WILBERFORCE, Ohio - The Daemen Wildcats snapped their two-game losing skid on Saturday afternoon by topping the Wilberforce Bulldogs 89-82. The win gives the Wildcats a sweep of the season series vs. the Bulldogs while improving their overall record to 13-12. In American Mideast Conference play, the Wildcats bump up to 8-6 as they try to keep pace with the conference's elite teams in hopes of qualifying for the five-team AMC playoffs. Wilberforce, who had won two straight coming into today's game including an impressive 88-79 dispatching of Mount Vernon Nazarene on Thursday, falls to 5-18, 3-10.
Freshman guard
Casey Sheehan led the way for Daemen as he pumped in a career-high 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field, including a 4-of-5 showing from behind the three point arc. The four three-point baskets gave Sheehan his fourth game of the season with multiple makes from behind the arc and his first since Dec. 22.
Junior forward Dominic Mazzocchi came through with 18 points while tying a career-high with 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Senior
Khorri Silcott added 17 points while sophomore
Jim Regan came off the bench to notch 15 points, all of which came in the first half, where Daemen established a 48-39 halftime lead.
Mujeeb Oridami played a fine floor game with nine points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal in 30 minutes. Freshman guard
Mark Coppola, in his second game back from injury, dished out a game-high six assists.
As a team, the Wildcats torched the Bulldog defense to the tune of 54% shooting (30-for-56) in the contest. After two consecutive poor shooting performances from three-point range, the Wildcats broke out of their deep shooting slump as they connected on 7-of-15 (47%) from behind the arc.
Tremayne Scott paced Wilberforce with 24 points and 10 boards. Darius Foster and Chris Olafioye tallied 19 points apiece while Tim Giles added 12 points.
The win allowed Daemen to maintain a slim hold on fourth place in the AMC standings for the moment while a showdown at top-ranked Walsh looms this coming Tuesday. Roberts Wesleyan picked up a big win at Cedarville on Saturday to stay hot on the Wildcats' heels, as did Mount Vernon Nazarene who topped Houghton 87-50. Both Roberts Wesleyan and Mount Vernon Nazarene are tied with 7-6 conference records at the moment.
Tip-time for the Wildcats' game vs. #1 Walsh is scheduled for 8pm this Tuesday in Canton, OH.
