ORANGEBURG, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's basketball team raced to a 15-2 lead and held off a late rally in defeating host Dominican College 69-60 today in opening round action of the 10th Annual James Clancy Memorial Tournament held at Dominican's Hennessy Center.

The non-conference win today moves Daemen to 4-5 overall this season, while the host Chargers drop to 4-9.  Dominican, an affiliate of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, is now 0-4 against East Coast Conference teams this season as Daemen joined conference brethren Dowling College, Saint Thomas Aquinas College and Molloy College in defeating the Chargers this season.

Senior guard/forward Torrence Dyck (Rochester, N.Y./San Jacinto College) and freshman guard Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) led a balanced offensive attack for the Wildcats today.  Dyck connected on 7-of-15 field goal attempts to put up a game-high 16 points while adding eight rebounds and three assists.  Sarkis posted his third double-figure scoring game of the season, notching career-highs of 15 points and six rebounds.  He scored nine points in the final 3:39 to help preserve the victory.

Sophomore Nick Petrucelli (Hicksville, N.Y./Thomasville Prep) continued his solid overall play since entering the starting lineup five games ago, contributing nine points and six boards today.  Redshirt-junior Arif Mehmetaj (Jamaica, N.Y./SUNY Delhi) added eight points and seven boards while graduate student Ryan Grandits (Kenmore, N.Y./Medaille College) chipped in with seven points and a game-high nine rebounds.

Freshman forward Sayon Charles posted 15 points and seven rebounds for the hosts, who also got 11 points and seven assists from Joe Clinton.

Daemen came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, connecting on six of their first 10 shots from the field.  Conversely, Dominican was held without a field goal until the 14:32 mark of the opening half when Clinton hit a three-pointer.  That ended the hosts' 0-for-8 shooting stretch to open the game.  But by then, Daemen was already leading by double figures with Clinton's jumper making the score 15-5.

The Wildcat lead swelled to 17 points following a Petrucelli jumper at the 7:03 mark, making the score 28-11 and prompting the Chargers to take their second timeout of the opening frame.

Daemen led by 13 late in the period following a bucket from the low post by junior big man Alex Borges (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep), but Dominican scored the final four points of the half, including a layup by E.J. Smith as time expired to cut the deficit to nine (41-32).  Daemen enjoyed 53-percent shooting (17-for-32) in the period, compared to 36-percent (10-for-28) for the Chargers.

The Daemen lead stayed between eight and 13 points for the first 12 minutes of the second half before Dominican would put together a late surge.  After a dunk by Dyck at the 8:36 mark made it a 10-point Wildcat edge (59-49), Dominican would score the next seven points, bringing the score (59-56) as close as it had been since the opening minute.  Charles was key in the stretch, netting the first five points of the run, including an old-fashioned three-point play at the 6:22 mark.  A layup by Travis Cook at the 5:40 mark capped the run and prompted a timeout from Daemen coach Mike MacDonald.

Petrucelli split a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession to put it back to a two-possession lead (60-56).  The Daemen defense stiffened as Dominican misfired on their next seven field goal attempts.  Meanwhile, Sarkis hit back-to-back buckets for the Wildcats, including a corner three-pointer at the 2:01 mark to regain some breathing room for the visitors at 65-56.  Sarkis would go on to add four free throws in the final minute to keep the Chargers comeback hopes at bay, sealing the wire-to-wire win for Daemen.

Daemen looks to even its overall record tomorrow when they closeout their tournament participation by facing Felician University at 2 p.m.  Felician (4-7 overall), also of the CACC, fell in today's opening game to Franklin Pierce University, 81-63.

NOTES: Today's game marked the third time this season that Daemen did not hit the 80-point mark, and it's their first win while scoring in the 60's since defeating Concordia College (Ala.) 68-63 in the semifinals of last season's United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Division I National Championships on March 5, 2015...the win also continued Daemen's success against CACC opponents...since joining the ECC in 2013-14, the Wildcats are now 6-3 against CACC opponents, including a 2-1 mark this season...today's win was Daemen's second-straight in the all-time series against Dominican, and the Wildcats now lead that series 2-1...it avenged a 98-93 overtime loss on January 7, 2014 in the Wildcats' last trip to the Hennessy Center...Daemen was again without the services of Supreme Hannah (Rochester, N.Y./Eastridge) who missed his fifth-straight game as he continues to deal with an injury...Petrucelli has filled in admirably, averaging 9.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game while shooting 44-percent from the field since entering the starting lineup five games ago.