AMHERST, N.Y. – Senior Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) paced a balanced attack with 16 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks to lead the Daemen College men's basketball team to an 83-63 victory over rival Roberts Wesleyan College here tonight in East Coast Conference action. Daemen, which is ranked eighth in the latest D2SIDA East Region poll, has now won six of its last seven games and improved to 12-4 overall and 7-1 in the ECC.
The Wildcats remained tied with the University of Bridgeport atop the ECC standings, as UB posted a 102-89 victory over Dowling College tonight. The Redhawks dropped to 7-7 overall and 3-5 in the league.
The win extended Daemen's home winning streak to 43 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 won its 49th-straight home game last night, owns a longer home winning streak than Daemen.
Sophomore Supreme Hannah (Rochester, N.Y./Eastridge) returned to the starting lineup after missing the last three games with an injury and scored 15 points, while senior Jordan Greene (Fort Edward, N.Y./South Glens Falls) drilled three three-pointers and totaled 13 points and nine rebounds. Beverly, who canned 4-of-8 shots and made 8-of-10 free throws, recorded his sixth-straight and 12th total double-double of the season. It also marked the 39th career double-double for Beverly, who also scored in double figures for the 46th-straight game. Beverly is now averaging a team-high 19.3 points per game and leads the ECC in rebounding (12.4 rpg) and blocks (62). Junior Torrence Dyck, Jr. (Rochester, N.Y./San Jacinto College) added nine points, seven rebounds and three assists in just 17 minutes of action.
Daemen got 27 points from its bench. Senior Kyle Clifford (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Francis) contributed nine points, two assists and two steals, while freshman Nick Petrucelli (Hicksville, N.Y./Thomasville Prep) added eight points and five rebounds. Sophomore Jesse Lalka (Tonawanda, N.Y./Tonawanda) chipped in seven points and three rebounds in nine minutes.
Junior Mike Stone (Kirkville, N.Y.) paced the Redhawks, as he drilled 4-of-6 three-pointers and totaled 16 points.
The teams traded baskets early on and Daemen held a 9-7 lead when the hosts ran off eight-straight points and took a 16-7 lead following a layup by Greene with 11:53 left before halftime. Daemen later took its first double-digit lead, 23-13, following a layup by Dyck with 8:31 left before the break, and a three-point play by Hannah with just over five minutes to play in the half gave the hosts a 32-14 lead. Daemen took a 13-point lead (40-27) into the break after Greene drained a contested three-pointer at the halftime buzzer.
Daemen held a 44-35 lead five minutes into the second half and the hosts eventually built the lead up to 19 points, 63-44, after Beverly canned two free throws with 9:26 left to play. Hannah scored nine points during that decisive 19-9 run. The lead later ballooned to 26-points, 76-50, after Clifford drained a three-pointer with 4:40 left.
Daemen shot 50-percent (28-for-56) from the field and canned 21-of-29 free throws. It marked the 10th time this season the Wildcats have shot 50-percent or better from the field. The Redhawks shot just 33-percent (24-for-72) from the field and just 7-for-15 from the charity stripe. The hosts collected 14 more rebounds (49/35) than the Redhawks and the Wildcats also finished with a commanding 36-18 edge in points in the paint.
Daemen returns to action Friday (Jan. 23) when it hosts LIU-Post in an ECC contest at 8 p.m.
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