OAKDALE, N.Y. – Junior forward Arif Mehmetaj (Jamaica, N.Y./SUNY Delhi) connected on 5-of-7 three-point shots and scored a career-high 26 points to lead the Daemen College men's basketball team to a 97-80 victory over Dowling College here tonight. Daemen has now won two of its last three games and improved to 3-4 overall and 1-1 in the East Coast Conference. Dowling dropped its second-straight game and fell to 5-5 overall and 1-2 in the league.
Mehmetaj, who went 5-for-5 from downtown and equaled his career-high for points (24) in the first half, finished 9-of-17 from the field and also totaled 10 rebounds and three assists. It is the third career double-double for the Mehmetaj and the fifth time he has scored over 20 points this season. Senior Torrence Dyck (Rochester, N.Y./San Jacinto college), who entered the game averaging a league-high 20.5 points per game, scored 15 points in the second half and finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Dyck has also scored over 20 points five times this year.
Freshman guard Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) started his fourth-straight game and contributed a season-high 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while graduate student Ryan Grandits (Kenmore, N.Y./Medaille) added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Junior forward Chris Millender (Coram, N.Y.), who earned junior college all-America honors last year at Suffolk County Community College, led the Golden Lions with 32 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Millender connected on 11-of-19 shots overall and made 6-of-11 from downtown. Senior forward Evan Maxwell (East Islip, N.Y.) added 17 points and three blocks for the hosts.
The first 16 minutes of the first half was a back-and fourth affair that featured five ties and nine lead changes. Dowling held a 42-41 lead when a three-pointer by Mehmetaj sparked the Wildcats on a 14-2 run. A three-pointer by junior Jesse Lalka (Tonawanda, N.Y./Tonawanda) with 1:56 left before halftime capped the spurt and gave the visitors a 55-44 lead. Lalka scored five points during the run, while Mehmetaj netted seven. Dowling scored the final four points of the half and Daemen took a 55-48 lead into the break.
Daemen outscored the Wildcats 9-4 over the first five minutes of the second half and opened up a 12-point lead, 64-52, after Long Island native Nick Petrucelli (Hicksville, N.Y./Thomasville Prep) drained a jumper. The lead grew to 15 points, 72-57, after Dyck hit a jumper with 11:38 to play. Daemen's lead was 10 points (84-74) with 6:30 to play when the Wildcats secured the win with nine unanswered points. Sarkis scored the first three points of the decisive run, while Dyck netted the final six.
Daemen shot 53-percent (37-for-70) from the field and connected on 7-of-19 three-pointers. The Wildcats also canned 16-of-21 from the charity stripe. Dowling shot just 32-percent (11-for-34) from the field in the second half and finished 28-for-69 (41%) overall. The Golden Lions drained nine three-pointers in the first half alone, and finished 14-of-33 from downtown overall. Daemen dominated the boards, 51-39.
Daemen returns to action Sunday (Dec. 20) when it plays an ECC game at the University of Bridgeport. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.
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