IMMACULATA, Pa – Freshman Tyler Tillery made a layup with four seconds left to propel Immaculata to a 64-62 win over Dickinson on Saturday afternoon from Alumnae Hall.
The Macs (1-5) pick up the first win of the season with the late game heroics from the freshman. Tillery scored seven points to go along with seven rebounds and three blocks in win.
Brandon McCullough led the team with 18 points and six rebounds. McCullough also wreaked havoc on the defensive end with a career-high six steals. Jeffrey Powell-Young chipped in with nine points while Tim Moore had six points off the bench.
Jack Tierney paced Dickinson (1-7) with 19 points and eight rebounds. Chris Bates joined him in double figures with 10 points.
The Mighty Macs were able play in front from the opening tip. Powell-Young and McCullough made baskets giving Immaculata a 4-0 start out of the gates.
The teams traded baskets over the next few minutes as the score was even at nine with 12:04 left in the first half.
Kahleel Foster connected on his first career three-pointer midway through the first to give the Macs a 12-9 lead.
The defense carried the Macs through nearly a four-minute scoring drought as they still held a 14-13 lead after McCullough helped the Macs pick up the offense.
McCullough and Powell-Young hit a pair of threes to cap a 10-2 run, building a 24-17 lead in favor of Immaculata with 3:22 left in the half.
Immaculata closed out the half with a Tillery layup and a jumper by McCullough to hold a 32-23 lead at intermission.
The defense was a strong point for the Mighty Macs as they forced 10 turnovers and limited the Red Devils to 1-for-11 from three in the opening 20 minutes.
Dickinson came out strong in the second half, going on a quick 7-0 run to make it 32-30 with 17:45 remaining.
With the score deadlocked at 37, the Mighty Macs went on a 11-0 spurt to hold a 48-37 lead at the nine minute mark of the game.
Dickinson chipped away at the deficit as Immaculata held a two-point lead with five minutes remaining. Chris Bates connected on two-consecutive threes to tie the game at 59 with 2:51 left.
Immaculata would never surrender the lead as McCullough answered the spurt with a three of his own.
Both defenses stiffened up and held the offenses scoreless in the final two-minutes, setting up the late game drama. The Mighty Macs would force Travis Dobbins to miss a three with 29 seconds to give the final shot for the home team.
Tillery caught a pass from Jake Strycharz and was able to back down his defender for the game-winning layup.
Immaculata will return to action on Tuesday evening when it takes on Bryn Athyn at 6 p.m. from Alumnae Hall.
