IMMACULATA, Pa. – Immaculata men's basketball powered past the Penn State Brandywine Lions with a strong second-half surge Wednesday night. The gritty, overtime dual ended in a 80-78 win.
The Mighty Macs are 2-1 for the season. Their first AEC game will be on Saturday, Jan. 16 versus Gwynedd Mercy.
COACH STRAMARA'S COMMENTS
"The group is battled-tested. Last season, we played in two different games that went to overtime, and we weren't able to pull either out. I'm proud of the fight and togetherness we showed," head coach
Kyle Stramara said. "Winning these tight games will prepare us to withstand a tough conference schedule.
"Sam[uel Jankowski] was an animal out there tonight. We relied on him on both sides of the ball. He had a team-high 18 [points] and a school-record seven blocks. Happy to have him back and healthy this season.
"I knew Jeremiah [Smith] would eventually have a big game. We were thankful he chose tonight to get his first career double-double.
"It will be nice to take this week to focus on us and get better daily until we head to Neumann on the 18th."
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST PENN STATE BRANDYWINE
- Penn State Brandywine jumped out to a 16-7 start, despite a Jeremiah Smith dunk. The Lions extended their lead to double digits, but Immaculata's 7-0 run trimmed the deficit. Thanks to a Marquis Peoples Jr. triple and a Nico Vacchiano layup, the Mighty Macs cut the Penn State Brandywine advantage from 10 to five right before the break. It was 37-32 Penn State Brandywine at the half.
- An 8-2 Immaculata push made a dent in the Lions' lead, as the Mighty Macs earned a handful of free throws. It was not until 4:29 left in regulation that a Smith jumper put them ahead by one point. The two sides took turns stealing the lead from each other, but Smith's tip-in layup with 88 seconds remaining tied it at 65. Penn State Brandywine's jumpshot at the buzzer was offline, which forced five extra minutes.
- The Mighty Macs scored 11 of their 15 overtime points at the charity stripe. However, the sequence that sealed the game was a Jeremiah Alexander layup, which then segued into a Lions turnover. Mandon Seapoe capped it off with a fastbreak layup. Samuel Jankowski had the assist and steal for both possessions. Immaculata came out on top with an 80-78 win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Jankowski led the team with 18 points, four assists, and seven blocks. The seven blocks is a new Immaculata men's basketball single-game record.
- Smith had a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds.
- Peoples Jr. tallied 13 points and six rebounds, including two three-pointers.
- Immaculata set a new school record for free throws made (35) and attempted (46) in a single game.
UP NEXT
The Mighty Macs travel to Neumann University to face the Knights on Wednesday, Nov. 18. Game time is 6 p.m.
