SPARKILL, N.Y.- Junior Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) scored a team-high 25 points and collected six rebounds and a career-high eight blocks to lead the Daemen College men's basketball team to a 79-75  victory over East Coast Conference opponent St. Thomas Aquinas College this afternoon.  Daemen improved to 6-5 on the year and 3-3 in conference play with the second straight win while STAC dropped to 6-5 on the season (2-3 ECC).

Uchechi Ogbonna (Hicksville, N.Y./Erie CC) added 13 points, five rebounds and a team-high four steals while fellow senior Casey Sheehan (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) chipped in 12 points and a team-high eight assists.

Kadeem Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger) added eight points while senior point guard Mark Coppola (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) also contributed seven points and five assists.  With 502 assists in his career, Coppola is now two away from breaking the all-time school record held by Rob Robinson.

Freshmen Aaron Cust paced the Spartans with 26 points while teammate Chaz Watler chipped in 13 points, six rebounds and four assists. Marcus Henderson also added 11 points and a team-high eight assists.

The Wildcats started off strong with a 15-6 lead with 14:51 left in the first half when a fast break layup by Johnson capped the run. Junior Aaron Davis (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) then knocked down a three-pointer at the 11:57 mark and Sheehan hit one of his own a minute later to put the Wildcats up 24-13 at the 10:02 mark.  The Wildcats extended their first half lead, using a 16-6 run to jump ahead 40-19 with five minutes left before intermission. The host Spartans got themselves back into contention with 17-9 run to end the half, to find themselves down by 13 at the break (49-36).

The two teams traded baskets for the first few minutes of the second half as Daemen held onto the lead at 55-43 after a dunk by Beverly with at the 16:44 mark.  But, the Wildcats went scoreless for the next four minutes, allowing STAC to creep closer with six straight points, four of which came from Cust to make the score 55-49.  Ogbonna finally knocked down a short jumper to stem the tide for Daemen at the 12:41 mark.

Ogbonna converted two free throws at the 11:37 mark to put Daemen back ahead by 10 (59-49), but it would be the Wildcats' last double-figure lead of the ballgame as STAC used a quick 9-2 spurt to cut the deficit to just three (61-58).  Cust was again the catalyst with two layups in the run.

Another Beverly slam and a layup from Sheehan again provided Daemen with some breathing room (65-58 with 7:55 to play).  

The teams traded baskets for the next several minutes, but the Spartans would not go away quietly on their home floor.  A 7-2 spurt capped by Henderson's second trey of the game with 1:59 left made the score 71-69 in Daemen's favor.  It was the closest STAC had been since trailing 6-4 less than three minutes into the game.

Daemen responded with an old-fashioned three-point play by Beverly at the 1:35 mark.  STAC's Jonathan McNair made 1-of-2 from the charity stripe on the Spartans' next possession and, after a missed Daemen three-pointer, Cust was fouled while making a fastbreak layup with 43 seconds left, cutting the deficit back to two (74-72).  Cust missed his free throw attempt but McNair snared the rebound - one of 20 offensive boards for the hosts - and Henderson was fouled going to the basket, putting him at the line for a one-and-one and a chance to tie the game with 39 ticks remaining.

Henderson made the first free throw attempt but missed the second, preserving the Daemen lead, albeit by just one.  Daemen's Johnson was quickly fouled and he converted both of his freebies to push the score to 76-73.  After an empty STAC possession, Coppola made good on two from the charity stripe as well, but Henderson quickly scored a layup to make it a one possession game (78-75) with four seconds remaining.  Jordan Greene (Fort Edward, N.Y./South Glens Falls) was fouled on the ensuing inbounds pass and made 1-of-2 from the line in the waning seconds to make it an insurmountable four-point lead, preserving the Daemen victory.

The Wildcats connected on 27-of-59 shots (46-percent) while the Spartans shot 30-for-63 (48-percent) for the game. Daemen drained 16-of-29 shots (55-percent) while STAC hit 15-of-30 shots (50-percent) in the first half. The hosts also made 6-of-15 three pointers in the game while Daemen went 4-for-9 beyond the arch.

Daemen finished with a 44-32 edge in points in the paint and forced 27 turnovers which resulted in 30 points for the Wildcats.

Sheehan's eight assists today give him 401 for his career, making him just the fourth player in school history to record 400.  He also moved into fourth on the all-time steals list with two thefts today giving him 162 for his career.

Daemen will play its next two games on the road as they will face Mercy College on Monday (Jan. 6) at 7:30 p.m. and Dominican College Tuesday (Jan. 7) at 8 p.m.