AMHERST, N.Y. - A game after torching the nets at Houghton, the Daemen Wildcats offense went M.I.A. at the wrong time as they dropped a key 73-54 decision to the surging Roberts Wesleyan Raiders before 259 fans at Lumsden Gymnasium tonight. With the win, the Raiders grabs a firm hold on fourth place in the American Mideast Conference standings at 10-6 while Daemen falls to 14-14 overall and 9-8 in conference play with one game remaining.
Daemen came out of the gates shooting cold early on, but managed to lead 8-6 after a
Mujeeb Oridami free throw at the 14:06 mark. It would prove to be the Wildcats' only lead of the game as the Daemen offense just could not generate any sustained spurts throughout the contest.
With Daemen trailing 27-24, the Raiders closed out the half on a 6-2 run to lead 33-26 at intermission. Daemen managed just 27% shooting (7-for-26) in the half but found themselves down just seven on their home floor.
The second half saw Daemen cut into the Raider lead several times, culminating when the sawed the deficit to just one at 41-40 with 13:19 to go on an and-one bucket by freshman guard
Casey Sheehan. Sheehan was unable to convert the three-point play at the line to tie to score and Roberts quickly scored four points on baskets by reserves William Kemp-Harris and Curt Despard. The Wildcats cut the lead to three on two occassions but failed to ever get any closer.
With Roberts leading 51-46 with under 8:00 to play, the visitors extended their advantage thanks to a 10-2 run, keyed by center Alif Bland who accounted for five points and three rebounds during the spurt.
From their, Daemen was forced to foul with under two minutes to play and Roberts added 10 points from the free throw line in the waning minutes to seal the deal, giving them their seventh consecutive victory while snapping a seven-game losing skid vs. the Wildcats.
Jordan Heath and Dan Foley shared game-high honors for Roberts as they split 30 points between them. Heath added seven rebounds and four blocked shots for a stellar floor game. Rashaad Stokelin added 11 points while Kemp-Harris came off the bench to score nine. Bland ended up with eight points and eight rebounds and Western New York native Justin Andreozzi led the Roberts rebounders with nine; the Raiders owned a 50-42 edge on the boards.
Sheehan paced Daemen with 15 points, several of which came via highlight reel moves in the second half, while also grabbing seven rebounds. Dominic Mazzocchi added 14 points and five boards while Oridami chipped in with 10.
Khorri Silcott grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
Daemen shot 31% (20-for-65) in the contest, inlcuding 3-for-18 (17%) from 3-point range (0-for-9 in the second half).
For Daemen, they'll await the other results from around the AMC tonight and Thursday, but today's loss basically sets up a "win-and-you're-in" matchup this Saturday at Point Park. Tip time is set for 4pm.
