and Davis led Arcadia at the half with 12 points apiece.
Immaculata took its first lead of the game in the opening minutes of the second half after a pair of free throws and a layup by Asa Kitchen.
Following a pair of baskets by Dao, Immaculata led 52-48 at the 16:30 mark. Arcadia went on a 9-0 spurt to pull back in front 57-52 with just under 14 minutes remaining in the game.
The Macs would respond with a run of its own, as Dao capped an 8-0 run with a three-point play to put Immaculata in front by the score of 64-63 with eight minutes left.
The lead was quickly regained by Arcadia as the Knights went on an 18-2 run to build an 81-66 advantage with 2:28 remaining in the game.
McCullough ended the five minute drought with a basket but the lead was too much to overcome as the Knights held on for the double-digit win.
Arcadia shot 56-percent from the field and finished 13-for-22 from three in the win. Immaculata converted on seven shots from long-distance but was limited to only two makes over the final 20 minutes.
Immaculata returns home on Tuesday night when it faces Penn-State Abington at 6 p.m.
