DOYLESTOWN, Pa.- The Mighty Mac men's basketball second half comeback came up short as they fell to Delaware Valley by the score of 90-84 on Wednesday evening from the James Work Gymnasium.
Jordan Ambrose and Asa Kitchen each scored 19 points to lead the way for Immaculata (0-4). Brandon McCullough chipped in with 17 points as Tyler Tillery scored a career-high 14 points off the bench for the Macs.
Damian Washington and Jordan Tucker scored 28 and 22 points respectively for Delaware Valley (3-3). The Aggies shot 55-percent from the field in a game that saw four of its five starters score in double figures.
The Mighty Macs took an early lead in the contest as McCullough's layup gave Immaculata a 7-5 advantage with 17:02 left in the first half.
The two teams would trade baskets for the next six minutes with the Aggies holding a 16-15 lead at the 11-minute mark.
Immaculata would retake the lead following a quick 8-0 spurt. Tillery and Kitchen fueled the run with a layup and three-pointer giving the Macs a 26-25 lead with seven minutes remaining in the opening half.
DelVal closed the first half on a 17-2 run to hold a 48-31 lead at intermission. The Mighty Macs shot 42-percent (5-for-12) from three in the first 20 minutes but couldn't cool down the Aggies from making shots at a 52-percent clip.
The Aggies extended its lead to 21 in the opening minutes of the second half but couldn't put away the Macs.
Immaculata responded with a 9-2 run, making it 56-42 in favor of DelVal with 16:41 left in the game.
DelVal kept up the pressure and created it largest lead of the game at 69-47 at the 12-minute mark.
The Mighty Macs showed fight and went on a huge run to cut the lead under double digits. Immaculata rallied with a 19-4 run spanning nearly six minutes, making the score 73-66 with 6:12 remaining.
Jordan Ambrose connected on a pair of free throws with 3:42 left to make it a five-point game at 75-70 in favor of Delaware Valley. The deficit was the smallest since the first half.
The Aggies hit nine free throws over the last three minutes to fend off the Immaculata come back. DelVal finished 21-for-29 from the free throw line in the game.
Immaculata shot 9-for-23 from long distance and used 25 points from its bench. The Macs narrowly lost the turnover battle but cashed in on Aggies miscues and scored 25 points off turnovers. Jake Strycharz was perfect from the field as the Freshman scored a season-high eight points.
Immaculata returns to action on December 14th when it plays Dickinson at 1 p.m. from Alumnae Hall.