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RADNOR, Pa. – The No. 24 Cabrini men's basketball team overcame just its third halftime deficit of the season and remains undefeated at home in 2009-10 after a gritty 73-70 win versus Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) foe Immaculata University Thursday night. Freshman point guard Cory Lemons poured in 24 points for the Cavaliers in the victory.
Lemons shot 8-for-15 from the floor overall and 7-for-8 from the foul line, knocking down four critical free throws in the waning seconds of the second half. Lemons also grabbed six rebounds.
Freshman point guard A.J. Williams made his fifth start of the season, coupling 11 points with six rebounds and three assists. Williams claimed four of his six boards on the offensive end.
Junior forward Dom Farrello scored eight points and corralled a team-high 10 rebounds, including four defensive boards in the final three minutes that helped the Cavaliers rally from five points down.
After a 3-point basket from freshman guard Nelson Torres and a driving lay-in from junior guard Eric Barefield, Immaculata held a 60-55 advantage with 4:44 remaining.
Cabrini answered with an 8-2 run and a lay-in from Lemons at the 2:36 mark that supplied the Cavaliers with a lead they would never relinquish, 63-62. Another Lemons lay-in on the next possession pushed the Blue & White edge to 65-62 with 1:49 on the clock.
The Cavaliers led by five points with 54 seconds remaining, 69-64, after sophomore forward Brandon Carter converted an old-fashion 3-point play and senior forward Kevin Misevicius sunk 1-of-2 free throws.
However, it wasn't until the final buzzer sounded that Cabrini could breathe easy. Lemons shot 4-for-4 from the foul line in the final 12 seconds, icing the Cavaliers' third straight victory and 19th of the season overall.
Carter scored seven points and handed out four assists. He shot 5-for-7 from the foul line, all of which came in the second half. Misevicius tallied six points and three rebounds, but played just 17 minutes due to foul trouble. He is now 17 points shy of becoming the 14th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
Sophomore guard Rob Siter led three scorers for the Mighty Macs in double figures with 20 points. Torres and sophomore guard John Boyd scored 19 and 17 points, respectively.
Cabrini is a perfect 9-0 at home this season and 25-2 on the Nerney Field House hardwood dating back to the start of the 2008-09 campaign, the first under head coach Marcus Kahn.
The Blue & White is also now just one win shy of its 17th 20-win season in program history, and second straight under Kahn. The Cavalier last posted consecutive 20-win seasons in 1999-00 (20-6) and 2000-01 (21-7).
The win versus Immaculata creates some breathing room for the Cavaliers in the CSAC standings. Cabrini heads into the final four games of the regular season with a three-game cushion in the loss column over Immaculata and Keystone College. Furthermore, the Blue & White owns tie-breaker advantages against the Mighty Macs and Giants due to sweeping both season series in 2009-10.
The Cavaliers were playing their first game as a nationally ranked team since the 2001-02 season. The Blue & White is listed No. 24 in this week's D3Hoops.com Top 25 poll, released every Tuesday. The 2001-02 Cabrini team finished the season ranked tied for No. 25 after posting a 19-12 overall record and advancing to the “Sweet 16” of the NCAA Tournament.
Cabrini (19-2, 13-1) resumes its CSAC schedule Saturday at home against Marywood University at 4 p.m. The Cavalier men and women's teams will host their annual alumni games in conjunction with the doubleheader versus the Pacers.
