The SVC men's basketball team defeated Immaculata University by a score of 78-71 in a hard-fought battle in the first round of the Catholic Basketball Invitational, hosted by Saint Vincent.  

The scrappy squad from Immaculata held a 5-point advantage, 18-13, just over six minutes into play, but Andrew Reed hit back-to-back three pointers to give the hosts the advantage, 19-18.

Immaculata later retook control, building a 28-22 lead with 7:22 remaining in the first half, but four straight points from Cletus Helton, followed by a David Stephen basket, tied the game at 28-28.
 
Down one (31-30) late in the period, Stephen hit a three, followed by a Shemar Bennett score to give SVC a four-point lead, but the visitors added the final score of the half to make it 35-33 in favor of the Bearcats at the break.
 
The visitors played well to start the second half, opening a 45-40 lead early, but the SVC defense then took control of the game.  Stephen hit a three, and followed with a rebound that led to a Helton layup that tied the game.  Helton then came up with a steal and scored on a fastbreak, drawing a foul. The conventional three-point play put SVC in front, 48-45.  Walter Bonds got into the action with a steal, feeding Helton for another layup to make it 50-45, completing a 10-0 run. 
 
Later after the Mighty Macs came up with a steal and score to cut the gap to five (55-50), Kyle Pope hit a three from the corner to increase the lead to eight just past the midway point of the second half.
 
After a Stephen three later put SVC in front by nine (61-52), Immaculata went on a 9-point run, tying the game at the 7:22 mark and forcing SVC to take a timeout.
 
The visitors regrouped, and eventually battled back to take a 65-64 lead with 5:18 remaining.  After a Bearcat timeout, Bonds fed the ball inside to Bennett for a layup to put SVC back in front by one.
 
Immaculata again used its speed to its advantage, drawing fouls and scoring on a fast break, taking a 69-67 lead with three minutes left.  This time it was Bonds that tied the game, driving into the lane for a layup at the 2:40 mark. 
 
The next score belonged to the visitors, as they took a 71-69 lead.   Stephen followed with a three as the shot clock expired, putting SVC in front by one, and after Immaculata turned the ball over, Stephen followed with a spinning layup in traffic at the 1:06 mark that gave SVC a 74-71 lead.  Josh Duda battled for a rebound and drew a foul on the next possession, then hit both free throws to extend the lead to five with 52 seconds left.  A block by Bennett gave SVC the ball back with 40 ticks remaining, and Reed was then fouled.  He made one shot to put SVC up by six, 77-71.
 
From there the visitors were unable to recover, and SVC went on to the win. 
 
Stephen led the offense with 26 points and 9 rebounds, while Bennett recorded a double-double, with 11 points and 11 rebounds.  Helton added 15 points and Reed had 10, while Bonds tallied six steals and 6 points. 
 
SVC is now 6-5 overall on the season, and will face Catholic University at 3PM on Sunday (December 29) in the tournament championship.