Dowling (21-5, 15-3 ECC) 45-47—92
Daemen (19-6, 16-3 ECC) 58-42—100
 
AMHERST, N.Y. - Before a standing-room-only crowd at Lumsden Gymnasium tonight, the Daemen College men's basketball team scored a hundred points for the third time this season claiming a 100-92 victory over Dowling College to sit atop of the ECC standings.

Tonight's game marked the second all-time meeting between Daemen and Dowling. Daemen handed the Golden Lions their first ECC loss of the year following a 77-72 OT win at Dowling last month.

With the win, the Wildcats improve to 19-6 overall and 16-3 in the East Coast Conference while Dowling fell to 21-5 on the season and 15-3 in conference play.  Daemen essentially leap-frogs Dowling into first place in the conference standings, although the teams remain tied in the loss column.

Daemen also extended their home-court winning streak to 34 straight which ranks as the longest among all men's Division II teams and the second longest in the nation among NCAA men's basketball programs—behind Division III Albertus Magnus (37).

The Wildcats have gone 35-1 at home since the start of the 2011-12 season and have won 81-percent (91-21) of their home games over the past eight seasons. Daemen has also continued a school-record 12-straight games overall and 15-straight league games.

Casey Sheehan (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) paced the Wildcats scoring a season-high 34 points which marks his second 30-point outing of his career. Sheehan also added five assists to the Daemen win. Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) recorded yet another double-double on the year as he scored 19 points and dominated the glass hauling in 14 rebounds. Beverly also denied six Dowling shots in the game.

Uchechi Ogbonna (Hicksville, N.Y./Erie CC) contributed 16 points and seven rebounds while senior point guard Mark Coppola (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) chipped in 11 points and a team-high seven assists.  Aaron Davis (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) went 2-for-3 from beyond the arc adding eight points while Kadeem Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger) and Jordan Greene (Fort Edward, N.Y./South Glens Falls) both supplied six points to the Wildcat win.
Five players scored in double figures for the Golden Lions. Senior Corwin Austin scored a team-high 24 points and eight rebounds, while junior Darien Davis added 21 points.
 
A tightly played first half left the Wildcats up 22-18 after a three-pointer by Coppola with 12:22 on the clock. Daemen then went on a 10-4 run, 32-22, which was capped when Coppola found Ogbonna for a reverse layup to take their first double digit lead of the night. The two teams battled back and fourth for the rest of the half and Daemen went into the locker room with a 58-45 lead.
 
Dowling opened the second half with a 15-8 which brought them within six points (66-60) with 15:19 remaining in the game. Daemen quickly recaptured their double digit lead after a 21-8 run capped by a traditional three ball from Greene at the 7:14 mark. Dowling did not throw in the towel yet as they came back, 93-86, after an Austin three-pointer and a three point play by Davis with 2:23 left in the game. The Golden Lions came no closer from there as the Wildcats hung on and took a 100-92 victory.
 
Daemen shot a blistering 67-percent (23-34) shots in the first half and went 38-for-70 (54%) from the field overall. Dowling shot 53-percent (17-32) in the first half and finished 35-for-71 (49%) from the field overall. The Wildcats finished with 38-34 edge in rebounds and also posted a 54-46 advantage in points in the paint.
 
Daemen closes out the regular season tomorrow (Feb. 22) when it hosts the University of Bridgeport in an ECC game at 4 p.m.  A win over the Purple Knights will clinch at least a share of the ECC regular season title for Daemen which is in its first year in the conference.
 
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