Box Score

Daemen (23-5) 29-21-29-18--97
Niagara (16-8) 25-19-18-17--79

WELLAND, Ont. - The trio of senior Jim Regan (Williamsville, N.Y./Nichols), junior Casey Sheehan (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) and sophomore Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) proved too much to handle as the Daemen College men's basketball team raced to a 97-79 victory over Niagara College at the Welland Campus Athletic Center today. 

The game was played under the international rules employed by the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association, meaning four 10-minute quarters and a 24-second shot clock were used, amongst other changes to the usual NCAA rules used in the United States.

Sheehan came out of the gates on fire as he knocked down four three-pointers in the opening quarter en route to 16 first-half points.  He was matched by Regan who knocked down 7-of-13 shots in first half for 16 points.

The duo gave way to Beverly who dominated the third quarter, helping Daemen outscore the Knights 29-18 in the period, turning what was just a six-point advantage at the half (50-44) into a 79-62 lead heading into the final quarter.

Regan finished with a game-high 26 points on 12-for-23 from the field and narrowly missed his second consecutive double-double as he hauled in nine boards.

Sheehan finished with 21 points on 8-for-15 shooting, including 5-for-10 from three-point range.  The five makes from three-point range set a new season-high for Daemen's leading scorer.

Beverly collected his tenth double-double of the season, and first since Jan. 4, with an 18-point, 10-rebound effort which included 14 second-half points.

Sophomore forward Jordan Greene (Fort Edward, N.Y./South Glens Falls) came off the bench to score 11 points and grab five rebounds while starting swingman Kadeem Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger) notched 10 points and eight boards.

Junior point guard Mark Coppola (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) set the table all game long and finished with 11 assists, matching a season-high in his fourth game of the season with 10 or more helpers.  In the process, Coppola moved past Therreon Blackwell on Daemen's career assists leaderboard into second all-time with 446 for his career.

Ashton Stephenson (Brampton, Ont.) paced the hosts with 24 points and six rebounds.  Marako Lundy (Nassau, Bahamas) added 13 points and and six boards while leading scorer Jimmy Bilenga (Hamilton, Ont.) contributed 12 points on 4-for-12 shooting.

Alex Campbell (Brampton, Ont.) hit a couple long bombs and totaled 10 points and a team-high six assists.

Niagara connected on 47-percent of its shots in the first half (17-for-36) to trail by just six at halftime after Daemen had routed the Knights 108-67 in their season-opener on Oct. 24.  But, that cooled to 34-percent in the second half (12-for-35) and they couldn't keep pace witht the high-scoring Wildcats who topped 90 points for the fifth straight game - all Daemen wins.

The Wildcats (23-7) owned a 55-43 edge off the backboard and dished out 26 assists while turning it over just nine times in the game.  Daemen converted 16 Niagara turnovers into 17 points, leading the points off turnovers category by 14, while also leading in second chance points (24-8) and bench points (22-14).

Daemen, the No. 3 ranked team in the latest United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Division I poll, travels to Salem, W. Va. next Saturday (Feb. 9) where they'll face NCAA Division II independent Salem International University.  The Wildcats own two victories over the Tigers already this season, winning at SIU 86-66 on Dec. 7 as part of the Joe Manchin Classic, before besting them again 113-90 at home on Jan. 26. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m.