BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – For the second time in the past month the Daemen College men's basketball team was on the losing end of a buzzer-beating three-pointer.
Junior Ernest Rouse (Freeport, N.Y.) hit a corner three-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in regulation to lift the University of Bridgeport to a 63-60 victory over Daemen here tonight in East Coast Conference action. It was just three weeks ago that the Wildcats suffered an 85-84 loss in overtime to New York Institute of Technology. The Bears hit a three-pointer as time expired in overtime in that game.
Daemen, which is ranked 10th in the latest D2SIDA East Region poll, dropped to 16-7 overall and 11-4 in the ECC. Bridgeport, which was coming off an overtime win over Roberts Wesleyan College last night, has won three-straight games and improved to 18-6 overall and 13-3 in the league. UB, which is ranked eighth in the D2SIDA East Region poll, remained tied with St. Thomas Aquinas College atop the ECC standings.
It marked Bridgeport's first-ever win over the Wildcats, as Daemen had prevailed in each of the previous three meetings over the past two seasons—including a 91-88 overtime win at Lumsdem Gym last month. Bridgeport has claimed the last two ECC Tournament titles and was the preseason favorite to win the conference title again this season.
Daemen entered the game averaging a league-high 84.3 points per game and it marked just the third time this season the Wildcats have scored less than 70 points in a game. The Wildcats are 0-3 in those games.
Seniors Jordan Greene (Fort Edward, N.Y./South Glens Falls), Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) and Kyle Clifford (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Francis) were the only players to score in double figures for the Wildcats. Greene made 5-of-10 from downtown and totaled a season-high 19 points. Greene, who stands just 16 points shy of 1,000 for his career, has now drilled at least one triple in 34-straight games. Beverly made 6-of-11 shots and totaled 14 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. He has now scored in double figures in 53 straight games. Clifford finished with 12 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Junior Torrence Dyck, Jr. (Rochester, N.Y./San Jacinto College), who entered the game averaging 20.1 points a game, left the game with an injury early in the second half and finished with just two points and five rebounds in 19 minutes (three minutes in the second half). The Wildcats were also without starting forward Aaron Davis (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) who has missed the last two games.
Junior guard Devon Elliott (Brooklyn, N.Y.), a product of Erie Community College, paced the Purple Knights with 18 points.
Daemen was down five points, 60-55, when Beverly scored with 40 seconds left to make it a three-point game. Daemen forced a Bridgeport turnover on the ensuing inbounds, and after a timeout Clifford took a pass from Greene and swished a three-pointer to tie the game at 60-60 with 25 seconds left. Bridgeport did not take a timeout and held the ball for the last shot. Daemen's Supreme Hannah (Rochester, N.Y./Eastridge) nearly came up with a steal in the final seconds, but the ball deflected right to Rouse in the corner, who put up a contested shot that went in with 0.4 seconds left. Daemen was unable to get a game-tying attempt off after a timeout.
Both teams struggled to score early on and Daemen held a 12-6 lead eight minutes into the contest when the Wildcats got back-to-back three-pointers from Clifford and Greene for an 18-6 lead. The hosts responded with 12 unanswered points and tied the game at 18-18 following a layup by senior Naqwan Crowell (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) with 8:26 left before halftime. Bridgeport took its first lead of the game (22-21) following a layup by junior Eddie Asamoah (Calgary, Alb.) two minutes later, and the Purple Knight later opened up a 30-25 lead after senior Dominique Oneil Moorer (Queens, N.Y.) drilled a three-pointer with 3:29 left in the half. The hosts took a 32-29 lead into the break.
Bridgeport scored the first six points of the second half, but Daemen responded with an 8-0 run and cut the lead to a point, 38-37, following a triple by sophomore Jesse Lalka (Tonawanda, N.Y./Tonawanda) with 14:22 left. The final 14 minutes featured four ties and four lead changes and the largest lead was six points. Bridgeport opened up a six-point advantage, 47-41, following a layup by Willie Williams III (Norwalk, Conn.) with 9:33 left, but Daemen countered once again with a three-pointer by Greene and a layup by Clifford to make it a one point game. Neither team lead by more than five points after that until UB took its 60-55 lead with 52 seconds left.
Daemen recovered from a poor shooting effort in the first half (11-for-29) and shot 50-percent (12-for-24) over the final 20 minutes. Bridgeport shot 48-percent (15-for-31) in the first half and finished 28-for-63 (44%) from the field overall. Both teams struggled from the three-point line. Daemen was just 8-for-20, while the Purple Knights were 7-for-21. Only 19 fouls were whistled in the game. Daemen was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, while the hosts did not attempt a free throw in the game.
Bridgeport finished with a slim 33-32 edge in total rebounds, but the hosts collected 11 offensive rebounds which they converted into 15 second-chance points.
Daemen is idle until next weekend when it hosts St. Thomas Aquinas College (Feb. 20) and Mercy College (Feb. 21) in ECC games. It will mark the final two homes games for the Wildcats this season.
Follow Daemen College athletics on Twitter (@DaemenAthletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/daemencollegeathletics) to get live game updates and breaking news throughout the year.
