AMHERST, N.Y. – Redshirt freshman Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y./Guilderland) scored 19 of his team-high 20 points in the second half to help Daemen College rally past Mercy College, 68-60, here tonight in East Coast Conference men's basketball action. Daemen, which is ranked ninth in the latest D2SIDA East Region poll, ran its winning streak to nine-straight games and improved to 14-6 overall and 8-2 in the ECC. The Wildcats maintained their hold on third place in the ECC standings. Mercy has now lost four-straight games and dropped to 8-12 overall and 4-6 in the league.
The nine-straight wins is the longest current winning streak among all Division II schools in the East Region and equals the longest winning streak during the coach Mike MacDonald era, which began prior to the 2014-15 season. The Wildcats also posted nine-straight wins during the 2015-16 season. Daemen also remained perfect in the all-time series with Mercy, improving to 11-0 against the Mavericks since joining the ECC in 2013-14.
Four players scored in double figures for Daemen. Sischo, a five-time ECC Rookie of the Week selection, went 9-of-16 from the field and grabbed 12 rebounds en route to his fifth double-double of the year. It also marked the fifth time this season he has scored 20 or more points in a game. Redshirt sophomore Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia) drilled two three-pointers and totaled 12 points and six rebounds. Sophomore Breon Harris (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Falls) scored in double figures for the sixth time in the last eight games and totaled 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Redshirt sophomore Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe and totaled 10 points and three assists. Sarkis went 0-for-3 from downtown and saw his streak of consecutive games with at least one three-pointer end at 24.
Junior Dequawne Richards (Bronx, N.Y.) paced the Mavericks with 22 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
Daemen got a three-pointer by junior Darius Garvin (Elmira, N.Y./Notre Dame) 26 seconds into the game, but the teams combined for just eight field goals over the first 10 minutes of the game and the hosts held a 12-9 lead midway through the first half. A three-pointer by redshirt senior Aleks Miljenovic (Belgrade, Serbia) gave the hosts an 18-11 lead with 7:07 left before halftime, but the Mavericks answered with a 9-2 run and tied the game at 20-20 following a jumper by junior Sal Barbetto (New City, N.Y.) with just under four minutes left before intermission. The Mavericks went on to take a 26-22 lead into halftime.
The scoring pace picked up at the start of the second half and the Mavericks held a 34-27 lead three minutes into the frame. Daemen cut the lead to five points, 34-29, following a jumper by Redband with 16:39 to play, but neither team scored again until Garvin canned two free throws with 13:19 left to make it a 34-31 game. Mercy scored the next four points and took a 38-31 lead following a steal and layup by senior Henoe Bienne (Valley Stream, N.Y.) with just over 12 minutes left.
Daemen got its biggest basket of the night moments later. Following a timeout, the Wildcats in-bounded the ball under their basket with just four seconds left on the shot clock. Redband took the inbounds pass, fought off a Mercy defender and drained a fall-away three-pointer just before the shot clock expired to cut the lead to four points, 38-34, with 11:38 to play. It turned out to be the spark that the Wildcats needed, as the hosts put together an 22-4 run over the next seven minutes. Sischo scored 17 points during the run, and his layup with 4:00 left gave the Wildcats a 53-42 lead. Mercy cut the lead to six points, 53-47, following a fast-break dunk by senior Kelvin Howard (Temple Hills, Md.) with 3:21 left, but Daemen answered with a three-pointer by Harris and later took a 12-point lead, 60-48, after Harris drained two free throws with 1:18 remaining. Mercy came no closer than eight points down the stretch.
Daemen, which entered the game ranked first among ECC teams in field goal percentage (.489), shot just shot 36-percent (9-for-25) from the field in the first half and finished 22-for-55 (40%) from the field overall. The Wildcats finished 5-for-20 from three-point land and canned 19-of-27 free throws. The Mavericks shot 38-percent (27-for-71) from the field overall and made just 4-of-15 from three-point land. Mercy attempted just five free throws and made two. Daemen finished with a 46-36 edge in total rebounds, while Mercy held the edge in points off turnovers (12-9), points in the paint (38-28) and fast break points (12-4).
The Wildcats return to action Sunday (Jan. 28) when they host nationally-ranked University of Bridgeport in a key ECC game. The Purple Knights (16-4, 9-1 ECC) defeated Roberts Wesleyan College 77-76, tonight and have won seven-straight games. UB, which posted an 84-72 win over Daemen last month, is ranked first in the latest D2SIDA East Region poll and 20th in the D2SIDA national poll.
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