AMHERST, N.Y. – Junior Torrence Dyck, Jr. (Rochester, N.Y./San Jacinto College) scored 15 of his game-high 23 points in the second half and also grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds to lead the Daemen College men's basketball team to a 79-74 victory over Long Island University-Post here tonight in East Coast Conference action.
Daemen, which is ranked eighth in the latest D2SIDA East Region poll, has now won seven of its last eight games and improved to 13-4 overall. The Wildcats improved to 8-1 in the ECC and moved back into a first-place tie with the University of Bridgeport atop the ECC standings. LIU Post dropped to 8-9 overall and 3-6 in the league.
The win extended Daemen's home winning streak to 44 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 owns a 49-game home winning streak, owns a longer home winning streak than Daemen.
It marked the third time in the past four home games the Wildcats have found a way to come out victorious in a close game against one of the top teams in the league. Daemen swept a weekend series from Dowling College (89-88) and Bridgeport (91-88 OT) two weeks ago at Lumsden Gym.
Dyck, who was one of four players to score in double figures for Daemen, connected on 8-of-12 shots and also equaled his career-high for assists with six. Senior forward Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) posted his seventh-straight double-double and finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks. It marked the 13th double-double of the season (and 40th of his career) for Beverly, who also scored in double figures for the 47th-straight game. Sophomore Supreme Hannah (Rochester, N.Y./Eastridge) added 14 points, while senior Kyle Clifford (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Francis) drilled three three-pointers and scored 10 points off the bench. Senior Jordan Greene (Fort Edward, N.Y./South Glens Falls) played a team-high 38 minutes and contributed nine points, six rebounds and three assists.
LIU Post also had four players in double figures. Senior Tyuan Williams (Newark, N.J.) totaled 14 points and seven rebounds, while classmate P.J. Torres (New Rochelle, N.Y.) added 14 points and four assists off the bench.
A back-and-fourth first half featured five ties and nine lead changes and neither team led by more than five points. LIU Post took the largest lead of the half, 23-18, after junior Devon McMillan (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored with 6:02 left before intermission, and the Pioneers held a 29-25 lead with just over three minutes left in the half when the Wildcats caught fire from downtown. Hannah drilled back-to-back three-pointers to give the hosts a 31-29 lead, and after junior Chris Orozco (Tenafly, N.J.) canned two free throws for LIU Post, Greene drilled a triple with 34 seconds left in the half to give Daemen a 34-31 halftime edge.
LIU Post scored the first four points of the second half, but the Wildcats then responded with a 10-0 run that gave the hosts their largest lead of the game at 44-35. The Pioneers chipped away at the lead and eventually cut it to two points, 53-51, following a layup by Williams midway through the second half. Daemen quickly regained an eight-point advantage, 59-51, but the Pioneers battled back once again and took a 60-59 lead after junior Akosa Maduegbunam (Hyde Park, Mass.) drained a jumper with 6:25 left.
The next two minutes featured three lead changes and two ties. The game was knotted at 66-66 when the Wildcats got a free throw from Greene and a three-pointer by Clifford for a 70-66 lead with just under four minutes to play. The teams traded baskets and Daemen held a 73-70 lead when a layup by Dyck gave the hosts a 75-70 lead with 49 seconds left. Torres made one-of-two free throws at the other end, before Dyck scored again with 31 seconds left—giving Daemen a 77-71 lead. Torres drained a triple to cut the lead in half, and after a Daemen turnover the Pioneers had a chance to tie the game. The Daemen defense forced a LIU Post turnover with 17 seconds left, but the hosts could not increase the lead after Greene was off the mark with two free throw attempts. LIU Post looked to Torres again, but his three-point attempt was off the mark and Hannah drained two free throws with :06 seconds left to secure the win.
Daemen shot a sizzling 68-percent (15-22) from the field in the second half and finished 25-for-48 (52%) from the field overall. Daemen was 8-of-21 from downtown and canned 21-of-32 free throws. LIU Post shot 38-percent (28-74) from the field overall and made just 3-of-17 three-point attempts. Both teams collected 39 total rebounds, but the Pioneers grabbed 17 offensive boards (compared to just 7 for Daemen) and the visitors posted a 21-11 edge in second-chance points. Daemen also turned the ball over a season-high 19 times (compared to just 8 for LIUP) and the Pioneers finished with a 19-5 edge in points off turnovers.
Daemen returns to action tomorrow (Jan. 24) when it hosts New York Tech in an ECC contest at 4 p.m.
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