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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
miljenovic mbb vs edinboro 1
56
Dist. Columbia UDC-M 1-13, 0-6 ECC
80
Winner Daemen DAEM 9-6, 3-2 ECC
Dist. Columbia UDC-M
1-13, 0-6 ECC
56
Final
80
Daemen DAEM
9-6, 3-2 ECC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Dist. Columbia UDC-M 23 33 56
Daemen DAEM 44 36 80

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

Wildcats Cruise To Fourth Consecutive Victory

AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's basketball team's return to Lumsden Gymnasium was a successful one as the Wildcats shot nearly 60 percent from the field while leading from pillar to post in an 80-56 victory over the University of the District of Columbia in an East Coast Conference matchup this afternoon. 

The win, Daemen's fourth straight, came in the Wildcats' first home game since December 8 and it pushed their record to 9-6 overall and 3-2 in ECC play. The 24-point margin was Daemen's second most lopsided win of the season, one point shy of the spread from their 98-73 win at Roberts Wesleyan College just four days ago. The visiting Firebirds, picked fifth in the ECC preseason poll and coming off back-to-back conference tournament appearances, dropped their 11th consecutive game, falling to 1-13 on the season and 0-6 in league play. 

Redshirt sophomore forward Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y.) paced a quintet of double-figure scorers for the Wildcats with a season-high 19 points. Redband, who made 7-of-11 field goal attempts today, added four rebounds and a steal while reaching double figures for the 10th time this season. Redshirt senior forward Aleks Miljenovic (Belgrade, Serbia) came off the bench to hit 7-of-8 shots while scoring a season-best 17 points to go with eight rebounds in just 18 minutes of action. Miljenovic has scored in double figures in three straight games, averaging 13.3 points and shooting 64 percent from the field in that span. 

Daemen's Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.), Breon Harris (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) and Darius Garvin (Elmira, N.Y.) all reached double figures with 11 points apiece. Sischo, the four-time ECC Rookie of the Week, has reached double figures in each of the last seven games and he added six boards today. Harris continued his solid play by shooting 5-for-8 from the field and adding three rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal. Since being inserted into the starting lineup four games ago, the 5-foot-9 Harris is shooting 58 percent from the field and averaging 10.8 points per game. Garvin chipped in six rebounds, four assists and three steals, and the 6-foot-1 junior guard is averaging 13.4 points in five games since Christmas.

Redshirt sophomore guard Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y.) totaled seven points and a career-high seven assists to aide the Wildcats' cause. Sarkis' three-pointer in the second half today extended his personal streak of games with a three-point field goal to 20 in a row dating back to his freshman season. 

Senior guard Traevon Butler (Lakewood, N.J.) scored UDC's first nine points and finished with 14 on 6-of-16 shooting. Junior guards Danny Shand (Baltimore, Md.) and Kevin Cox (Lauriston, Grenada) were the only other UDC players to reach double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Senior forward Khalil Jackson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and freshman guard Paul Eromosele (Bronx, N.Y.) combined for 17 points (nine and eight, respectively), and no other UDC player managed more than two. 

Daemen scored the first eight points of the game and extended to a 17-5 lead less than seven minutes in. Four of the Wildcats' five starters scored in the game-opening run which was capped by Harris' three-pointer from the left corner at the 13:19 mark.

A three-pointer by Miljenovic, his first since December 8, sparked the Wildcats on a 14-5 spurt to close the first half with a 21-point advantage (44-23). A rim-rocking one-handed slam in transition by Harris at the 1:19 mark brought the crowd to its feet, as did Garvin's hanging pull-up jumper just before the buzzer.

UDC came out of the locker room and outscored Daemen 14-5 in the first four-plus minutes of the second half. Shand scored six points in the spurt, including a layup at the 15:37 mark which prompted a Daemen timeout as the Wildcat lead was cut to 12 points (49-37). Daemen emerged from the timeout with a Miljenovic layup off a feed from Sarkis, and the Firebirds never got the lead inside of 14 points for the remainder of the contest.

The Daemen lead ballooned to as many as 28 points late in the game. A 12-0 run, keyed by eight straight points from Miljenovic put the Wildcats ahead 78-50 approaching the two-minute mark. 

Daemen connected on 33-of-57 shots from the field (57.9%), including 6-of-15 from three-point range (40%). It marked the second straight game that Daemen has shot over 55 percent from the field.

The Wildcats were equally as dominant at the defensive end where they limited UDC to just 34.4 percent shooting (22-for-64). Daemen entered the game as the ECC leaders in field goal percentage defense and scoring defense, bolstering those numbers today by holding their fourth opponent this season to 60 points or fewer. The Wildcats also held a 40-27 edge in rebounding; UDC entered the game ranked 300th out of 301 Division II teams in rebounding margin.

The win today was Daemen's fifth out of seven contests at Lumsden Gymnasium this season. Since the start of the 2011-12 season, the Wildcats are 75-12 in home games.

Daemen's three-game homestand continues Friday evening (Jan. 12) when Long Island University Post makes their annual trek to Western New York. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m.

 
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