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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
sischo mbb vs bridgeport 2018 51
98
Molloy MOLM 6-19, 4-10 ECC
102
Winner Daemen DAEM 18-7, 12-3 ECC
Molloy MOLM
6-19, 4-10 ECC
98
Final
102
Daemen DAEM
18-7, 12-3 ECC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 OT 2 F
Molloy MOLM 36 40 12 10 98
Daemen DAEM 31 45 12 14 102

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

Sischo Powers Wildcats To Double Overtime Victory

AMHERST, N.Y. - In a game that took on the feel of an old school heavyweight boxing match, it was the Daemen College men's basketball team left standing when the dust settled as redshirt freshman center Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) erupted for 36 points and 23 rebounds to lead the Wildcats to an incredible 102-98 victory in double overtime against Molloy College here tonight in East Coast Conference action. The teams traded blow after blow, resulting in 15 ties and 12 lead changes, but Sischo's presence down low and timely shooting from players like Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y.) helped the Wildcats overcome a 13-point second-half deficit while securing their fourth straight win. 

Daemen improved to 18-7 overall and 12-3 in league play with the win, keeping their hopes for a top-two finish in the final ECC standings alive. The Wildcats, winners in 13 of their last 14 outings, have already clinched their third straight conference tournament berth and a top-three finish, but their eyes remain on catching Saint Thomas Aquinas College (22-6, 13-3 ECC) to force a coin flip tiebreaker scenario with the winner receiving the No. 2 seed and a bye into the semifinal round. Molloy's hard luck season continued with tonight's result as the Lions dropped to 6-19 overall and 5-10 in the league. Seven of Molloy's 10 ECC losses have been by single digit margins, and they drop back into a tie with Mercy College for seventh place in the league standings. 

Sischo, already a seven-time ECC Rookie of the Week honoree this season, had a game for the ages. The 6-foot-9 center shot 12-for-19 from the field and 12-for-15 from the charity stripe while playing a career-high 45 minutes. He totaled 33 points and 16 rebounds in regulation time alone. His 36 total points, a new career-high, are the most for a Daemen player since Torrence Dyck (Rochester, N.Y.) scored 35 in an epic come-from-behind win over Roberts Wesleyan College on Jan. 12, 2016. His 23 rebounds, also a new career-high, are the most for a Daemen player since Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y.) hauled in 21 vs. Dowling College on Jan. 9, 2015. Oh by the way, he matched his career-high with three blocked shots as well.

Sophomore guard Breon Harris (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) tossed in 21 points, including 16 after halftime, along with nine rebounds, four assists and two steals before fouling out. His fellow backcourt mate Sarkis notched 15 of his 20 points in the two overtime periods, including a pair of dagger three-pointers, finishing the game with a trio of trifectas. The Wildcats also got solid efforts from Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y.), Aleks Miljenovic (Belgrade, Serbia) and Darius Garvin (Elmira, N.Y.). Redband knocked down a pair of triples as part of a 10-point, three-assist night. Miljenovic came off the bench to score nine points in just 14 minutes, and Garvin totaled six points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals.

The loss spoiled some tremendous efforts on the part of the Lions. Sophomore guard Nick Corbett (Staten Island, N.Y.), the reigning ECC Rookie of the Year, posted 33 points on 11-of-28 shooting. He canned a game-high five three-pointers and added six boards and four assists. Junior guard Curtis Jenkins (Farmingdale, N.Y.) recorded a triple-double, finishing with 18 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds, as well as six steals. Redshirt freshman center Justin Caldwell (Roosevelt, N.Y.) came off the bench to score 18 points and grab nine rebounds, and junior forward Mike Torre (Massapequa, N.Y.), the reiging ECC Player of the Week, totaled 17 points, all of which came after halftime.

Eight ties and seven lead changes highlighted a first half that saw no more than a four-point spread between the teams until Molloy scored twice in the final minute of the period to take a 36-31 lead into the break. Caldwell and sophomore forward Josh Dennis (Valley Stream, N.Y.) got the buckets, both off of feeds from Jenkins.

Molloy came out firing on all cylinders to open the second half, making 10 of their first 15 field goal attempts, including a scorching 5-of-6 from three-point range, to open up a 56-43 lead. Corbett hit a pair of threes and Torre totaled 10 points in the spurt. His three-pointer at the 14:05 mark gave the Lions their largest lead and prompted a timeout by the Wildcats.

Another Torre three-pointer, this one at the 12:19 mark, put Molloy ahead 61-49. But, he picked up his third foul on the ensuing Daemen possession and went to the bench. Daemen responded with a 13-4 run while Torre sat, pulling within 65-62 on Harris' three-pointer at the 8:42 mark. Torre returned after a Molloy timeout, but the Daemen run continued. The Wildcats tied the score at 67-67 with a pair of Garvin free throws. After a defensive stop, Harris gave the Wildcats their first lead since the 4:31 mark of the first half with his two free throws and 6:19 showing on the game clock. Harris scored again with 5:45 to go, putting Daemen on top 71-67. Over a six-minute span, the Wildcats had outscored Molloy 22-6.

But, as would become evident, Molloy refused to die. Nolan Kelly (Mount Sinai, N.Y.) and Corbett buried back-to-back triples to put the Lions back ahead 73-71. Daemen regained the lead (76-74) on Miljenovic's put-back with 2:22 to go. Caldwell, a 45.5 percent free throw shooter coming in, hit a pair on the next Molloy possession to forge the 11th tie of the game. Both teams traded go-ahead opportunities in the final moments of regulation, none better than an offensive rebound opportunity for Sischo with under five ticks remaining, but the big fellow was deemed to have stepped on the end line while retrieving the loose ball, negating his potential game-winner. Torre's running three-point attempt was off the mark as time expired sending the game to overtime.

Molloy quickly took a four-point lead (80-76) after a pull-up jumper in transition by Corbett and a pair of Torre free throws. Daemen came back with nine unanswered points to establish an 85-80 lead. Sarkis' layup kick-started the run, followed by Sischo's game-tying layup and a go-ahead three-pointer from the corner pocket by Harris. Daemen seemed to be headed for the victory when Sarkis converted a pair of free throws with 33.7 seconds left. But Corbett came back with a three-pointer, and Sischo left the door open by splitting a pair of free throws with 25 seconds left. Corbett's layup cut the Daemen lead to a single point (86-85) with 14 seconds on the clock. Sarkis hit a pair of clutch free throws to push it back to a three-point advantage. That's when Corbett nailed a fade away three-pointer over the outstretched arms of Sischo as time expired to force a second overtime session.

Daemen built a 96-92 lead when Redband and Sarkis connected on back-to-back three-pointers, but back came the Lions once again. Corbett drove and scored a layup, and Torre's layup with just under a minute to go knotted the score at 96-all. On Daemen's next possession, Torre blocked a pull-up jumper by Garvin, but Sischo collected the offensive board and the ball found its way to an open Sarkis who buried a timely triple. Molloy pulled within one (99-98) when Corbett made a pair of free throws, but Sarkis made 3-of-4 freebies of his own in the final 19 seconds to seal the deal for the Wildcats.

After shooting just 3-for-21 from three-point range in regulation, Daemen hit 4-of-5 from downtown in the extra sessions. The Wildcats shot just 40.7 percent from the field for the game (33-for-81), but made up for it by converting 29 of their 33 free throw attempts (87.9%). Molloy canned a similar percentage of their freebies, but in far fewer attempts (14-for-16). The Lions canned 37-of-86 from the field (43%), including 10-of-32 from long distance (31.3%). 

Daemen owned a big 55-40 edge on the backboard, and turned their 22 offensive rebounds into a 28-16 disparity in second chance points. 

The win was Daemen's first in overtime since Mar. 5, 2016 when the Wildcats ousted Mercy College 103-102 in the semifinal round of the ECC Tournament. It was also Daemen's first double overtime game since a 77-75 victory over the University of Northwestern Ohio on Feb. 23, 2010 in an American Mideast Conference Tournament game at Lumsden Gymnasium. The Wildcats are now 10-3 at Lumsden Gym this season, marking the sixth time in the last seven seasons that the team has posted double-figure home wins. In that span (since the start of the 2011-12 season), Daemen is 80-13 at home (.860 winning percentage). Topping 90 points for the third time this season, the Wildcats are 62-2 since the start of the 2009-10 season when doing so. 

Daemen returns to action this Sunday, Feb. 18 with their final home regular season game as Queens College visits Lumsden Gym for a 3 p.m. tip-off. 

 
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