Immaculata, Pa. – Immaculata University used a late 11-0 run to pull away from visiting Keystone College on Saturday afternoon on its way to a 99-84 victory in Colonial States Athletic Conference men's basketball action. The Mighty Macs boost their record to 9-10 overall and 7-5 in conference play while the Giants fall to 5-13 overall and 2-10 in the CSAC after suffering their fifth-straight loss.
Keystone jumped out to an 8-2 advantage in the first three minutes of Saturday's contest, but Immaculata outscored the Giants 32-11 over the next nine and a half minutes to claim a 34-19 lead with 7:34 remaining in the first half. Trailing41-31 with 1:12 left on the clock, Keystone scored the final seven points of the period to cut its deficit to 41-38 at halftime.
Mike Piekarski led Immaculata with eight points and nine rebounds in the first half while Matt Simon added seven points. The Mighty Macs shot 36.6 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play including a 5-18 effort from three-point range while going 6-9 from the free throw line.
Keystone's
Mark Gilliam (Philadelphia, Pa./High School of the Future) paced all scorers with 14 first half points while
John Kirkpatrick (Philadelphia, Pa./Northeast) netted six points.
Perry Belcher (Orlando, Fla./Colonial) pulled down six rebounds for the Giants, who connected on 42.9 percent of their field goal attempts in the stanza including a 3-8 clip from beyond the arc and an 11-20 showing at the charity stripe.
Immaculata used an 8-0 burst early in the second half to open up an 11-point advantage. Trailing by nine points with just under 13 minutes left in regulation, Keystone reeled off 10 straight points to claim a 65-64 edge at the 11:39 mark when Gilliam drained a three-pointer.
The two teams swapped the lead five times over the next four minutes with the Mighty Macs taking the lead for good with 7:32 remaining. The hosts held an 81-80 edge at the 4:47 mark before rattling off the next 11 points to stake out a 92-80 cushion in the final two minutes to pull away with the win.
Piekarski led Immaculata with 18 points and 16 rebounds and was joined in double-figures by Simon (17), Eric Pittman, Jr. (16), Roy Ferrell, Jr. (13), and Jordan Ambrose (13). Pittman also pulled down 10 rebounds for a double-double as the Mighty Macs held a 57-35 advantage in rebounding for the game while both teams turned the ball over 15 times each.
Immaculata shot 43.4 percent from the floor for the game including a 33.3 percent effort from long range while going 73.3 percent from the free throw line.
Belcher finished with a career-high 31 points while leading Keystone with 11 rebounds and four assists. Gilliam netted 20 points while
Khyle Diaz (East Miramar, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) tallied 12 points for the Giants, who connected on 45.2 percent of its field goal efforts on the day while going 37.5 percent from beyond the arc and just 47.5 percent from the line.
Deion Monroe (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston ) corralled nine rebounds in the loss while Gilliam collected a game-high three steals for the visitors.
Keystone will play its final non-conference game of the season on Tuesday night at Hamilton College. Opening tip is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. in Clinton, New York.
