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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
redband mbb stac 1
98
Winner Daemen DAEM 8-6 (2-2 ECC)
73
Roberts Wesleyan RWCM 9-5 (2-3 ECC)
Winner
Daemen DAEM
8-6 (2-2 ECC)
98
Final
73
Roberts Wesleyan RWCM
9-5 (2-3 ECC)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Daemen DAEM 48 50 98
Roberts Wesleyan RWCM 25 48 73

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

Daemen's Dominance In Thruway Rivalry Continues With 98-73 Win

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's basketball team erupted for its finest offensive showing of the season and cruised to a 98-73 win over Roberts Wesleyan College in East Coast Conference play today at the Voller Athletic Center. Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y.), Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) and Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y.) combined for 53 points as Daemen held the lead for nearly 39 minutes.

The win was Daemen's third straight as the Wildcats improved to 8-6 overall while evening their league mark at 2-2. It was a familiar result in the series as the Wildcats have now won 13 straight and 20 of the last 21 meetings with the Redhawks. It was also Daemen's 10th straight road win in the series. 

Roberts Wesleyan, one of the surprise teams in the East Region after going just 3-24 last season, dropped to 9-5 overall and 2-3 in league play. The Redhawks came into today's game as the ECC leader in field goal percentage defense (42.0%), but allowed Daemen to shoot season-bests of 59.1 percent from the field (39-for-66) and 60.9 percent from three-point range (14-for-23). The Wildcats also matched a season-high with 21 assists while going over 90 points for the first time since January 21, 2017. 

Redband matched his season-high with 18 points, tickling the twine with 6-of-10 shooting, including 5-of-6 from three-point range. The redshirt sophomore forward shared team-high honors with six rebounds as well, and he's now made at least five three-pointers in seven games over the last two seasons. Sischo continued his strong play of late with 18 points on 9-of-14 shooting in just 21 minutes of action. The leading scorer among all ECC freshmen this season (13.6 ppg), Sischo is averaging 18.8 points and 8.0 rebounds over the last six games, while shooting 67.1 percent from the field in that span. Sarkis shot 6-for-7 from the field and 4-for-5 from downtown as part of his 17-point outing. The redshirt sophomore point guard keyed Daemen's strong first half with a team-best 13 points in the period.

The Wildcats also got double-figure scoring from redshirt senior forward Aleks Miljenovic (Belgrade, Serbia) who came off the bench to toss in 13 points. Miljenovic, who played two seasons for Roberts Wesleyan before transferring to Daemen, shot 5-for-8 from the field and 3-for-3 from the charity stripe on his former home court. Junior forward Giambattista Davis (Buffalo, N.Y.) and sophomore guard Breon Harris (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) also played well. Davis was a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range for a career-high nine points. Harris chipped in a solid all-around effort with nine points, a career-high eight assists, five rebounds and two steals.

Junior guard/forward Peyton McLaurin (Syracuse, N.Y.) led Roberts Wesleyan with 16 points. The Mercyhurst University transfer connected on 7-of-9 field goal attempts, including 2-of-4 from three-point land. Junior guard Michael Bush (Harlem, N.Y.) was the only other Redhawk in double figures with 10 points. Sophomore guard Isaiah Lewis (Churchville, N.Y.), who came in averaging a team-best 14.8 points per game, was held to just nine.

RWC's only lead came in the opening minute of the game when Bush knocked down a three-pointer to make the score 3-2. Redband answered with a jumper at the other end and, but for two ties, Daemen never relinquished the lead from there. Bush's three-point play at the 15:37 mark knotted the score at 11-11, but Daemen embarked on a 24-4 run over a seven-minute span to firmly grasp control. Daemen knocked down a quartet of three-pointers in the spurt which was keyed by Sarkis (eight points) and Sischo (six points). Davis' three-pointer at the 8:43 mark capped the spurt and put the Wildcats ahead 35-15. The Wildcats went on to take a 23-point lead (48-25) into halftime.

The Daemen lead was 52-27 early in the second half when the Redhawks went on a 12-2 run, pulling within 15 points (54-39) on a layup by Jean Toussaint (Brooklyn, N.Y.) at the 15:12 mark. But, five quick Daemen points, including a triple by Darius Garvin (Elmira, N.Y.), pushed the Daemen edge back to 20 points (59-39). The deficit was cut under 20 points just once in the final 14 minutes of the game. The lead ballooned to its widest margin - 31 points - on Sischo's layup at the 4:31 mark that put the Wildcats ahead 85-54. Melvin Grayson (Rochester, N.Y.) Da'Shawn Hines (Amherst, N.Y.) and Jeffrey Duah (Bronx, N.Y.) all scored late in the game giving Daemen baskets from every player ho checked into the contest.

While Daemen was torching the nets, RWC managed just 42.6 percent shooting (29-for-68), including a 33.3 percent conversion rate from downtown (9-for-27). The Redhawks entered the game averaging 16.6 points per game from the free throw line, second-best in the ECC, but were just 6-for-10 from there today. 

Today's game marked the end of a six-game road stretch for the Wildcats who went 4-2 over that span. Daemen returns home for the first time since early December when hosting the University of the District of Columbia next Wednesday, Jan. 10 to tip-off a three-game homestand.
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