DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Daemen Wildcats fell to 2-2 on the young season after dropping a tough 82-80 decision to Central Methodist University of NAIA Division I in the consolation game of the Daytona Mitsubishi Shootout on the campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. After finding themselves down by as many as 17 points in the second half, the Wildcats showed some resiliency, storming back to take a five point lead late in the game, only to have it all swept away in the waning seconds.
6'6" Lucas Dahl of the Central Methodist banked in a shot off the glass with 3.9 seconds remaining to break an 80-80 tie. After a Daemen timeout, Dominic Mazzocchi's last gasp three-point attempt fell short giving the Eagles their third win of the season against two losses.
For the second consecutive game, the Wildcats fell behind early as the Eagles raced out to an 11-0 lead in the first two minutes of the contest. Once the Wildcats gained their composure, they were able to fight back into the game, cutting the deficit to 23-22 at the 7:51 mark of the first half.
From there, the Eagles went on a 9-2 run to regain control and finished the half up 41-34, thanks in large part to their 55% shooting from the field (16-for-29).
The game looked like it might get out of hand early in the second half as the Eagles extended their lead to 58-41 at the 12:22 mark. However, Mazzocchi took matters into his own hands for the Wildcats, sparking his team with 24 second half points en route to a career-high 30.
With the Eagles seemingly comfortably ahead 66-53 with 10:09 to go, Mazzocchi and his teammates got rolling and rattled off 18 straight points to take a 71-66 lead with 6:24 to go. The Wildcats got buckets from the afore mentioned Mazzocchi, senior
Khorri Silcott and freshman
Troy Nowak during the run, along with free throws and several assists by freshman guard
Casey Sheehan.
To the Eagles credit, they didn't fold up their tent and they responded with a quick 6-0 run of their own to regain the lead 72-71 with 5:01 to go on a dunk by Dahl.
From there, the teams traded baskets until Silcott knotted the score at 80-80 with 2:14 to go. Neither team could break through to take an edge until Dahl's crucial bucket, from which Daemen was unable to respond.
Dahl led the Eagles with 30 points on 13-of-16 shooting from the floor to go with a game-high 10 boards. Tyler Bredehoeft added 26 points and six steals and Mike Regan chipped in with 10 points.
Mazzocchi hit on 11 of his 19 field goal attempts, including 5-of-10 from behind the three-point arc. He also tied for the team-lead with nine rebounds. Silcott contributed 15 points and nine boards, seven of which came on the offensive end. Nowak chipped in with 12 points off the bench.
The Wildcats don't have much time to lick their wounds as their tough early season schedule rolls on when they host #4 Cornerstone at Lumsden Gymnasium next Friday night on the opening day of the 2010 Homewood Suites Classic. Tip-off is slated for 7:30.
