Daemen (21-6)  38-57—95

UNIONTOWN, Pa. – Junior Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) turned in a dominating 40-point, 11-rebound, four-block effort to lead the Daemen College men's basketball team to a 95-79 victory over Concordia College-Alabama here today in quarterfinal round action of the 2014 United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Division I National Championship Tournament.

The top-seeded Wildcats ran their school-record winning streak to 14-straight games and improved to 21-6 on the year. Daemen will face fourth-seeded Washington Adventist University in the tournament semifinals tomorrow (Mar. 6) at 8 p.m.  WAU defeated fifth-seeded Robert Morris University-Springfield, 67-58, in its quarterfinal game. Eighth-seeded Concordia dropped to 16-16 and will play in a consolation game tomorrow.

Results for all four Division I quarterfinal games can be found HERE. 

Beverly, who was named a first-team USCAA All-American yesterday, connected on 15-of-18 shots and also canned 10-of-12 free throws. He eclipsed his previous career-high of 34 points, which he scored in a win over District of Columbia on Feb. 14. It also marked the 16th double-double of the season for Beverly, who established a new USCAA Division I Tournament record for points in a game.

Beverly's effort overshadowed the play of teammate Casey Sheehan (Rochester, N.Y./ Greece Athena) who totaled 26 points, six rebounds and five assists. It marked the fourth time in the past five games that Sheehan has netted 24 or more points. Junior Aaron Davis (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) helped the Daemen cause with 11 points in 18 minutes off the bench, while senior point guard Mark Coppola (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) dished out nine assists with just one turnover.

Tavin Cummings and Frederick Turner both scored 19 points for Concordia-Alabama. Turner connected on 5-of-12 three-pointers in the game.

A high-scoring game was expected. Concordia entered the game averaging a USCAA-best 87.2 points per game, while Daemen was ranked third in scoring (84.0 ppg). Daemen showcased its scoring ability during a fast-paced second half in which the Wildcats shot 64-percent from the field (21-33) and outscored the Hornets 57-39.

Daemen trailed 40-38 at the half, but the Wildcats scored the first nine points of the second half and later took a 60-44 lead following a one-handed slam from senior Kadeem Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger) six minutes into the second half. Sheehan scored eight points during the 22-4 run, while Beverly and Johnson both netted six. Concordia would not go down without a fight, as the Hornets responded with a 12-4 run over the next two minutes that cut the lead to 64-56. Cummings scored eight points during the spurt, which was capped by a three-pointer by Turner.

The teams then traded baskets, before the Wildcats regained control with an 11-3 run. A layup by Beverly capped the run and gave Daemen a 77-61 lead with 9:07 left to play. Concordia cut the lead to 10 points twice down the stretch, but the Hornets would come no closer.

Neither team led by more than five points during a tightly played first half that featured six ties and three lead changes. Daemen opened the game with an alley-oop dunk from Sheehan to Beverly and then took a 5-0 lead after Sheehan drained a three-pointer 20 seconds later. Concordia responded with six unanswered points and neither team led by more than three points until Concordia's Quintavious Kelly converted a layup with 7:25 left before halftime to give the Hornets a 26-22 lead. Concordia took its largest lead of the half, 29-24, moments later when Turner drained a three-pointer with 6:55 left before intermission.

Turner's second triple of the half gave the Hornets a 34-29 lead with just over five minutes left in the half, but Daemen answered with a three-pointer by Davis and the Wildcats tied the game at 34-34 following a layup by Davis with 3:16 left before intermission. The teams traded baskets the rest of the half and Concordia took a 40-38 lead into the game.

Daemen shot 59-percent (34-58) from the field and posted a commanding 58-38 edge in points in the paint. Concordia shot just 34-percent (14-41) in the second half after shooting 44-percent (15-34) in the first half. The Hornets collected 17 offensive rebounds, which led to a 17-10 advantage in second-chance points.

GAME NOTES: Beverly has now recorded a block in 32-straight games dating back to the end of last season…Sheehan recorded his 1,500th career point during the game, making him the sixth player in program history to score 1,500 points…Daemen scored over 90 points for the 12th time this season…the Wildcats are 11-1 this season and 37-2 since the start of the 2009-10 season when they score 90 points.

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