IMMACULATA, Pa.- Immaculata (10-13, 4-6) hosted first place Gwynedd Mercy (16-7, 8-2) in an Atlantic East Conference clash on Play4Kay Night at Alumnae Hall, and in a game that was tight the whole way, the Griffins pulled away late to deal IU an 80-71 defeat.
 
Junior Josh Singleton had a career-best effort with 17 points and eight rebounds off the bench while sophomore Brandon McCullough led the team with 20 points, and junior Jordan Ambrose (14 points) and senior Mike Piekarski (10 points) also reached double figures.
 
The Mighty Macs remain in fifth in the Atlantic East with two games remaining, a game and a half behind fourth place Wesley, and a half game ahead of sixth place Cabrini.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
-IU was outstanding out of the gates, racing out to a 12-4 lead on the strength of four points from senior Morgan Bailey and a couple three pointers by McCullough and Piekarski, forcing an early Griffin timeout
-Leading 14-6, Gwynedd Mercy went on a 15-2 run to take a 21-16 lead with under eight minutes remaining in a low scoring first half
-The Griffins led 26-22 with 5:33 remaining and the Macs responded with an 11-0 spurt to take another lead.  Singleton converted a pair of field goals around a bucket by sophomore Asa Kitchen and five points from Ambrose to make it 33-26
-Gwynedd Mercy close the half with eight straight to take a 34-33 lead to the second half
-The Macs trailed by six early in the half, but they went on a 12-0 run to take a six point lead themselves.  McCullough hit a pair of buckets and Ambrose punctuated the run with a three from the corner to make it 45-39 with 15:49 to go
-The game would remain close through the middle part of the half with it tied at 50, 52, 54, and 56, until the Griffins took a five point lead
-Piekarski hit a three pointer to cut into the lead, but that's the lcoselst the Macs would get the rest of the way as the Griffins salted it away at the free throw line
 
TEAM COMPARISON
-The Macs were 24-for-60 (40%) from the field and Gwynedd was more efficient at 26-for-55 (47.3%)
-The Mighty Macs hit five three pointers and the Griffins hit six while each team was goo from the line as the Griffins were 22-for-26 (84.6%) and the Macs were 18-for-19 (94.7%), all of them in the second half
-Gwynedd held a slight edge in rebounds, 35-32 and both teams turned it over 14 times
 
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
-Points: McCullough 20, Singleton 17, Ambrose 14, Piekarski 10
-Rebounds: Singleton 8, Piekarski 7, McArthur 5
-Assists: Piekarski 4, Kitchen 3
-Steals: Piekarski 3, Kitchen 2
-Blocks: McArthur 2
 
UP NEXT
The Mighty Macs will host Cabrini on Saturday at 3 p.m. for Senior Day at Alumnae Hall.