AMHERST, N.Y. – Tournament Most Valuable Player Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) totaled 23 points, nine rebounds and four blocks to lead the Daemen College men's basketball team to an 88-80 victory over Post University here today in second round action of the 2014 Knee Center of WNY / ECC-CACC Challenge.
 
The two-day tournament features teams from the East Coast Conference and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. Daemen, which posted an 85-50 win over Concordia College in the first round, improved to 2-0. Post dropped to 0-2.
 
The win extended Daemen's home winning streak to 37 consecutive games. The streak dates back to the start of the 2011-12 season. Daemen's home winning streak ranks as the second longest in the nation among all NCAA men's basketball programs. Only Division III Albertus Magnus College, which entered the 2014-15 season with a 41-game home winning streak, owns a longer home winning streak than Daemen. The top five home winning streaks among NCAA men's basketball programs entering the 2014-15 season included Albertus Magnus (41), Daemen (35), Stephen F. Austin (33), Duke (33) and Florida (32).
 
Beverly, who collected tournament MVP honors for the second-straight year, connected on 7-of-9 shots and 9-of-10 free throws en route to his 32nd consecutive game with at least 10 points. Senior Jordan Greene (Fort Edward, N.Y./South Glens Falls) helped the Daemen cause with four three-pointers and 18 points, while junior Torrence Dyck (Rochester, N.Y./San Jacinto College) added 22 points. Junior Arif Mehmetaj (Jamaica, N.Y./SUNY Delhi), who totaled 11 points and 13 rebounds in yesterday's win over Concordia, was named to the all-tournament team after registering nine points and eight rebounds this afternoon.
 
Freshman Tyler Desrosiers (Agawam, Mass.) connected on 5-of-8 three-pointers and totaled 21 points for Post and was named to the all-tournament team. Fellow rookie Matt Mareno (San Francisco, Calf.) added 13 points and eight rebounds, while senior Nardie Bogues (Baltimore, Md.) added 13 points and eight assists.
 
Daemen connected on six of its first seven shots and opened up a 17-7 lead five minutes into the game after Greene hit a three-pointer from the wing, was fouled and completed the four-point play. The Wildcats later took a 28-16 lead following a conventional three-point play by Mehmetaj with 10:34 left before the break. Post responded with eight unanswered points and cut the lead to four points, 28-24, following a putback by freshman Joseph Lockwood (London, England) with 7:24 left in the half.
 
The Wildcats answered with an 11-3 run and regained a 12-point lead, 39-27, following a three-point play by Beverly with 2:37 left in the half. Post quickly cut the lead to five points, 39-34, but the hosts closed out the half with six unanswered points and took a 45-34 lead into the break. Senior Kyle Clifford's (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Francis) steal at midcourt and layup just before the halftime buzzer closed out the scoring.
 
A tense and tightly played second half featured several runs by each team. Daemen held a 62-51 lead with 11 minutes to play when the Eagles put together a 16-8 run and cut the lead to three points, 70-67, after Bogues drained a triple with 6:48 left. The visitors would come no closer, as the Wildcats responded with a 9-1 run and regained a double-digit lead, 79-68, after Greene drained two free throws with 3:18 to play. Post cut the lead to five points late, but Daemen answered with a free throw and layup by Dyck to secure the win.
 
Daemen shot an efficient 58-percent (27-46) for the game and connected on 8-of-13 shots from three-point land. The Eagles connected on just 12-of-40 (30%) shots in the first half and finished 28-for-69 (41%) from the field. Post drained seven three-pointers in the second half and finished 11-for-24 from behind the arc.
 
Post finished with a 39-28 edge in rebounds, while the host Wildcats finished with a 30-24 edge in points in the paint.
 
In the first game of the day, Concordia defeated Roberts Wesleyan College, 78-64. All-tournament selection Jamie Holder (Milford, N.H.) led the Clippers with 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Junior Marcus Gooding (Brooklyn, N.Y.) paced the Redhawks with 16 points. Senior Isaac Medeiros (Johnston, R.I.), who totaled 21 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks in RWC's 66-56 win over Post in the opening round, was also named to the all-tournament team.
 
Concordia jumped out to an early 16-3 lead and later took its largest lead of the half, 27-10, following a jumper by sophomore Andrew Peacock (Washington, D.C.) midway through the half. RWC cut the lead to 10 points, 43-33, at the half, but Concordia opened the second half with a 9-3 run and later took a 20-point lead, 69-49, following a jumper by Holder with 10:49 left to play. RWC came no closer than 14 points the rest of the way.
 
Daemen is idle until next weekend (Nov. 22) when it travels to Holy Family University in Philadelphia, Pa. for a non-league game.
 
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