OLD WESTBURY, N.Y.- The Daemen College men's basketball team suffered its second conference loss of the weekend after New York Institute of Technology got an 84-79 victory at Recreation Hall today. NYIT snapped a two-game skid to improve to 3-5 on the season while securing their first win East Coast Conference play (1-2) while Daemen fell to 4-4 and 1-2 in the conference.

Daemen opened the game on an 8-0 run but NYIT came back to lead by one (11-10) with 14:20 to go in the first half after a three-pointer by Jahleel Felix. The Wildcats then used a 15-6 spurt to get themselves back on top 25-17.  The run was capped by an Uchechi Ogbonna (Westbury, N.Y./Erie CC) jumper with 8:31 left in the opening stanza.

The Bears then scored 21 of the next 34 points to tie the game 38-38 at the half. Both teams shot equally well as Daemen went 16-of-37 (43-percent) from the field in the first half while NYIT went 14-of-34 (41-percent).

The hosts quickly re-established control in the second half, never looking back as they led the rest of the game. Daemen would cut the deficit to 64-61 on a bucket by junior center Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) with 10:24 left to play. The Bears ran the advantage back to double figures as they found their largest lead of the night, 80-69, after a layup by Nick Fessenden with less than three minutes in the game.

Daemen responded by going on a 10-2 (82-79) run bringing the Wildcats back within three after a layup by senior guard Casey Sheehan (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) with 54 seconds remaining.

Following a timeout, NYIT ran the shot clock all the way down before Erick Satchell missed a three-pointer, giving Daemen an opportunity to draw closer or, perhaps, tie the game.  But, an errant pass thwarted Daemen's comeback attempt and Satchell converted two free throws with nine seconds left to provide the final margin.

It was another whirlwind finish for the Bears, this time coming out on top.  Less than 24 hours earlier, the Bears had blown a three-point lead when Tyrel Dixon of Roberts Wesleyan College converted a four-point play with 3.8 seconds left to lift the Redhawks past NYIT.  Things would not be the same on Sunday, however.

Phil Izevbehai scored 22 points to lead the Bears while Felix chipped in 16 points, some eight points higher than his season average. Markus Moore was tough down low and recorded a double-double with 15 points and a team-high 11 rebounds.

For the game, NYIT hit on 15 of its 22 free throw attempts (68-percent) compared to a 8-for-9 (89-percent) showing from the visitors.  Daemen had entered the game averaging 28.4 free throw attempts per game as one of the top teams in the conference at getting to the charity stripe.  Their nine free throw attempts in this one marked the first time they had failed to generate at least 10 freebies since a 72-65 win over the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown on Nov. 26, 2011, a span of some 62 games.

Ogbonna paced Daemen with with his third double-double of the season as he scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Beverly knocked down 7-of-12 from the field en route to 14 points despite battling foul trouble for the second straight game, while Sheehan contributed 12 points and seven assists to the Daemen cause.

Kadeem Johnson (Syracuse, NY/Henniger) and Jordan Greene (Fort Edward, N.Y./South Glens Falls) both chipped in 10 points for the Wildcats.

Senior guard Mark Coppola (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) dished out seven assists while also adding seven points and two steals.  Coppola is now just 16 assists shy of becoming Daemen's all-time leader in the category (Rob Robinson, 503 assists).

Daemen returns to action next weekend with a pair of ECC contests when they travel back to Long Island to take on Molloy College (Friday, Dec 20 - 7:30 p.m.) at Quealy Gymnasium and Queens College (Sunday, Dec. 22 - 1 p.m.) at Fitzgerald Gymnasium.