GWYNEDD VALLEY, PA. – Sixth-seeded Immaculata knocked off third-seeded Gwynedd-Mercy, 94-82, Saturday afternoon in a 2012 CSAC Men's Basketball Tournament First-Round Game.
The Mighty Macs (11-15) advance to play at top-seeded Cabrini on Tuesday. The Griffins finish the season at 17-9.
Brandon Smith led IU with a game-high 29 points on 12-of-14 shooting. He was one of four players in double figures.
Sophomore Brandyn Wims netted 23 for the Griffins, who were held without a field goal over a five and half minute span late in the first half, turning a tie game into a double-digit deficit that Gwynedd could not recover from.
Freshman Justin Knight added 18 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. Senior Dan DelConte added 12.
After being down for most of the first half, junior Brendan Stanton hit a three-pointer to knot the score at 23-23 with 7:15 showing. However, it would be the last field goal for GM over the next five minutes. Two Nelson Torres free throws gave IU a 40-24 edge with just under three minutes in the stanza. The Mighty Macs would lead 50-33 at the break.
In the second, Gwynedd could not gain traction early on, falling behind as much as 75-50 midway through the period. Wims, who scored 19 of his 23 points in the second stanza, tried to rally the troops by hitting back-to-back three-pointers on consecutive possessions to get within 19. GM would fight to get within 13 (82-69) with 2:15 remaining, but Immaculata would ice the contest at the free-throw line, hitting 10-of-12 attempts down the stretch to seal the win.
Gwynedd-Mercy forced 14 IU turnovers which led to 22 points, but were outrebounded, 39-32.
Torres finished with 18 points, who additionally went 12-of-17 at the line, and a team-high six assists. Rob Siter added 19 points and eight boards while Todd Stokley was one rebound shy of a double-double, finishing with 10 points and nine caroms.
Senior Brandon Williams added eight points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals off the bench for Gwynedd.
IU was 30-for-51 (58.5%) from the floor while the Griffins shot 28-of-67 (41.8%).