IMMACULATA, Pa. – The Mighty Macs men's basketball team won a hard-fought battle against the Alvernia Golden Wolves on Saturday afternoon, winning by a score of 82-78. The Macs improve to 2-3 on the season while the Golden Wolves drop to 3-2 overall.
 
Immaculata took command for the first eight minutes of the game, owning a 26-13 lead over Alvernia. Senior Brandon McCullough dropped two three-pointers over the stretch to lead Immaculata with eight points overall. Alvernia then responded over the next ten minutes with a 26-13 rally of their own to tie the game at 39-39. A layup from Keith Farmer with under a minute to go was the difference-maker as Immaculata owned a 41-39 lead at the half.
 
The Mighty Macs were led in the first half by graduate student Asa Kitchen, who recorded 11 points while going 2-for-2 on three pointers on the half. The Macs shot 15-for-27 (55.6%) from the field on the half while shooting 4-for-8 (50.0%) from beyond the arc. The Golden Wolves, meanwhile, shot 15-for-27 from the field (40.5%0 and 6-for-16 (37.5%) from beyond the arc.
 
The score remained close coming out of the half. While the Golden Wolves could not gain a lead over the Mighty Macs, the Macs could not break away either. With 8:40 remaining on the half, the score stood tied at 64-64. The Macs took command over the next four minutes, going on a 16-5 run to gain a 12-point lead at 80-68. McCullough earned seven points on the stretch to lead the Macs.
 
Alvernia then responded with a 10-pouint run of their own, bringing the score back to 80-78 with under two minutes to go. While Alvernia attempted to rally, a clutch layup from Asa Kitchen with under 20 seconds to go secured the victory as Immacualta won 82-78.
 
Kitchen provided clutch offense for the Macs on the game, dropping 23 points overall in addition to seven defensive rebounds and three assists. Tyler Tillery, meanwhile, recorded a double-double, scoring 13 points and earning 10 rebounds.
 
As a team, the Mighty Macs shot 29-for-56 (51.8%) from the field and 9-for-18 (50.0%) from beyond the arc.
 
The Macs will return to action next Saturday as they host Ursinus. Their matchup with the Bears is scheduled to tip-off at 3:00 P.M.