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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
sarkis mbb vs bridgeport 2018 54
78
Winner Daemen DAEM 16-7, 10-3,ECC
65
Dist. Columbia UDC-M 5-17, 3-10, ECC
Winner
Daemen DAEM
16-7, 10-3,ECC
78
Final
65
Dist. Columbia UDC-M
5-17, 3-10, ECC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Daemen DAEM 41 37 78
Dist. Columbia UDC-M 24 41 65

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

Sarkis' Career Night Powers Daemen To 10th League Win Of Season

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Redshirt sophomore guard Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y.) scored a career-high 24 points and dished six assists to lead the Daemen College men's basketball team to a 78-65 victory over the University of the District of Columbia in East Coast Conference play at the UDC Sports Complex today.

Daemen, the No. 9 ranked team in the latest D2SIDA East Region poll, has now won 11 of their last 12 games, improving to 16-7 overall and 10-3 in ECC play with today's victory. The Wildcats, who improved to 6-1 in ECC road games, maintained their grip on third place in the ECC standings, half a game behind second-place St. Thomas Aquinas College(20-5, 11-2 ECC)  who Daemen defeated two nights ago.

The host Firebirds dropped to 5-17 on the season, including a 3-10 mark in the league. UDC entered today's game as winners in four of their last five games, with three of those victories coming at home.

Sarkis shot a perfect for-11 from the free throw line, part of Daemen's 17-of-20 effort as a team. The 6-foot-1 point guard connected on 5-of-11 shots from the field, including 3-of-5 from three-point range. He's now made three three-pointers in back-to-back games, giving him 18 games this season with two or more. Today's output marked Sarkis' third game this season with at least 20 points, and the ninth time this season he's totaled at least five assists.

Redshirt freshman center Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.), redshirt sophomore Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y.) and redshirt senior forward Aleks Miljenovic (Belgrade, Serbia) all reached double figures for the Wildcats. Sischo extended his personal streak of consecutive double-figure scoring games to 15, totaling 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting to go with eight rebounds. Redband canned a trio of three-pointers and totaled 14 points and eight rebounds. Miljenovic came off the bench to shoot 7-of-8 from the field, finishing with 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds. In two games against the Firebirds this season, Miljenovic averaged 15.5 points and 8.5 rebounds, and he shot 87.5 percent from the field (14-of-16). Sophomore guard Breon Harris (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) chipped in with seven points, six rebounds and a game-high seven assists.

Senior guard Traevon Butler (Lakewood, N.J.) posted season-highs of 24 points and 12 rebounds to pace the Firebirds. Butler, who shot 7-of-18 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free throw line, came out of the gates on fire with 13 points in the first 10+ minutes of the game. Junior guard Danny Shand (Baltimore, Md.), who was coming off a 25-point outing in the Firebirds' Friday night victory over Robert Wesleyan College, added 15 points to the UDC cause today. Kevin Cox (Lauriston, Grenada), Khalil Jackson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Quadire Truesdale (Philadelphia, Pa.) scored eight points apiece, but combined to shoot 9-for-30 from the field.

UDC held early leads of 2-0 and 6-4, but Harris' three-pointer at the 14:40 mark of the first half gave the Wildcats a lead they would not relinquish. Butler's second three-pointer of the half pulled UDC within one (18-17) at the 9:56 mark, but Daemen closed the period with a 23-7 spurt. Redband knocked down a pair of three-pointers in the spurt, including one at the 5:00 mark which game Daemen its first double-figure lead of the contest at 29-19. Miljenovic, who scored six points in the spurt, scored a layup with 56 seconds left in the half, sending Daemen into the locker room with a 41-24 advantage.

The Wildcat lead grew to its widest margin - 20 points - when Sischo converted an old-fashioned three-point play on the opening possession of the second half. UDC cut the lead to 11 on Butler's basket-and-free-throw with 14:55 to go, but the Daemen lead remained in double figures for the majority of the half. Butler's fastbreak layup with 52 seconds remaining finally made it a single-digit deficit (74-65), but by then it was too late for a comeback. Redband hit a pair of free throws and Sischo scored off a feed from Sarkis to provide the final margin.

Daemen shot 47.4 percent from the field (25-for-57) and 36.8 percent from downtown (7-for-19). On the flip side, UDC managed to connect on just 22-of-64 shots from the field (34.4%), including 3-of-22 from long distance (13.6%). 

The victory today gave Daemen a sweep of the season series with UDC. The Wildcats had previously downed the Firebirds 80-56 at Lumsden Gymnasium on Jan. 10. Daemen has won nine of the 11 all-time meetings.

Today's win also gives Daemen its fifth consecutive season with 10 ECC victories. The Wildcats have won an average of 14 league games since joining the ECC for the 2013-14 season.

Today's win was head coach Mike MacDonald's 75th on the Wildcats' bench. Since taking the reins of the program prior to the 2014-15 season, MacDonald has guided the Wildcats to a 75-36 overall record (.676 winning percentage) and a 49-22 mark in ECC play (.690 winning percentage). In 21 seasons as a collegiate head coach, MacDonald's career record stands at 331-262 (.558 winning percentage).

Daemen returns to Lumsden Gymnasium for their final homestand of the 2017-18 season, a three-game stretch beginning next Friday, Feb. 9 when longtime rival Roberts Wesleyan College comes to town.
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