UNIONTOWN, Pa. – Senior Kyle Clifford (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Francis) scored 22 of his career-high 25 points in the first half and classmate Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) totaled 16 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks to lead the Daemen College men's basketball team to a 68-63 victory over Concordia College-Alabama here tonight in semifinal round action of the 2015 United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Division 1 Tournament.
The top-seeded Wildcats improved to 20-10 on the year and will face either second-seeded Berea College or third-seeded Rochester College in the championship game Saturday (Mar. 7) at 12:30 p.m. The tournament is being hosted by Penn State Fayette. Fourth-seeded Concordia, which suffered a loss to Daemen in the tournament quarterfinals last year, had its 17-game winning streak snapped and closes out the year with a 20-8 record.
Daemen has now reach 20 wins for the fourth-straight season and ninth time over the past 13 seasons. The Wildcats, who lost to Rochester in the 2013 championship game, will be looking to claim their first-ever USCAA national title.
Complete tournament results and box scores can be found HERE.
Clifford connected on 6-of-7 three-pointers in the first half and tied the USCAA Tournament record for three-pointers in a game with seven. He finished 7-of-10 from downtown and also contributed four rebounds and two assists. It was just last week that Clifford made 6-of-8 three-pointers and scored 24 points in a win over rival Roberts Wesleyan. Beverly, the USCAA Division 1 Player of the Year, connected on 6-of-8 shots and made 4-of-7 free throws. The 12 rebounds leaves him just four rebounds shy of becoming just the second player in program history to total 1,000 career rebounds. The 16 points gives him 601 for the season and makes him just the fifth player in program history to score 600 or more points in a season, and the first since the 1990-91 season. It marked the 20th double-double of the season (and 47th of his career) for Beverly, who also scored in double figures for the 60th-straight game.
Four of Daemen's starters scored in double figures. Junior Supreme Hannah (Rochester, N.Y./Eastridge) hit four clutch free throws down the stretch and finished with 15 points, six assists and two steals. Senior Jordan Greene (Fort Edward, N.Y./South Glens Falls) scored eight of his 10 points in the second half and also totaled three assists and two steals. He drained two three-pointers, including a huge one with just under two minutes left, and has now totaled a team-high 73 three-pointers this year and 199 triples for his career. He is looking to become just the fourth player in program history to register 200 or three-pointers.
Concordia also had four starters finish in double figures. Sophomore forward Dennis Miles (Meridian, Miss.), a first-team USCAA All-America selection, led the way with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore forward Tedarius Neely (Memphis, Tenn.) added 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Daemen went scoreless for the first 3:39 of the game and fell behind 10-2 after Concordia got a layup from Miles four minutes into the game. Clifford then drilled five three-pointers and scored 17 points during a 19-10 Daemen run. Clifford's layup with 9:05 left in the half capped the run and gave the Wildcats a 21-19 lead. The rest of the half featured five lead changes and neither team led by more than three points. Clifford's sixth triple of the half gave the Wildcats a 32-30 lead with 1:12 left before intermission and Daemen took a 32-31 lead into the break.
Daemen outscored the Hornets 14-6 over the first five minutes of the second half and the Wildcats later took their largest lead of the game, 53-42, following a fast-break dunk by Beverly with 12:06 to play. Concordia regrouped following a timeout and cut the lead to four points, 55-51, following layup by Miles with 6:28 to play. Neither team scored again until Beverly hit two free throws with 4:48 left. Concordia later made it a one possession game, 61-58, following a three-point play by Neely with 2:15 to play, but Greene answered with a clutch three-pointer from the top of the key at the other end. The Hornets cut the lead to four with two free throws with 1:16 remaining, but Hannah put the lead back to six, 66-60, with two free throws with 0:34 left. Miles drained a three-pointer seven seconds later, but Hannah secured the win with two more from the charity stripe with 0:17 left.
Daemen shot 48-percent (11-for-23) in the first half and finished 23-for-54 (43%) from the field overall. The Wildcats connected on 10-of-24 from long range and made 12-of-15 free throws. Concordia connected on 34-percent (24-for-70) of its shots overall and went just 4-of-17 from behind the arc. CCA made 11-of-13 free throws. The Hornets controlled the glass (46-34) and posted a 34-24 advantage in points in the paint. CCA grabbed 24 offensive rebounds, but managed just a 16-15 edge in second-chance points.
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