IMMACULATA, Pa. – The Immaculata men's basketball team dropped a highly-contested contest against Marywood on Monday. The final score of 81-78 was determined by a three-point shot made with three seconds remaining in the game.
 
The first seven minutes of the contest belonged to Marywood as the Pacers quickly took 24-12 lead over the Mighty Macs. Then, sophomore Gregory Vlassopoulos recorded five straight points on a three-pointer followed by a steal and layup to give the Macs momentum. The Macs and Pacers then battled neck-and-neck as the Macs were unable to gain more ground on the Pacers.
 
With six minutes remaining in the half, the Pacers owned a 42-31 lead over the Mighty Macs. The Pacers quickly expanded their lead to 49-32 with four minutes remaining in the half. The final four minutes, however, belonged to the Macs as they outscored the Pacers 12-5 to cut the deficit to 54-44 at the half. Tyler Tillery dropped four points on the stretch while Brandon McCullough and Julian Steinbrenner each dropped three-pointers.
 
Gregory Vlassopoulous led the way for the Mighty Macs in the first half, leading the team in with 15 points scored and six rebounds while also tallying two steals and one assist. McCullough, meanwhile, scored nine points and added four assists and one rebound for the Macs.
 
The Mighty Macs came out swinging to start the first half, scoring seven consecutive points while going on a 10-2 run to cut the Pacers' lead to 56-54. Just under seven minutes into the second half, McCullough tied the game up at 61-61 with Vlassopoulos picking up an assist. 20 seconds later, Vlassopoulos took the lead for the Macs, going 2-for-2 on free throws after being fouled.
 
The Macs and Pacers then found themselves in a back-to-back brawl as the score stood at 71-71 with six minutes remaining in regulation. The Macs took a 78-74 lead with three minutes remaining on a layup by Asa Kitchen. The four-point lead, however, would not be enough as the Pacers tied it up at 78-78 with 90 seconds remaining. Then, with three seconds remaining on the clock, the Pacers sank a three-point shot, securing their 81-78 victory in close battle with the Macs.
 
McCullough and Vlassopoulos put in work offensively for the Macs, scoring 24 points and four assists each on the game. Vlassopoulos also tallied eight rebounds and six steals on the game. Steven Dao, meanwhile, led the Macs defensively with 14 rebounds and two steals of his own. As a team, the Macs capitalized on the Pacers' fouls, shooting 18-for-23 (78.3%) from the charity stripe on the game.
 
The Mighty Macs will return to action on Wednesday as they travel to Arlington, Va. for a matchup against Marymount.