AMHERST, N.Y. - Sophomore Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) scored a career-high 23 points and equaled his career-high with 12 rebounds to lead the Daemen College men's basketball team to a 105-59 victory over the University of Toronto tonight in opening round action of the 2012 Knee Center of WNY Tip-Off Classic. Daemen improved to 4-0 with the win, while the Varsity Blues dropped to 6-4.

Daemen scored over 100 points for the fourth-straight game despite playing without leading scorer Casey Sheehan (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena). Sheehan, who is averaging 15.5 points, missed the game with a knee injury. The Wildcats shot 56-percent (40-for-72) from the field and totaled 29 fast-break points.

Beverly, who pleased the crowd with several thunderous dunks, connected on 9-of-12 shots enroute to his third double-double of the season. Erie Community College product Uchechi Ogbonna (Hicksville, N.Y./Erie CC) scored a career-high 20 points in 20 minutes off the bench, while junior Kadeem Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger) scored a team-high 13 points in the first half and finished with 17. Sophomore Jordan Greene (Fort Edward, N.Y./South Glens Falls) drilled three three-pointers and totaled 11 points. Junior Troy Nowak (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) and sophomore Aaron Davis (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) both scored nine points, while junior Mark Coppola (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) dished out 10 assists.

Junior Alex Hill (Toronto, Ont.) scored a team-high 17 points for the Varsity Blues.

The teams traded baskets early on and Daemen held a 10-9 lead five minutes into the game when the Wildcats exploded for 11 unanswered points in just under two minutes. A fast-break three-pointer by Greene capped the spurt and gave the hosts a 21-9 lead with 12:21 left before halftime.

The Wildcats held a 23-12 lead midway through the half when the hosts put together a decisive 19-0 run over the next seven minutes. Daemen connected on 10-of-15 shots during the run, while the Varsity Blue went 0-for-14. Highlights of the run included back-to-back fast-break layups by Ogbonna off steals by Coppola, a block by Beverly that led to another fast-break layup for Ogbonna and a dunk by Beverly. The teams traded baskets the final four minutes of the half and Daemen took a 56-22 lead into the locker room.

Back-to-back dunks by Beverly and three-pointer by junior Alvin Satram (New Port Richey, Fla./Pasco-Hernando CC) gave the Wildcats a 63-24 lead early in the second half, and Toronto came no closer than 26 points (76-50) the rest of the way. Daemen outscored the Varsity Blues 29-9 over the final 8:38 and the Wildcats recorded their 100th point following a fast-break dunk by Ogbonna with 1:30 to play.

Toronto shot just 29-percent (20-for-69) for the game and made just 5-of-25 three-point attempts.

Daemen finished with a commanding 56-22 edge in points in the paint and held a 29-0 advantage in fast-break points.

In the other opening round game Point Park University posted an 89-72 victory over Western Ontario University. It marked the season-opener for Point Park, while Western Ontario dropped to 0-6. Five players reached double figures in scoring for Point Park. Jimmy Taylor (Pittsburgh, PA) went 5-for-5 from three-point land and totaled 19 points off the bench, while junior Gabe McNeal (Richmond, VA) was 4-of-7 from downtown and totaled 18 points. Sophomore Greg Morrow (London, Ont.) totaled 19 points and nine rebounds for Western Ontario.

Tournament action continues tomorrow. Toronto takes on point Park University at 2 pm., while Daemen faces Western Ontario University at 4 p.m. Both games take place at Lumsden Gymnasium.

2012 Knee Center of WNY Tip-Off Classic

First Round - Nov. 2
Point Park University 89, Western Ontario 72
Daemen 105, Toronto 59

Second Round-Nov. 3
Point Park vs. Toronto, 2 p.m.
Western Ontario vs. Daemen, 4 p.m.