SPARKILL, N.Y. – The Daemen College men's basketball team saw its Division II-best 21-game conference winning streak come to end following a 95-87 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas College here tonight.
Daemen, which is ranked seventh in the latest D2SIDA Division II East Region poll, dropped to 10-4 overall and 5-1 in the East Coast Conference. STAC evened its record at 8-8 overall and improved to 5-2 in the league.
Junior Torrence Dyck, Jr. (Rochester, N.Y./San Jacinto College) scored a career-high 35 points for the Wildcats, as he connected on 11-of-16 field goals and canned 13-of-19 free throws. Dyck, who scored 24 points in the second half, scored 30 points for the second time this year and netted 20 points for the ninth time. Senior Jordan Greene (Fort Edward, N.Y./South Glens Falls) canned three three-pointers and totaled 18 points and five rebounds. Senior Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) added 15 points and 12 rebounds. Beverly attempted just five shots and connected on 7-of-12 free throws. It marked the 10th double-double of the season (and 37th of his career) for Beverly, who also scored in double figures for the 44th-straight game. Beverly, who entered the game averaging a Division II-best 4.2 blocks per game, failed to register a block for just the third time in the past 57 games.
Sophomore Chaz Watler (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led the Spartans, as he went 5-for-5 from three-point land and totaled 32 points and 10 rebounds. Watler, the 2013-14 ECC Rookie of the Year, was good on 12-of-15 shots overall and also dished out five assists. Freshmen Jules de Courtenay (Brisbane, Australia) and Shaquille McFarlan (Mesic, N.Y.) came up big for the hosts as well. Courtenay netted 17 points in just 15 minutes, while McFarlan added 12 points and seven assists.
Daemen, which battled back from a 17-point deficit in its win over the University of Bridgeport last Saturday, found itself down 18 points (65-47) five minutes into the second half tonight and nearly pulled off another comeback.
A 16-5 run by the Wildcats cut the lead to seven points, 70-63, but the host Spartans responded with 13-5 run and appeared to have the game in hand after a layup by McFarlan with 5:08 left gave the hosts an 83-68 lead. The Wildcats had one last run in them and outscored the Spartans 13-2 over the next four minutes. Dyck scored eight points during the run, which cut the STAC lead to four points, 85-81, with just over a minute left. Walter then made the biggest shot of the night, as he drained a three-pointer from the top of the key just before the shot clock expired to give STAC an 88-81 lead with 49 seconds left. STAC secured the win by hitting 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch.
The teams traded baskets for most of the first half and STAC held a 35-34 lead with just over three minutes left in the half when the hosts put together an 8-1 burst. A layup by Watler with 1:58 left in the half capped the run and gave STAC a 43-35 lead. The hosts took a 49-39 lead into intermission.
Free throws and second-chance points were key statistics in the outcome. The Wildcats attempted a season-high 46 free throws in the game, but made just 29. STAC went the charity stripe 26 times and made 17, including an 11-for-15 performance in the second half. The Spartans finished with a 42-31 edge in the total rebounds, and the hosts grabbed 15 offensive rebounds which led to a 17-9 advantage in second-chance points.
Both teams shot over 50-percent from the field, but the Spartans (35-for-68) attempted 18 more field goals than the Wildcats (26-for-50).
Daemen returns to action tomorrow (Jan. 17) when it plays an ECC game at Mercy College.
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