AMHERST, N.Y. – The College of Saint Rose men's basketball team held off a late rally by Daemen College en route to a 67-64 victory here today in non-conference action.
Saint Rose, a member of the Northeast-10 Conference, entered the game ranked fourth in the most recent D2SIDA East Region poll and improved to 12-3 following its third-straight win. Daemen saw its two-game winning streak come to an end and dropped to 7-5. It also marked the first time this season the Wildcats have lost at Lumsden Gymnasium, as their home record now stands at 6-1 on the year. Today's game marked the first-ever meeting in men's basketball between the two Empire State schools.
Daemen trailed by double-digits twice in the second half this afternoon, but the hosts managed to fight their way back and had two chances to tie the game in the final seconds.
Four players scored in double figures for the host Wildcats. Freshman Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia) went 4-for-6 from three-point land and totaled 14 points, while redshirt senior point guard Supreme Hannah (Rochester, N.Y./Eastridge) added 13 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Senior Jaleo Wlkes (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Polk State College) contributed 11 points in 20 minutes off the bench, while redshirt sophomore Deion Hamilton (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) added 10 points and a team-high five rebounds.
Senior forward Tyler Sayre (Garnerville, N.Y.) paced a balanced Golden Knight attack with 16 points and three assists, while junior guard Mical-Ryan Boyd (Hempstead, N.Y.) added 12 points and five boards.
Neither team led by more than four points before Daemen took a 16-10 lead following a layup by Hamilton with 10:49 left in the half. The teams then traded three-pointers, before a triple by junior Anthony Russell (Simsboro, La.) sparked the Golden Knights on an 18-6 run over the next six and a half minutes. A jumper by Sayre with two minutes left in the half capped the run and gave the visitors a 31-25 lead. The teams traded points the rest of the half and Saint Rose took a 34-29 lead into the break.
Saint Rose scored the first four points of the second half and later took a double-digit lead, 40-30, following a jumper by junior Julian Lipinski (Melbourne, Australia) three minutes into the frame. Daemen answered with a 7-2 run and cut the lead to four points, 42-37, following steal and layup by Wlkes. The visitors quickly regained a 10-point lead after Sayre made two free throws and senior Chris Dorgler (Floral Park, N.Y.) drained the first of his two three-pointers.
The Saint Rose lead bounced between five and nine points for the next seven minutes before the Wildcats cut it to four points, 57-53, following a jumper by Hannah with 6:13 left. The Wildcats later made it a one-possession game (61-58) after senior Arif Mehmetaj (Jamaica, N.Y./SUNY Delhi) drained a three-pointer with just under four minutes left. The teams traded free throws, before Redband tied it at 62-62 with a corner three-pointer with 2:32 left. Dorgler answered with a triple at the other end, before Hamilton made two free throws with 1:37 remaining to make 65-64 Saint Rose.
Daemen had an opportunity to take the lead after a layup by senior Damon Coleman (Roosevelt, N.Y.) rolled off the rim for Saint Rose and Hamilton corralled the rebound. The Wildcats turned the ball over on its next possession, giving the Golden Knights the ball with 46 seconds left. Sayre was off the mark with a jumper with 20 seconds left, but Coleman collected the rebound and banked home a shot to give the Golden Knights a 67-64 lead with 17 seconds left. Daemen had two good looks at a game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds, but both attempts were off the mark.
Daemen connected on 23-of-51 (45%) shots overall and went 8-of-19 from three-point land. The Wildcats connected on 10-of-14 free throws. Saint Rose shot 52-percent (28-for-54) from the field overall and made 7-of-17 from behind the arc. The visitors attempted just six free throws and made four. The Golden Knights collected 10 offensive rebounds and posted a 30-25 edge in total rebounds. The visitors finished with a 10-2 advantage in second-chance points—none more important than Coleman's put back with 17 seconds left.
Daemen returns to East Coast Conference play Monday (Jan. 2) when it hosts Mercy College at 7 p.m.
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