AMHERST, N.Y. – The Daemen College men's basketball team saw its 44-game home winning streak come to a dramatic end this afternoon, as Darian Hooker's (Washington, D.C.) contested three-pointer as time expired in overtime lifted New York Institute of Technology to an 85-84 victory over the host Wildcats.
Daemen, which is ranked eighth in the latest D2SIDA East Region poll, saw its record fall to 13-5 overall and 8-2 in the East Coast Conference. NYIT improved to 7-11 overall and 4-6 in the ECC.
The loss was Daemen's first at home since the start of the 2011-12 season. Daemen's 44-game home winning streak had ranked as the second longest in the nation among all NCAA men's basketball programs. Only Division III Albertus Magnus College, which has won 49-straight home games, owned a longer home winning streak than Daemen.
Senior Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) once again paced the Wildcats, as he played 43 of a possible 45 minutes and totaled 26 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks. It marked Beverly's eighth-straight double-double and 14th total double-double of the season (and 41st of his career). Beverly also scored in double figures for the 48th-straight game.
Junior Torrence Dyck, Jr. (Rochester, N.Y./San Jacinto College) added 20 points for the Wildcats, while senior Jordan Greene (Fort Edward, N.Y./South Glens Falls) drilled five three-pointers and totaled 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Junior Supreme Hannah (Rochester, N.Y./Eastridge) chipped in 10 points, six assists and two steals.
Hooker, who entered the game averaging a league-high 25.9 points per game, played all 45 minutes and finished with 35 points and four assists. He connected on 11-of-24 shots overall and canned 5-of-10 from downtown. Junior John Feiler (St. James, N.Y.) added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Bears.
The teams entered OT tied at 75-75, and a three-point play by Hannah with 2:55 left in the extra session gave the hosts an 81-80 lead. Neither team scored again until the Bears took an 82-81 lead following a dunk by junior Jerrel Green (Stockton, Calf.) with 41 seconds left in OT. Dyck then scored and was fouled with 8.4 second left. He canned the free throw to give Daemen an 84-82 lead. After a timeout, Hooker took an inbounds pass, dribbled the length of the court and launched a corner three-pointer over several Wildcat defenders that went through the rim as time expired.
Daemen built a double-digit lead (19-9) seven minutes into the game and the teams traded baskets for the next 10 minutes. The Wildcats took a 40-28 lead following a layup by Dyck with 2:52 left in the half, but the Bears closed out the half with a 9-1 spurt and cut the lead to four points, 41-37, after Hooker drained a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer.
The Wildcats took a 46-39 lead after junior Aaron Davis (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) drained a three-pointer two minutes into the second half, but the Bears responded with a 22-5 run over the next eight minutes. A jumper by Feiler capped the run and gave the Bears a 61-51 lead with 10:06 left in the second half. A layup by senior Kyle Clifford (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Francis) and a three-pointer by Greene cut the lead in half, and the Wildcats later cut the lead to a point, 67-66, after Beverly canned two free throws with 4:53 left. The teams traded baskets down the stretch and NYIT took a 75-73 lead after Green made one-of-two free throws with 29 seconds left. A layup by Beverly with :07 seconds left knotted the game at 75-75, and a three-pointer by Hooker (from the same spot he would later win the game in OT) was off the mark as time expired.
Daemen shot 44-percent (28-for-64) from the field overall and made 10-of-27 from behind the three-point arc. NYIT connected on 45-percent (30-67) of its shots overall and made 9-of-21 from downtown. The Wildcats made just 18-of-26 from the charity stripe, while the Bears made 16-of-19 from the line. NYIT finished with a 40-36 edge in total rebounds, but the Wildcats posted a 32-18 advantage in points in the paint.
Daemen is idle until Friday (Jan. 30) when it travels to Molloy College for an ECC contest.
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