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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
mbb vs bridgeport 2.2.17
Arif Mehmetaj posted the second 30-point game of his career this evening
73
Bridgeport BPTM 11-9, 7-4 ECC
82
Winner Daemen DAEM 15-6, 9-4 ECC
Bridgeport BPTM
11-9, 7-4 ECC
73
Final
82
Daemen DAEM
15-6, 9-4 ECC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Bridgeport BPTM 42 31 73
Daemen DAEM 34 48 82

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

Strong Second Half Lifts Daemen Past Bridgeport

Wildcats Rally From 15-Point First-Half Deficit, Slide Into Second Place In League Standings

AMHERST, N.Y. - Arif Mehmetaj (Jamaica, N.Y./SUNY Delhi) matched his career-high with 30 points to help the Daemen College men's basketball team rally from a 15-point first-half deficit and emerge with an 82-73 victory over the University of Bridgeport in a key East Coast Conference game this evening before a packed house at Lumsden Gymnasium.

Mehmetaj, a 6-foot-7 redshirt-senior forward, shot 11-for-19 from the field and 6-for-6 from the charity stripe in leading Daemen (15-6, 9-4 ECC) to its fifth straight win, and their 10th in the last 12 games dating back to mid-December.  The Wildcats have also won nine of their last 10 ECC contests after opening the conference season with three straight losses.  The win tonight pushes Daemen into second place in the ECC standings with still five games remaining on their docket.

Bridgeport (11-9, 7-4 ECC), which entered the game riding a four-game winning streak, fell from second place to fifth with tonight's loss.  The Purple Knights, who came in averaging 84.6 points per game, were held well below that despite a hot start that included 54.5 percent shooting in the first half.  UB is now 0-4 all-time at Lumsden Gymnasium.

The production tonight marked the second 30-point game of Mehmetaj's career, matching his total from a 106-102 win over Dowling College nearly a year ago to the day (Feb. 5, 2016).  Daemen is now 10-4 in games when Mehmetaj reaches 20 points, including a 4-1 mark this season.  He added six rebounds and was backed up by redshirt-senior guard Supreme Hannah (Rochester, N.Y./Eastridge) who played in the 100th game of his career, scoring 12 of his 17 points in the first half, while adding six boards and four assists in 36 minutes of action.  He's now scored in double figures in 14 consecutive games, extending the longest streak of his career.

The Wildcats also got solid efforts out of redshirt-freshman Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia) and redshirt-sophomore Deion Hamilton (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena).  Redband, the three-time reigning ECC Rookie of the Week who came in shooting 59.5 percent from three-point range in the last six games, was limited to just 1-for-5 shooting from downtown today, but he still managed to score 13 points while hauling in a career-high eight rebounds.  He's now made at least one three-pointer in 19 games this season, including the last 13 in a row.  Hamilton started 0-for-6 from the field before hitting four straight shots, all in the final 5:36 of the game, to finish with 11 points.  Senior guard Jaleo Wilkes (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Polk State College) added five points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals off the Daemen bench this evening.

Kyle Benjamin (Bronx, N.Y.), who played his junior college ball for Daemen Hall of Famer Alex Nwora at Erie Community College, paced the Purple Knights with 15 points, eight boards, three assists and two blocks.  The 6-foot-9 senior center hit 7-of-11 attempts from the field.  Junior wing Sam Joseph (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored 13 points, albeit on 6-of-19 shooting (1-of-9 from three-point range).  He added five rebounds and four assists.  Senior wing Stefano Osuji (Voorhees, N.J.) shot 5-for-7 from the field and scored all 12 of his points in the first half.  Sophomore guard/forward Rakim Lesane (Coney Island, N.Y.) came off the bench to score nine points while starting point guard D'Vonne Trumbo (Franklinville, N.J.) notched a game-high seven assists.

Bridgeport opened strong by connecting on 12 of their first 20 field goal attempts.  A 12-2 spurt which was sparked by a three-pointer from Osuji put the guests ahead by 15 points (29-14) just shy of 11 minutes into the game.

Daemen battled back and got to within six points (40-34) on a layup by fifth-year senior Jesse Lalka (Tonawanda, N.Y./Tonawanda) with under a minute to go in the half.  After a UB turnover, a wild sequence ensued to end the half as Daemen misfired on a couple of close shots before surrendering a layup to Osuji following a scrum underneath the Bridgeport hoop.  A technical foul was then issued to the Daemen coaching staff as they were exiting the floor.  UB's Montana Mayfield (Philadelphia, Pa.) would connect on both of the resulting free throws to start the second half, pushing the Purple Knight advantage back to double figures (44-34).

Once again, Daemen chipped away and pulled within a single possession's difference on five occasions over the first eight minutes of the period.  Each time, Bridgeport had an answer, until Daemen pulled even (55-55) on a put-back from Xavier Long (Brooklyn, N.Y./Williamsburg Prep) at the 11:48 mark, and then going ahead (57-55) on another second-chance opportunity by Mehmetaj.  Redband made a nifty play to tip the offensive rebound directly to Mehmetaj who was open underneath for the hoop at the 10:06 mark, giving Daemen its first lead since scoring the game's opening bucket.

Bridgeport came back with two straight buckets - a jumper by Mayfield and layup by Joseph - to reclaim the lead, 59-57, with 8:37 to play.  Mehmetaj responded for Daemen with five straight points.  After tying the game with two freebies, he got loose on the left wing on an inbounds play from under the Wildcats' basket, taking a feed from Hannah and drilling a three-pointer to put Daemen back ahead, 62-59, with 7:11 left in the period.

The teams traded baskets over the next couple of minutes, until Hamilton keyed a decisive 13-2 run which put Daemen firmly in control.  Hannah got the ball rolling, knocking down his third three-pointer of the game to put Daemen ahead by four points (67-63) with 4:52 to go.  Hamilton would score the next six points before the spurt was capped by four free throws - two each by Mehmetaj and Hannah.  Hannah's pair of free throws put Daemen ahead 77-65 with 1:01 to play.  During the run, which lasted nearly four minutes, UB shot just 1-for-7 and committed two turnovers.

The Purple Knights made a couple of buckets in desperation time, but each was met with free throw conversions by the Wildcats, salting away their 15th victory of the season to mark the 17th time in the last 20 seasons that they've registered at least that many wins.

Bridgeport was held to just 36.1 percent shooting in the second half as Daemen outscored them 48-31 in the period.  The Purple Knights, who came in averaging less than seven made three-pointers per game, enjoyed 6-for-12 three-point shooting in the opening half, before stumbling to 2-for-16 in the second.

Daemen, the top three-point shooting team in the league, was limited to just 6-for-21 shooting (28.6 percent) from downtown today, finishing 28-for-70 overall (40 percent).  The six made three-pointers are the least in a Wildcat victory since shooting 6-of-18 during a 60-49 defeat of Dominican College earlier this season (Nov. 12).  The Wildcats were bouyed tonight by 90.9 percent shooting at the free throw line (20-for-22), making 20 consecutive free throws at one point, 19 of which came in the second half.

UB finished with 21 assists on 31 field goals, but their 12 turnovers were converted into 17 points for the Wildcats.  Daemen committed just five turnovers in the game, resulting in only seven points for the guests.

The game played out as a mirror image of the last meeting between Daemen and Bridgeport, just in reverse.  In that one, it was Daemen who rushed out to a 26-11 lead, before Bridgeport rallied for a 79-69 victory on Dec. 10.  The result tonight marked the third straight season that the two teams have split their season series.

Daemen is now 12-1 at home this season, and 68-9 since the start of the 2011-12 season (.883 winning percentage).  The Wildcats have won eight straight ECC home games (7-0 this season), and 14 of the last 15 dating back to last season.  Daemen is 32-5 in ECC home games since joining the league back in the 2013-14 season.

The Wildcats are now idle until next Wednesday, Feb. 8 when they visit N.Y. Institute of Technology for another ECC matchup.  Daemen will be going for the season sweep of the Bears having defeated them 88-74 on Dec. 14.  Tip-off Wednesday is slated for 6 p.m. at NYIT's Recreation Hall.
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