Daemen (25-5) 53-48—101
Point Park (13-10) 40-54—94

WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. – The Daemen College men's basketball team established a new school-record for wins in a season following a 101-94 victory over Point Park University here tonight. The Wildcats ran their winning streak to seven games and improved to 25-5 on the year.
 
Junior Casey Sheehan (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) and senior Jim Regan (Williamsville, N.Y./Nichols) both recorded their second 30-point game of the season for the Wildcats. Sheehan canned 5-of-8 from three-point land and finished with 31 points and five assists. The effort put him over 1,000 career points. He has now totaled 1,005 points over his three-year career. Regan continued his outstanding play of late and finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. It marked his fifth double-double in the past nine games.
 
Junior Mark Coppola (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) helped the Daemen cause with 12 points, four rebounds, five assists and two steals. Sophomore Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) added eight points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. He has now totaled 103 blocks over his two-year career. Junior Kadeem Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger) contributed eight points and seven rebounds.
 
Five players reached double-figures in points for Point Park. Junior Gabe McNeal led the way with 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while freshman Matt Noszkg added 17 points, 13 rebounds and three steals.
 
It marked the regular-season finale for Daemen, which is expected to take part in the upcoming United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) national championship tournament. The eight-team field will be announced later this week and the tournament will take place Feb. 26 – March 2 on the campus of Penn State Fayette in Uniontown, Pa. Daemen has been ranked third in the USCAA Division I poll for the last three weeks.
 
Point Park, a NAIA Division II member, dropped to 13-10. The two teams were long-time rivals in the now defunct American Mideast Conference. Daemen, which is transitioning from NAIA Division II to NCAA Division II, has now prevailed in seven of the last nine meetings between the schools and owns a 13-11 advantage in the all-time series.
 
“This is a great group of guys. They epitomize what being part of a team is all about,” said Daemen head coach Don Silveri in recognition of the record-setting season. “They are unselfish to a fault. They share the ball and play for each other. I couldn't be prouder of them for the way they conduct themselves and for what they have accomplished this season.”
 
An offensive showcase was expected, as both teams entered the game averaging over 90 points per game.
 
Neither team led by more than five points over the first 11 minutes before a 9-2 spurt gave the Wildcats a nine point cushion, 32-23. The rally featured a conventional three-point play by Regan and three-pointers by Coppola and junior Alvin Satram (New Port Richey, Fla./Pacso-Hernando CC).
 
Daemen later held a 36-31 lead with just over five minutes left in the half when a three-point play by Beverly sparked the visitors on a 10-0 run. A three-pointer by Sheehan and a layup by Regan capped the run and gave the Wildcats a 46-31 lead with 3:10 left before intermission. Daemen maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the half and took a 53-40 lead into halftime.
 
The Wildcats scored the first four points of the second half and took their largest lead of the game, 57-40, following a layup by Johnson a minute into the second half. The teams traded baskets for the next few minutes and Daemen held a 63-47 lead when the hosts rallied behind a 16-5 run fueled by four three-pointers. A layup by Josh Pohlot with 12:01 left to play capped the outburst and cut the Daemen lead to five points, 68-63.
 
The teams battled back-and-forth from that point and the hosts eventually cut the lead to a point, 82-81, after McNeal canned two free throws with 5:54 left. Daemen answered with back-to-back buckets by Beverly and Johnson and later regained a double-digit lead, 95-85, following a steal and layup by Sheehan with 2:09 left. Sheehan also drained two clutch three-pointers just prior to his steal and layup to keep the Pioneers at bay.
 
The Poineers kept things interesting with a couple three-pointers in the final minute, but Daemen secured the win by hitting 6-of-10 free throws down the stretch.
 
Daemen shot 54-percent (38-70) overall and connected on 10-of-20 three-point field goals. Point Park drained nine three-pointers in the second half after making just 4-of-12 from long range in the first half. The Pioneers shot 44-percent (34-78) from the field overall.
 
Daemen posted a 44-32 advantage in points in the paint and also held a 19-14 edge in points off turnovers.

The Wildcats scored 100 points for the 10th time this season and the third time in the last six games.