Winless Macs handled by Philly University

PHILADELPHIA>> Immaculata’s men’s basketball team ran into a buzzsaw Saturday afternoon on the road at Philadelphia University.

Derek Johnson had 25 points as the Mighty Macs (0-3) were annihilated by the Rams, 77-45.

The game was close for the first three minutes before the was halted due to the shot clock catching fire. It could not have been any more fitting because Philadelphia’s offense caught fire after play resumed, go- ing on a 19-4 run.

The visitors really struggled with the opposition’s size and speed. Throughout the entire contest Philadelphia (2-2) burned them with second chance points off rebounds, and blocked shots on defense. It seemed like every offensive possession the Rams had, they were able to get dribble drive penetration through the paint which opened up all kinds of shooting pockets for the streaking offense.

Philadelphia shot 41 percent from behind the three point arc. No one feasted from downtown more than Johnson, who made five of nine 3-pointers.

With Phila delphia’s 6-foot-11 center Peter Alexis controlling the paint, Immaculata struggled to attack offensively from the perimeter. The Mighty Macs shot 28 percent from the field, and 20 percent from behind the arc.

They tr ied to break through the defense by using baseline cutters to find back door lay ups, but Philadelphia’s “help” defense was just too strong. Every time the ball swung across the perimeter, a Rams defender was right there to greet the Immaculata ball handler.

Philadelphia also dominated on the glass. They outrebounded Immaculata 34 to 18. As ugly as that number was, it was the amount of put back layups that stemmed from the lack of rebounding, that was their worst nightmare.

While it may have been an uphill battle the entire game, the effort and fight were quite evident, watching the young Immaculata team compete.

“I think you can take the energy and effort from today’s game,” Mighty Macs coach Terrence Stewart said. “They played hard for 40 minutes, regardless of the score. We are building for the future and it is a process. It is a process to get better, and play good basketball.”

Matt Simon paced Immaculata with nine points and Roy Ferrell Jr. added eight.

Iconic Philadelphia U coach Herb Magee felt the same way. A Division III team going on the road and play a Division II squad in their home opener is no easy task.

“They (Immaculata) were outmanned. But that did not stop them from busting it for every play. Until the final horn blew, they were pressing us and competing the entire way. I really think that is something that will help them this season,” Magee said.

The Mighty Macs’ next opportunity to grab their first win of the season will come on Monday night against Marywood in their home opener.