AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen Wildcats improved to 12-10 overall and 7-4 in American Mideast Conference play with an impressive start-to-finish 79-63 victory over the visiting Mount Vernon Nazarene Cougars on Friday night at Lumsden Gymnasium.  The Wildcats never trailed in the contest as they drop the Cougars to 13-9, 6-4.

Junior forward Dominic Mazzocchi broke out of a mini-shooting slump to lead the way with 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the floor.  Freshman guard Casey Sheehan added 17 points and a game-high four assists as he controlled the tempo for much of the game.

After Daemen used some suffocating defense to establish a 34-20 lead at halftime, the Cougars were able to hang around in the second half, thanks in large part to an 18-of-25 showing from the charity stripe in the stanza.  Daemen never wavered however as they led by as many as 19 points and the lead was never less than double figures.

Senior Mujeeb Oridami chipped in with 13 points while fellow senior Moustapha Baidy added 10.  Baidy and Khorri Silcott tied for the game-high with eight boards.

Brandon Short paced the Cougars with 19 points while Adam Grimm added 16.

The Daemen defense did the job again as they held the Cougars to 63 points, 17 less than their season average while also forcing 19 turnovers.

The Wildcats also got key contributions off their bench for the second consecutive game.  Sophomore Jim Regan rang home nine points in just 13 minutes.  Frehsman Aaron Davis helped out with five points and three assists to go with a blocked shot, a steal and a defensive charge in 14 minutes.

Daemen gets back at it tomorrow afternoon when they host Cedarville in another key AMC matchup.  Tip time is set for 4pm.