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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
mbb vs mercy 1.2.17
Arif Mehmetaj scored 19 points to lead Daemen past Mercy tonight
64
Mercy MERM 2-11, 0-5 ECC
76
Winner Daemen DAEM 8-5, 2-3 ECC
Mercy MERM
2-11, 0-5 ECC
64
Final
76
Daemen DAEM
8-5, 2-3 ECC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Mercy MERM 32 32 64
Daemen DAEM 39 37 76

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Mike Miranto, Associate A.D. For Communications

Daemen Outduels Mercy In Return To League Play

AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's basketball team used a 25-6 blitz covering nine pivotal minutes in the second half to seize control in their 76-64 win over Mercy College in an East Coast Conference game at Lumsden Gymnasium this evening.

Daemen (8-5, 2-3 ECC) has now won three of its last four games, pulling within one game of an even league record after suffering three straight road losses to open ECC play, two of which went to overtime.  On the other side, Mercy fell to 2-11 overall and 0-5 in the league.

The game marked the first meeting between the Wildcats and Mavericks since a thrilling 103-102 overtime win by the former in the semifinal round of last season's ECC Tournament.  Daemen remained unbeaten in the all-time series with Mercy, winning all eight contests between the teams to date.

Arif Mehmetaj (Jamaica, N.Y./SUNY Delhi) recorded team-highs of 19 points and seven rebounds, while also adding two blocks and two steals to lead the way.  Mehmetaj, who shot 6-of-11 from the field and 2-of-4 from three-point range in the game, scored 12 points in the opening 12-and-a-half minutes of the ballgame, helping Daemen establish an early 14-point lead.

The Wildcats also got double-figure scoring from Supreme Hannah (Rochester, N.Y./Eastridge) and Aleks Miljenovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Roberts Wesleyan College) who put home 10 points apiece.  Darius Garvin (Elmira, N.Y./Notre Dame) chipped in with nine points, while Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia) and Deion Hamilton (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) split 16 points between them.

Ryan Hickey (Smithtown, N.Y.), a graduate transfer from the now-closed Dowling College, went for a season-high 24 points in defeat for the Mavs.  Hickey, who came in attempting over two-thirds of his shots from three-point range, was chased off the line by Daemen defenders all night, but still managed to shoot 10-for-17 from the field (2-for-5 from three-point range) while playing the full 40 minutes.

Raphael Jennings (Washington, D.C.) was the only other Mercy player to reach double figures, finishing with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting.  Big man William Robinson (Mount Vernon, N.Y.), who came in averaging nearly 12 points per game, was held to eight.  His first bucket of the night, a jumper at the 14:54 mark of the opening stanza, put him over 1,000 points for his career.

With Daemen leading 34-20, Mercy outscored the hosts 12-5 over the final six minutes of the first half, trimming the Wildcats' lead in half to trail by just seven (39-32) at the break.  Both teams enjoyed phenomenal shooting in the period; Daemen converted 57.7 percent of its field goal attempts (15-for-26), including 6-of-10 from long distance, while the Mavs were just behind at 56 percent shooting (14-for-25), including 4-for-8 from deep.

The Daemen lead was eight points (43-35) when Mercy embarked on a 10-0 spurt, grabbing its first lead of the contest (45-43) on a layup by Hickey in transition at the 13:34 mark.  Marko Kozul (Astoria, N.Y.), who hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds, converted a pair of put-backs in the spurt.  After Hannah evened things up at the 13:05 mark, Hickey nailed a three-pointer just 18 seconds later to make the count 48-45 in favor of the Mavs.

A layup by Miljenovic just prior to the under-12-minute media timeout pulled Daemen within one (48-47) and sparked the Wildcats' pivotal second-half spurt.  Out of the media timeout, the Wildcat defense stiffened.  The hosts would end up taking the lead for good when Mehmetaj's layup at the 9:16 mark snapped a 49-49 tie, igniting a string of nine unanswered points.

Before long, the Daemen lead had swelled to double figures.  Mehmetaj's conversion of two free throws at the 2:50 mark put Daemen ahead by 15 points (69-54), capping the 22-6 run that proved to be the difference in the game.  Three-pointers by Garvin and Jaleo Wilkes (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Polk State College) were key in the run, snapping a string of seven consecutive misses from three-point range for the hosts.  Garvin totaled seven points in the spurt.

Mercy would get no closer than 10 points for the remainder of the game.  All told, following the under-12-minute media timeout, Daemen held the Mavs to just 6-of-20 shooting (30 percent), while forcing four turnovers.  Mercy's poor free throw shooting (3-for-10) in the span didn't help their cause either.

Daemen ended the game shooting 49.1 percent from the field (27-for-55), and 44.4 percent from three-point range (8-for-18).  The Wildcats put together a 24-7 advantage in bench scoring, while also out-running the Mavs to a 14-6 edge in fast-break scoring.

Mercy shot just 36.1 percent in the second half (13-for-36), finishing 27-for-61 in the game (44.3 percent).  Although the field goals were even between the two teams, Daemen (14-for-22) outscored Mercy (4-for-14) by 10 at the charity stripe.

Tonight's win sets the stage for a rematch of last year's ECC Tournament finals this Wednesday, January 4 when St. Thomas Aquinas College visits Lumsden Gymnasium to conclude the Wildcats' five-game home-stand.  The Spartans, who won their first-ever ECC title as part of a magical 27-5 campaign last season, have been ranked as high as No. 3 in the country in some polls this season.  They'll enter Wednesday's game at 10-3 this season and ranked No. 9 in the latest NABC NCAA Division II national poll.  Tip-off in set for 7 p.m.

For breaking news and continuing coverage of the Daemen men's basketball team, follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenMBB on Twitter.

 
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