AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's basketball team went through its final exhibition tune-up for the 2015-16 season tonight, suffering an 87-68 defeat versus University at Buffalo before 3,257 spectators at Alumni Arena.  The game pitted the Division I Bulls, defending champs of the Mid-American Conference, against the Division II Wildcats of Daemen, in a David vs. Goliath matchup.
 
After leading by nine at the half (40-31), UB rode the hot shooting of freshman guard C.J. Massinburg in the second half to win its exhibition opener.  Massinburg caught fire and scored 22 of his 25 points in the second half, knocking down seven of his nine field goal attempts, including a perfect four-of-four on three-pointers, in the period.
 
Willie Connor, a junior college transfer also making his UB debut, tossed in 18 points in 29 minutes of action, shooting 8-of-12 from the floor.  The backcourt production of Massinburg and Connor was key for the Bulls as the Daemen defense bottled up sophomore phenom Lamonte Bearden (4 points, 5 assists), a preseason All-MAC selection.
 
Daemen got double-figure scoring from the trio of Torrence Dyck (Rochester, N.Y./San Jacinto College), Arif Mehmetaj (Jamaica, N.Y./SUNY Delhi) and Ryan Grandits (Kenmore, N.Y./Medaille College).  Dyck netted a team-high 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting, while Mehmetaj added 18 points and five boards.  Grandits chipped in with 11 points and a game-high three steals.
 
Daemen led 13-12 after the first eight minutes of the ballgame, getting seven quick points from Dyck.  But, a dunk from UB's Nick Perkins at the 11:48 mark gave the hosts a 14-13 lead, a lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the contest.
 
Still, Daemen kept things within striking distance throughout the first half.  Trailing 32-22, Daemen used a 7-0 spurt to cut the UB lead to three at 32-29.  Junior guard Jesse Lalka (Tonawanda, N.Y./Tonawanda) opened the run with a three-pointer and went on to split a pair of free throws.  Lalka's missed freebie caromed straight to Mehmetaj who put it back in during the spurt.
 
But, UB would go on to score seven of the next nine points, closing the half on a triple by Connor.
 
Mehmetaj opened the second half with a three-pointer for the Wildcats, cutting the UB lead to six (40-34).  But, Daemen would get no closer for the remainder of the game.  Massinburg answered with a triple of his own, sparking his fine second-half play and the Bulls never looked back.
 
Two Grandits free throws at the 10:44 mark would make the score 60-50 in favor of UB.  That's when the Bulls went on a 16-2 run, extending to its largest lead of the night at 76-52 following a three-pointer from big man Nick Perkins (12 points, 8 rebounds) at the 7:46 mark.  Massinburg accounted for 11 points in the spurt, knocking down a pair of triples, converting an old-fashioned three-point play and adding two more from the charity stripe.
 
It was all over but for the shouting at that point.  UB maintained at least a 19-point cushion for the remainder of the contest.
 
Daemen shot just 37-percent from the field (23-for-63), including 26-percent from long range (6-for-23).  The Wildcats hurt themselves from the free throw line as well, knocking down just 16-of-29 attempts (55-percent).
 
UB connected on 56-percent of its field goal attempts (34-for-61), and shot 9-for-21 from three-point range (43-percent), including 6-of-10 shooting from distance in the second half.  The Bulls also held a commanding 48-35 edge on the backboard.
 
Although it was an exhibition, Daemen was bidding for its second win over a Division I team in as many years.  The Wildcats knocked off Canisius College, 83-81, in an epic, overtime thriller on November 11, 2014.
 
Daemen tips off its 2015-16 regular season by hosting the ECC-CACC Challenge next weekend, taking on Wilmington University on November 13 at 8 p.m. in the opener.