Roberts Wesleyan (8-9, 4-7 ECC) 33-49—82
Daemen (13-6, 10-3 ECC) 49-49—98

AMHERST, N.Y. – Senior forward Kadeem Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger) recorded a double-double as he scored a career high 23 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Daemen College men's basketball team to a 98-82 victory over Roberts Wesleyan College at Lumsden Gymnasium tonight.

Tonight's game marked the 37th all-time meeting between the two former American Mideast Conference (AMC) rivals. Daemen has now prevailed in the last six meetings and owns a 26-11 advantage in the all-time series. The teams met earlier this year at RWC and the Wildcats earned a 77-72 win in overtime which marked the first-ever ECC win for Daemen.

Daemen, which is in Candidacy Year Two of the NCAA Division II membership process, continued its home game winning streak to 29 straight and improved to 13-6 overall and 10-3 in the league. RWC, which is in Candidacy Year Three of the NCAA Division II membership process, dropped to 8-9 overall and 4-7 in the ECC. Despite playing without regular starter senior Uchechi Ogbonna (Hicksville, N.Y./Erie CC) due to an injury Daemen also managed to claim their 9^th straight conference win.

The Wildcats took control in the early stages of the game taking an 11-5 lead at the 16:07 mark after a three ball from junior forward Jordan Greene (Fort Edward, N.Y./South Glens Falls). The blue and white then pulled ahead taking the largest lead of the first half when Aaron Davis (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) hit a three pointer with 9:05 remaining, a 34-16 advantage for the Wildcats.

The closest the Redhawks would get in the first half was at the 5:45 mark when the Daemen lead was cut to ten, 38-28, after a steal and layup from Herbert Alexander. The Wildcats took a 49-33 lead going into the break. They shot 60-percent (18-for-30) from the field and were 8-for-11 (72.7-percent) from the free throw line. The Redhawks, on the other hand, shot 40.6-percent (13-for-32) from the field and only 42.9-percent (3-for-7) from the charity stripe in the first half.

In the second half, the two teams traded baskets for the first few minutes as Daemen held onto the lead at 55-40 after a layup by Johnson assited by Mark Coppola (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) at the 16:28 mark. The two teams again traded baskets over the next five minutes as Daemen held onto the lead, 72-57 with 11:25 to go in the second stanza after another three pointer from Davis. But, the Redhawks creep closer as they went on a 12-4 spurt to make the score 76-69 with 6:49 left in the game. That was the closest RWC would come as Daemen would leave the final margin 98-82.

For the game the Redhawks shot 48.4-percent (30-for-62) from the field including 52.6-percent (10-for-19) behind the arc but they only knocked down 12 of their 23 free throws. The Wildcats shot 54.5-percent (30-for-55) from the field and 71.8-percent (28-for-39) from the charity stripe.

Four of the Wildcats starting five scored in double figures with Johnson leading all scorers with 23 points and 13 rebounds. Casey Sheehan (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) matched Johnson with 23 points and added six assists. Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) also added a double-double with 15 points and 12 boards while Jordan Greene (Fort Edward, N.Y./South Glens Falls) went 3-for-5 from three point range scoring 15 points and came away with four rebounds and three assists. Coppola chipped in seven points and a team high seven assists while Davis also added nine points to the Daemen win.

Four Redhawks scored in double figures as well. Tyrel Dixon paced RWC with 21 points while teammate Patrick Downer contributed 17 points to the Roberts cause. Jamaal Carter went 6-for-6 scoring 16 points and teammate William Bromirski added 14 points for the visitors.

Daemen is back in action Friday (Jan. 31) when it hosts LIU Post in an ECC game at 8 p.m. The Pioneers posted a 93-85 victory over the Wildcats earlier this year on Long Island.

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