Daemen (12-4) 37-36—73
Roberts Wesleyan (4-5) 28-39—67

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Junior guard Mark Coppola (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) equaled his career-high with 14 points and also dished out five assists to lead the Daemen College men's basketball team to a 73-67 victory over rival Roberts Wesleyan College tonight at the Voller Athletic Center on the RWC campus.

Daemen has now won four of its last five games and improved to 12-4 overall. The Wildcats have now prevailed in the last four meetings between the two long-time rivals. Daemen and RWC are former NAIA members that are both progressing through the NCAA Division II membership process. The host Redhawks dropped to 4-5.

Five players reached double figures for the Wildcats.

Junior guard Casey Sheehan (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) and sophomore Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) made the most of their homecomings. Sheehan scored 10 first-half points and finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals. Beverly totaled 12 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Junior Uchechi Ogbonna (Hicksville, N.Y./Erie CC) added 11 points in 13 minutes off the bench, while senior Jim Regan (Williamsville, N.Y./Nichols) chipped in 10 points and five boards. Regan now stands just one point shy of 1,000 for his career.

Sophomore Mike Stone led the Redhawks with 17 points and four steals, while senior forward Devin Grimes recorded his sixth double-double of the year and finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds and six assists.

Daemen held a 37-28 lead at the half, but the hosts outscored the Wildcats 13-4 over the first five minutes of the second half. A jumper by Stone capped the spurt and knotted the game at 41-41. Daemen answered with back-to-back buckets by junior Kadeem Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger) and Regan, and the Wildcats maintained the lead the rest of the way. RWC pulled to within one point twice midway through the second half, but Daemen used a 14-6 run from the 10-minute mark to the five-minute mark to take control. Back-to-back layups by Ogbonna and Regan capped the run and gave the visitors a 63-54 lead with 4:52 to play.

The Redhawks quickly cut the lead to four points, but Coppola drained a clutch three-pointer with 3:45 left to give the Wildcats a 66-59 advantage. A conventional three-point play by junior Patrick Downer with 2:13 left once again pulled the Redhawks within two scores at 68-64, but Coppola came through again with a clutch jumper to give the Wildcats a six point lead with 51 seconds to play. RWC came no closer than five points the rest of the way.

RWC jumped out to an early 13-6 lead, but the Wildcats answered with a 7-2 spurt and cut the lead to two points, 15-13, following a three-pointer by sophomore Jordan Greene (Fort Edward, N.Y./South Glens Falls) with 11:39 left before halftime. RWC held a 26-20 lead with just under five minutes left before halftime, when a layup by Coppola sparked the Wildcats on a 17-0 run. A steal and dunk by Sheehan with 19 seconds left in the half capped the run and gave Daemen its largest lead of the game, 37-26.

Daemen shot 45-percent (27-60) overall and made 4-of-14 three-pointers. Daemen made just 15-of-23 free throws, but outscored the Redhawks 15-5 from the charity stripe. Both teams registered 33 rebounds and committed 17 turnovers.

Daemen is idle until Dec. 20 when it hosts Grace College at 7:30 p.m.