Box Score
IMMACULATA, Pa. – Immaculata placed four starters in double figures, led by 19 points from both Robert Siter and Nelson Torres as fourth-seeded Immaculata defeated No. 5 seed Gwynedd-Mercy, 87-82, in a Colonial States Athletic Conference men’s basketball quarterfinal Monday evening in Alumnae Hall.
Immaculata (15-11) travels to top-seeded Cabrini on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. for a CSAC semifinal against the Cavaliers. Gwynedd-Mercy (13-13) saw its season come to an end in the conference tournament at the hands of the Mighty Macs for the second time in three years.
John Boyd (6 points) hit just his second jumper of the contest with 5:48 remaining that capped a 19-9 run, giving the hosts its first lead of the game at 73-71. After Gwynedd-Mercy hit one of two foul shots, Kendall Peters drained a 3-pointer to put Immaculata up, 76-72, and the Mighty Macs would never trail again.
Immaculata hit 9 of 12 free throws the rest of the way to keep Gwynedd-Mercy at bay. Siter went 5-for-6 from the charity stripe during that stretch.
Torres scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half as the hosts outscored their visitors, 48-35, after halftime. Eric Barefield tallied seven points in the second frame and finished with 12 on the night. His ability to drive to the basket created opportunities for his teammates in the second half and sparked the Mighty Macs’ comeback. Barefield finished with four assists in the tilt.
The Griffins jumped out to a 15-5 advantage in the first 4:24 of the game. They held a lead that hovered around 10 points for most the first half from that point on. The Mighty Macs closed to within two (29-27) with 7:12 left, following an 11-2 run midway through the half. Will Mascio (8 points) hit a 3-pointer and put up five of the 11 points during the spurt while providing a spark off the bench.
Immaculata senior Jeff DeSantis poured in 13 points, playing like somebody who did not want to see his college career come to an end on his home court in the first round of the playoffs.
Gwynedd-Mercy was led by Jon Hogga’s double-double on game highs in both points (20) and rebounds (10). Matt Johnson also poured in 20 points. Lemeire Talley finished with 18 points and Brandon Sharp added 16. The Griffins’ bench contributed just six points in the loss, compared to the Mighty Macs’ 18 from their reserves.
In other CSAC quarterfinal action, third-seeded Neumann University defeated sixth-seeded Centenary College, 81-75. Neumann travels to second-seeded Keystone College on Wednesday in the other CSAC semifinal matchup. The two winners Wednesday will meet at the site of the higher seed on Friday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m.