Daemen (21-7)  28-29—57

UNIONTOWN, Pa. – The Daemen College men's basketball team saw its hopes for a United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) championship come to an end following a 58-57 loss to Washington Adventist University here tonight in the semifinal round of the USCAA Division I Championship Tournament.

The top-seeded Wildcats saw their school-record winning streak come to an end at 14-straight games and close out the year with a 21-7 record. Fourth-seeded Washington Adventist ran their school-record winning streak to nine games and improved to 21-8. The Shock advance to Saturday's title game against either sixth-seeded Tennessee Temple University or seventh-seeded The Apprentice School.

Seniors Kadeem Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger) and Uchechi Ogbonna (Westbury, N.Y./ECC) led the Wildcats with 15 points each. Ogbonna also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, while Johnson had eight boards. Daemen's USCAA All-America forward Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili), who scored a tournament-record 40 points in Daemen's quarterfinal win yesterday, was double and triple teamed all game and finished with 12 points (6-of-7 field goals), seven rebounds, three blocks and four steals.

Sophomore forward Martin Wilson led WAU with 20 points, while freshman Eric Lindsey added 14 points off the bench.

Daemen dug itself a hole early, as the Wildcats missed four of their first five shots and turned the ball over six times in the first 5:39 of the game. WAU took advantage and built 12-2 lead, before senior Casey Sheehan (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) stopped the bleeding with a layup with 13:55 left before halftime. Sheehan, a second-team USCAA All-American who scored 26 points in Daemen's quarterfinal win over Concordia-Alabama, picked up his second foul 30 seconds later and did not play the rest of the half.

A three-pointer by Lindsey gave WAU a 15-4 lead, but the Wildcats answered with a three-pointer by junior Jordan Greene (Fort Edward, N.Y./South Glens Falls) at the other end. That triple seemed to wake up the Wildcats, as they scored the next eight points—all by Johnson—and tied the game at 15-15 with 8:20 left before the break. Daemen later took its first lead of the game, 24-23, following a three-pointer by junior Kyle Clifford (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Francis) with 3:39 remaining in the half, and the Wildcats eventually took a 28-27 lead into the break.

The Wildcats opened the second half with an 11-6 spurt and appeared ready to take control after a Beverly layup gave Daemen a 39-33 lead. It was not to be, as the Shock embarked on a 16-5 run over the next 6:26. Lindsey had seven points during the run and his jumper with 9:11 left capped the rally and gave the Shock a 49-44 lead.

Daemen chipped away at the lead and eventually tied the game at 55-55 when Johnson swished two free throws with 3:35 left. The game remained knotted at 55-55 until the two minute mark when Ogbonna gave the Wildcats a 57-55 lead with two free throws. Wilson cut the lead in half when he hit one-of-two free throws with 1:32 left. The Wildcats came up empty on their next possession and a Lindsey jumper gave the Shock a 58-57 lead with 55 second left. Sheehan's three-pointer was off the mark with 38 seconds left, and the Wildcats had one last chance after freshman Tyrus Fleetwood missed a jumper at the other end with 14 seconds to play. Daemen collected the rebound and Sheehan fed senior Mark Coppola (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) for an open three-pointer that went off the front rim as time expired.

Daemen, which entered the game averaging 84 points a game, was limited to less than 60 points for just the third time all season. The Wildcats shot just 39-percent (23-59) from the field overall and made just 2-of-18 from three-point land. The Wildcats also made just 9-of-14 from the charity stripe. WAU shot just 38-percent (23-for-61) overall and made 6-of-23 from downtown. The Shock collected 12 offensive rebounds, which led to a 13-6 advantage in second-chance points.

GAME NOTES: Daemen is 48-13 over the past two seasons and has totaled 82 wins over the past four seasons, which ranks as the second-most wins during a four-year stretch in program history…Daemen posted 85 wins from 2002 to 2006…Beverly totaled 528 points this season and became the first Daemen player since Dewan Stroud in 2006-07 to score 500 points in a season…Beverly has now recorded a block in 33-straight games dating back to the end of last season…Sheehan closed out his career ranked sixth in career points (1,506) third in career assists (470) and tied for second in career steals (185)…Johnson recorded his 800th career point and 500th career rebound during the game…he closed out his career with 806 career points and 506 career rebounds…Coppola totaled 154 assists this season and recorded at least 150 assists in each of the last three seasons…he closed out his career with a school-record 623 career assists in 110 career games (5.7 per game).

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