AMHERST, N.Y. – Junior forward Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili), who pleased the crowd with several thunderous dunks, scored a team-high 19 points to lead the Daemen College men's basketball team to a 97-42 victory - the Wildcats' 26th straight home win - over visiting the University of the District of Columbia - an East Coast Conference opponent - today.

It marked the first home game of the new year as the Wildcats have now gone 27-1 at home since the start of the 2011-12 season and have won 80-percent (83-21) of their home games over the past eight seasons.

Daemen has now won four of their last five, including four straight ECC contests to improve to 5-3 in conference (8-6 overall).  UDC fell to 3-9 overall (1-5 ECC) with the loss.

The Wildcats shot 52-percent (36-for-69) from the field and totaled 20 fast-break points. The hosts also held a 46-34 advantage in rebounds.

Twelve Wildcats found themselves on the score sheet as Supreme Hannah (Rochester, N.Y. / Eastridge HS) went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, contributing 13 points and five assists.  Aaron Davis (North Tonawanda, N.Y. / North Tonawanda HS) also added 12 points and two steals while senior forward Kadeem Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger) chipped in 10 points to the Daemen cause.

Uchechi Ogbonna (Hicksville, N.Y./Erie CC) was close to reaching a double-double as he recorded nine points and nine rebounds for the Wildcats. Casey Sheehan (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) and Jordan Greene (Fort Edward, N.Y./South Glens Falls)  both totaled seven points while Mark Coppola (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) contributed a team-high 10 assists, nine of which came in the first half.
 
Sophomore guard Clenso Brannon III scored a team-high 11 points and had nine rebounds for an injury-ravaged Firebirds squad that's down to just six healthy bodies right now.

The two teams traded baskets in the early minutes of the game until the Wildcats came out of a timeout strong and exploded for 22 unanswered points. The hosts put together a decisive lead over the next nine minutes making a 24-point gap, 32-8 after a layup by Greene at the 7:10 mark.

Highlights of the run included a fast-break dunk by Johnson, back-to-back three-pointers from Davis, and a steal from Coppola that led to another fast-break layup for the Wildcats. Daemen took a 51-17 lead into the locker room after Hannah banged in a field goal attempt at the buzzer.

The Firebirds showed some fight in the opening minutes of the second half as they came out of the locker room to score the first six points. Daemen turned it up once again as they went on a 24-8 spurt which included an impressive alley-oop pass from Sheehan to Beverly for a two-handed jam (14:07 mark), giving the hosts an 80-30 lead with 8:54 left in the game. The Wildcats led the whole game and UDC came no closer than 32 points the rest of the way. Daemen outscored the Firebirds 15-9 over the final 6:20 minutes of the game leaving the final margin 97-42.

Daemen forced 20 turnovers in the game, which resulted in 27 points for the hosts. The Firebirds connected on just 7-of-29 shots in the opening half, finishing 15-of-58 (26-percent) for the game and made just 2-of-13 three-point attempts. The hosts also held a 44-18 advantage in points in the paint.

There were 28 fouls called in the game in which Daemen went 15-for-18 (83-percent) from the free throw line while UDC shot 10-for-15 (67-percent).

Daemen's subs outscored their starters 52-45 as Beverly (23 minutes) was the only regular to log more than 20 minutes of action.  Because of the depleted Firebirds roster, it was a 52-2 advantage in bench scoring between the two teams.

The 55-point margin was the largest in a game involving an NCAA Division II East Region team since ECC-affiliate Mercy College dropped a 120-64 decision to Valdosta State University on Dec. 31, 2010.

Next up for Daemen is a date with East Coast Conference rivals Dowling College (Jan. 17) and University of Bridgeport (Jan.18). Daemen's next home game is Friday Jan. 24 when it hosts Saint Thomas Aquinas College in an ECC game at 8 p.m.