AMHERST, NY - A steal and subsequent layup from pesky sophomore guard Mark Coppola (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South HS) with under 30 seconds remaining lifted Daemen from the jaws of defeat tonight as the Wildcats knocked off the Western Ontario Mustangs 54-53 on day two of the Daemen Holiday Classic.  With the win, Daemen picks up their third straight 'W' and improves to 8-5 on the season.

"Well, we certainly weren't at our best tonight, but a win is a win," said Daemen head coach Don Silveri.  "We're a little banged up right now physically and for some reason we seem to struggle on the second day of back-to-backs.  That being said, back-to-backs are a part of playing college basketball at this level and we have to find a way to perform better."

After Daemen took a 28-20 lead into the halftime intermission, Western Ontario quickly cut into the deficit and took their first lead of the half at 37-36 on a bucket by Jermaine Bernard at the 12:00 mark.  From there, the lead changed hands five times, culminating in Coppola's signature basket of the night.  UWO's Peter Scholtes missed two shots in the waning seconds, preserving the Daemen victory.

Junior Jim Regan (Williamsville, NY/Nichols HS) led the way for Daemen with 15 points, 13 of which came in the opening frame.  Gerald Beverly (Rochester, NY/Gates Chili HS) came off the bench and played solid offensively for the second straight night, scoring nine on 4-for-6 from the field.  Coppola notched eight points with dishing out four assists as well.

Daemen got key plays down the stretch from sophomore guard Troy Nowak (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park HS).  Nowak entered the game at the 6:15 mark of the second half and delivered two huge plays.  At the 4:04 mark with Daemen trailing by three (47-44), Nowak drove the baseline and dished off to Beverly for a thunderous two-handed slam.  After a Mustang turnover, Nowak knocked down a three-point shot at 3:15 to give Daemen the lead at 49-47.

"We don't win that game without Troy's contribution off the bench," Silveri said.  "Troy has been a struggling a little bit but we remain confident in him and he proved why tonight."

In the other men's game at Daemen today, St. Francis (IN) scored an 84-60 win over Fisher (MA) of the American Mideast Conference.

Coppola was named the Classic MVP for his two-day efforts and late game heroics today.  Joining him on the All-Classic Team were Daemen's Regan, Quinn Henderson of Western Ontario, Kevin Dawson of St. Francis and Dennis Norford of Fisher.

Next up for Daemen is a trip to Sin City for the Las Vegas Shootout where they'll face NAIA Division I foes Fresno Pacific (CA) and Great Falls (MT) as well as NCAA II provisional member Lindenwood (MO).