EAST WHITELAND - It was the type of epic shooting slump that would sink any basketball team at any level.
Heck, the Dream Team of 1992 would have all kinds of trouble overcoming an 0-for-22 stretch (not that that ever happened). And let's be honest, Immaculata's 2024-25 men's squad has some improving to do to get anywhere near a winning NCAA Division III outfit.
But that's exactly what the Mighty Macs did to begin the second half of a non-league clash at Alumnae Hall on Tuesday against Arcadia. It turned a narrow halftime lead into a double-digit deficit, on the way to a frustrating 63-56 loss that dropped IU to 1-5 this season.
"It was a helpless feeling," said head coach Jason Hyman. "But here is the thing: they have now experienced it. I think our team will grow from this, but it stinks to have this (shooting performance) when we are trying to get on a win streak.
"We need every game we can get, but we can't lose sight of the goal, which is to figure it out by the time we start playing in our conference."
Immaculata doesn't open its Atlantic East Conference slate until Jan. 4th, so there is some time.
"The upsetting piece is the urgency we came out with in the second half," Hyman added. "That has to be addressed. We need to do the little things - urgency doesn't take talent.
"It's a tough conversation because what do you say to a team that shot 5-for-32, but did everything else pretty good?"
Yes, that's what IU wound up shooting in the second half: 5-for-32, which is .156 percent.
"We are a young team and it's a challenge," Hyman said. "Zero-for 22, all you can do is get in the gym and try to work on shooting. It overshadowed the good that we did. We limited turnovers, we won the rebound battle, and we withstood a team that shot 8-for 13 on 3-pointers in the first half.
"Our team is getting better and better."
Clinging to a 35-33 halftime lead, the Macs inexplicably went more than 12 minutes without making a single field goal. It was 22 missed shots in succession - mostly from the perimeter -- with a few free throws mixed in. When it mercifully ended, Immaculata trailed 50-38, and even though the Macs made it semi interesting down the stretch, it was too much to overcome.
"It was our first time seeing the zone, so in our guy's mind you shoot over the zone," Hyman explained. "I wanted to attack the middle, and we did that later. With a young team, you always have to remind them. We just have to do better."
Senior guard Ryan Straub - who doubled as Immaculata's starting goaltender in soccer - had a big hand in the comeback with a 3-pointer and a driving bucket. In all, IU went on an 11-3 run to cut the margin to 55-51 with just under four minutes on the clock.
"We still had a chance at the end of the game, so you can't ask for more than that," Hyman said.
"I told the guys in the locker room before the coaches came in that I was proud of our effort," Straub added. "We battled hard and made it competitive again. But we need to avoid putting ourselves into such a hole."
Down the stretch, however, the Macs managed to make just two more buckets and turned it over three times. For the game, IU had just nine turnovers.
"That first 10 minutes of the second half was definitely the game," Straub acknowledged. "We started off giving up five offensive rebounds in the first three minutes, and they hit a couple 3-pointers off of that. We have to come out with better urgency to start the second half.
"We became very perimeter-oriented against the zone. The game plan was to attack, be aggressive and get to the rim and it took us too long to do that."
The Mighty Macs fell behind by double digits in the first seven minutes of action in a hail a 3-pointers by the Knights (2-4). But Hyman called a timeout and Immaculata proceeded to reel off 15 straight points to seize the lead, including 3-pointers by Straub and freshman Domenic Vacchiano off the bench.
"We'll get there. But shooting 5-for-32 in the second half is tough," Hyman said. Shaking his head.
Sophomore guard Mandon Seapoe paced Immaculata with 15 points and senior John Proctor (Coatesville) added 11. The Macs had a 16-6 first half edge in points in the paint, but Arcadia had a 16-6 advantage in the second half.
Arcadia 63, Immaculata 58
ARCADIA - Lynam 5-11 0-1 13; Attivo 4-4 1-2 9; Okacha 3-8 4-5 11; Parks 6-8 0-0 16; Vazquez 5-12 0-1 12; Reiss 0-1 0-0 0; Walker 0-1 0-0 0; Kubish 0-1 0-0 0; Taylor 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 24-48 5-9 63.
IMMACULATA - Janowski 1-6 3-4 5; Proctor 3-12 5-8 11; Crews 1-6 0-0 2; Flood 0-2 3-4 3; Seapoe 6-8 2-2 15; Flowers 2-6 0-0 6; Straub 3-9 0-0 8; Vacchiano 2-7 0-0 5; Telsford 1-3 0-0 3; Zellars 0-1 0-0 0; Conyer 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-61 13-18 58.
Halftime: Immaculata 35-33.
3-pointers: Lynam 3, Okocha, Parks 4, Vazquez 2, Seapoe, Flowers 2, Straub 2, Vacciano, Telesford.