Posted: Jan 03, 2014
Julian Ramirez led the Maroons in scoring, netting 20 points on the night. Ramirez had 16 second-half points, shooting 4-4 from the field and 7-11 from the free throw line. Three other Maroons scored in double digits. Daniel Eacho netted 17 points, going along with a team-high six rebounds. Stefan Vulevic tallied 11 points, shooting 3-3 from the floor, and 5-6 from the free throw line. John Fitchett finished with 10 points as well. Ramirez led all players in the contest with four assists.
The Mighty Macs opened the first half with a three-point basket, taking the early lead over the Maroons. Over the next five minutes, Immaculata extened its lead to 8-4, topped off by a pair of free throws from Barry Brockington. The Maroons started to close the gap with a jumper from Daniels and a layup by Ramirez. Through the 7:57 mark, the Mighty Macs built an eight point lead with baskets from Brockington and Tyreek Peeples. With 7:48 to play in the half, Immaculata led 21-13.
Roanoke picked up its first lead in the game with 2:09 left in the half, as Ramirez hit a layup, putting the Maroons ahead 26-25. The teams traded the lead back and forth four more times over the next two minutes. The final lead change came at the buzzer as Roanoke freshman Marcus Scott hit a trey at the buzzer to give the Maroons a 31-29 advantage entering the locker room.
At halftime, Daniel Eacho led the team with 14 points and a team high three rebounds. Eacho shot 6-10 from the field, in the 15 minutes he played in the first half. Marcus Scott and John Fitchett tied for second in scoring in the half with five points each. Andrew Daniels led all players in the half with three assists.
The Maroons started the second half with three points, two from Ramirez and a free throw by Eacho, extending the team's lead to five. Roanoke's largest lead up to this point in the contest was at the 10:19 mark, as Stefan Vulevic hit back to back layups to put the Maroons ahead by eight, 48-40. A layup and free throw from Immaculata's Mamadou Diakite pulled the Mighty Macs back within five, until John Fitchett knocked down a jumper to extend the lead again to seven, 54-47. With 5:51 to Roanoke held a 10 point, 60-50 lead, after Cameron Smith knocked down a pair of free throws.
Roanoke's 11-point lead held through the 2:56 mark, at which point Immaculata hit back to back layups from Rodney Duncan and Matt Simon to pull within seven, 66-59, with 1:14 to play. The Mighty Macs got one point closer in the final minute, getting within six, but free throws down the stretch from Ramirez sealed the contest, as Roanoke picked up the 70-61 victory
The Maroons return to action on Saturday, January 4th as they take on Ursinus in the championship game of the 2014 Dick Leftwich V-Foundation Classic. That contest is scheduled for a 3:00 PM start. Immaculata will play in the consolation game against William Peace University at 1:00 PM.
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