RADNOR, Pa.- On The final day of the 2019-20 regular season, the Immaculata men's basketball team will return to action on the road at Cabrini with playoff seeding on the line. Opening tip in this contest is set for 3 p.m. as the game will be played as game two of a senior day twin bill inside Nerney Field House on the campus of Cabrini University.

This afternoons contest carries major playoff implications for both Immaculata and Cabrini as a rematch between the two sides in the Quarterfinal round is something a foregone conclusion, however, the site is very much up in the air. The victor of this afternoons contest will earn the fourth seed in the upcoming Tournament and the right to host the Atlantic East Quarterfinal next week while the loser will be the fifth seed and will have to travel to the fourth seed early next week for the Quarterfinal dual.

In the first meeting between the two teams earlier this season, 40 minutes of basketball was not nearly enough to decide a winner as the contest went to overtime where the two sides traded baskets before a late basket from Cabrini lifted the Cavaliers to the 87-86 victory over the Mighty Macs. Brandon McCullough had one of the best nights of his career against Cabrini in the first meeting with a 29-point effort, which tied his career-high.

Last Time Out:

A slow start doomed Immaculata men's basketball in an 86-61 setback against Gwynedd Mercy on Wednesday night.

Three different players scored in double figures for Immaculata (9-15, 4-7) with Asa Kitchen leading the way with 15 points while Tyler Tillery and Jordan Ambrose chipped in with 14 and 13 points respectively.

Gwynedd Mercy led wire-to-wire in the win and jumped out to an 18-5 lead in the early goings of the contest. Jeffrey Powell-Young hit a three to stop the run but Gwynedd responded with a 10-1 spurt to hold a 28-9 lead at the midway point of the first half.
Immaculata was held to only two field goals over the final 10 minutes of the first half as Gwynedd Mercy held a 43-18 lead at intermission. 

The Griffins shot 46-percent in the first half while limiting the Mighty Macs to 5-of-20 (25-percent) from the field in the opening 20 minutes. Immaculata turned it over 15 times leading to 24 points for Gwynedd Mercy.

The Mighty Macs fought hard in the second half and opened up the second half with a 15-3 run to close the deficit to 13. Asa Kitchen and Tyler Tillery combined for 13 points during the spurt. Immaculata got the game to within 12 following the 11th point of the second-half for Kitchen as Gwynedd Mercy led 50-38 with 13 minutes remaining.

Gwynedd Mercy put the Mighty Macs away with a 16-1 run spanning over four minutes of action and extended its lead to as much as 29 in the second half. The Mighty Macs shot 59-percent in the second half but couldn't overcome the large deficit.

Stat Check:

Continuing his steady climb up the scoring chart, Jordan Ambrose now ranks fourth in the league in scoring averaging 17.5 points per game as the Macs enter their final game of the 2019-20 regular season. Thanks to his recent efforts, Ambrose also ranks atop the league in three-point field goal percentage shooting 39.9 % while remaining tied for first in makes per game averaging 2.6 made threes per contest. Ambrose also ranks sixth in the league in field goal percentage shooting 43.6 % from the field entering play on Saturday evening.

As a team, Immaculata ranks fourth in the league in both defense and scoring averaging 74.8 points per game on the offensive end while allowing an average of 78.0 points per game to this point in the season. Thanks in large part to the efforts of Ambrose, Immaculata also ranks third in the league in three-point field goal percentage at 35.3 % on the year entering play on Saturday afternoon.

Scouting Cabrini:

Following a loss at Wesley in its last contest, Cabrini will look to rebound this afternoon on senior day vs Immaculata with the knowledge that a victory over the Macs earns the Cavs the right to host Immaculata in an Atlantic East Quarterfinal matchup next week. On Wednesday evening at Wesley, Keith Blassingale led the Cavs in scoring with 18 points while Voshon Mack chipped in 16 points of his own in the setback. Cabrini remained in the contest throughout courtesy of a number of brief runs in a game that also featured six lead changes and four ties throughout the contest. Wesley pulled away late, however, as the Wolverines earned the 87-77 victory over Cabrini. As a team, Cabrini enters play with the second best offensive unit in the Atlantic East averaging 78.7 points per game behind the 19.1 point per game contribution from Blassingale. However, the Cavaliers have found themselves in a position where they need to score for much of the season as the Blue and White enter play with the seventh ranked defensive unit in the Atlantic East allowing an average of 87.0 points per game to this point in the year.

Looking Ahead:

With its victory over Neumann a few weeks ago, Immaculata solidified its place in the Atlantic East Tournament, which now leaves the question of seeding as the question still to be answered. A victory this evening will give Immaculata the fourth seed in the Tournament and the right to host Cabrini in the Atlantic East quarterfinal while a loss will send Immaculata to Cabrini for the Atlantic East Quarters early next week.