AMHERST, N.Y. – Senior Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) scored 19 of his team-high 27 points in the first half to lead Daemen College to a 102-74 victory over the University of the District of Columbia here tonight in East Coast Conference men's basketball action.
Daemen, which is ranked 10th in the latest D2SIDA East Region poll, improved to 15-6 overall and 10-3 in the ECC. With the win the Wildcats keep pace with league leaders University of Bridgeport and St. Thomas Aquinas College atop the ECC standings. UDC dropped to 4-17 overall and 4-9 in the league.
Daemen, which had a 21-game conference winning streak snapped last month, has now gone 29-straight league games without suffering back-to-back league losses. The Wildcats are an ECC-best 27-6 in league play over the past two seasons. Daemen also improved to 42-2 since the start of the 2009-10 season when scoring 90 or more points.
Beverly, who entered the game as the ECC leader in field goal percentage, was good on 8-of-9 shots in the first half and finished 11-for-14 from the field overall. Beverly, who had a streak of 10-straight games with a double-double snapped, also totaled five rebounds, two assists, five blocks and four steals. He has now scored in double figures in 51-straight games. The big man also reach two milestones during the win, as he scored his 1,600th career point and 300th career block. He has now totaled 1,608 points and 301 blocks in 110 career games. He also stands just 13 rebounds shy of 900 for his career.
Junior Torrence Dyck, Jr. (Rochester, N.Y./San Jacinto College) added 17 points and six rebounds for the Wildcats, while senior Jordan Greene (Fort Edward, N.Y./South Glens Falls) contributed 14 points and five assists. Senior Aaron Davis (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) chipped in a season-high 10 points.
Senior Michael Terry (Philadelphia, Pa.) drilled five three-pointers and totaled 23 points and seven rebounds for the Firebirds, while freshman Kory Cooley (Silver Spring, Md.) added 21 points.
Daemen was good on its first five shots and opened up an 11-2 lead just 2:18 into the game. UDC regrouped following a timeout and scored the next five points. The teams traded baskets for the next five minutes and Daemen held a 23-19 lead when the Wildcats scored eight-straight points. A steal and dunk by Dyck with just over eight minutes left in the half capped the spurt and gave the hosts a 31-19 lead. The Wildcats later took a 16-point lead, 39-23, after Beverly canned his first career three-pointer with 5:13 left in the half and the hosts took a 52-34 advantage into the break.
Daemen opened the second half with a 13-6 run and took a 65-40 lead after sophomore Jesse Lalka (Tonawanda, N.Y./Tonawanda) drained a three-pointer from the top of the key with 13:48 to play. UDC quickly cut the lead to 17 points, 69-52, but the Wildcats secured the win with a 15-4 run. A triple by Davis with 7:03 left capped the run and gave the Wildcats an 84-56 lead. UDC came no closer than 21 points the rest of the way.
Daemen shot 57-percent (42-for-73) from the field, which ranks as its second highest field goal percentage for a game this season. UDC connected on 51-percent (14-27) of its shots in the first half, but went just 15-for-41 (37%) from the field over the final 20 minutes. Daemen finished with a 42-30 edge in total rebounds and posted a commanding 60-30 advantage in points in the paint. The Wildcats recorded 23 assists on the night, while committing just nine turnovers (one in the first half).
Daemen is idle until next weekend when it travels to Dowling College (Feb. 13) and the University of Bridgeport (Feb. 14) for ECC games.
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