Daemen (7-2) - 27-40--67
Indiana Wesleyan - 33-43--76

MARION, Ind. - The Daemen College men's basketball team suffered its second loss of the season today after the Indiana Wesleyan University Wildcats got a 27-point, eight-assist performance from juinor guard Jordan Weidner (Danville, Ind.) to push the hosts to a 76-67 victory at Luckey Arena.

IWU, ranked #4 in the pre-season NAIA Division II National Poll, improved to 6-1 on the season while Daemen fell to 7-2.

"We were a play or two away from picking up a bigtime road win today," said Daemen head coach Don Silveri afterwards.  "This was a very good team we played today - one that will certainly be in contention for an NAIA National Championship this season - and we hung in there despite a poor start to the game.  I think we proved that we can play with anybody in the country at this level today, despite the loss."

IWU, which led the entire ballgame, opened on a 14-4 run, establishing a gap that Daemen would never fully overcome.

Daemen used an 11-1 spurt to get themselves back into it, cutting the hosts' lead to one (16-15) at the 11:30 mark of the first half on three-ball by senior forward Jim Regan (Williamsville, N.Y./Nichols).

IWU then scored 12 of the next 16 points to lead 28-19 with 3:15 to go in the opening stanza.  Daemen would chip away again, cutting the deficit to 31-27 on a bucket by sophomore center Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) with under a minute to play in the half, before Weidner answered to put IWU up by six at the half.

Daemen was plagued by poor free throw shooting in the period, going just 2-for-7 from the charity stripe.

"It was one of those games where we got behind and then everytime we'd cut into their lead, they'd make plays to push the lead back up," Silveri said.  "If we make a few more free throws in the first half, it's an entirely different ballgame heading into the second.  You can't miss free throws against good teams, especially on the road."

IWU ran the advantage back to double figures (42-31) with a 9-4 spurt to open the second half, capped by a three-point basket from reserve forward Geroge Jones IV (South Bend, Ind.) at the 15:04 mark.

Daemen responded by rattling off nine straight points - all of which came on three-point shots.  Junior forward Kadeem Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger) knocked one down at the top of the key before sophomore forward Jordan Greene (Fort Edward, N.Y./South Glens Falls) came off the bench to hit back-to-back threes.

The hosts quickly re-established control and led by nine on three separate ocassions: 51-42 at 9:37; 54-45 at 7:56; and 56-47 at 6:11.

Beverly converted two free throws and came up with a traditional three-point play to get Daemen within four (56-52) at the 5:10 mark.  But, Daemen would get no closer the rest of the way as Weidner put home four straight points and senior forward Patrick Hopkins (Kokomo, Ind.) added two more to push the IWU lead back to 10 (62-52) with 2:55 to play.

IWU sealed the deal from the free throw the line with Weidner converting all eight of his attempts in the final 1:36 of the game.  The hosts established their largest lead of the game, 74-61, with 24 ticks remaining before Daemen got back-to-back three-pointers from junior guards Alvin Satram (New Port Richey, Fla./Pasco-Hernando CC) and Casey Sheehan (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) to finish the game.

Weidner finished 7-of-12 from the field and a perfect 12-for-12 from the charity stripe.  Hopkins threw in 17 points, including 12 in the second half, along with five rebounds.  Senior guard Aaron Martin (Rossville, Ind.) added 10 points while Jones IV knocked in nine points off the bench.

For the game, IWU hit on 20 of its 24 free throw attempts (83%) compared to a 5-for-12 (42%) showing from the visitors.

Beverly paced Daemen with 12 points and six rebounds.  Satram knocked down three triples en route to 11 points while Johnson contributed 10 points and five rebounds to the Daemen cause.

Junior guard Mark Coppola (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) dished out a team-high five assists.

Daemen returns to action next Friday (Nov. 23) when they take on Virginia Union University of NCAA Division II in the opening round of the Gary Miller Classic hosted by Gannon University.  The DC-VUU game tips at 5:30pm at Gannon's Hammermill Center with the nightcap featuring the host Golden Knights and Roberts Wesleyan College.  The event is a true tournament so Saturday's games are to be determined.  Daemen is the defending champion of the event.