Skip To Main Content

Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
mbb vs caldwell 11.11.16
Darius Garvin's slam dunk to end the first half was part of a pivotal 16-0 run for the Wildcats
64
Caldwell CALM 0-1
75
Winner Daemen DAEM 1-0
Caldwell CALM
0-1
64
Final
75
Daemen DAEM
1-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Caldwell CALM 30 34 64
Daemen DAEM 37 38 75

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Mike Miranto, Associate A.D. For Communications

Wildcats Get Defensive In Season-Opening Win

Hamilton Scores 18 As Daemen Wins Season Opener For 15th Straight Season

AMHERST, N.Y. - A 16-0 run that spanned the end of the first half and beginning of the second paved the way for Daemen College to emerge victorious here tonight 75-64 over Caldwell University in non-conference men's basketball action on the opening day of the ECC-CACC Challenge presented by Western New York Knee and Orthopedic Surgery PC.  The conference challenge event pits teams from the East Coast Conference against their counterparts from the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference on the opening weekend of the college basketball season.

The win marked Daemen's 15th consecutive in a regular season opener, a streak that's been intact now since the start of the 2002-03 season.  The Wildcats are now 4-1 all-time at this season-opening event which is in its third year, while also improving to 8-3 overall against CACC opponents since the 2013-14 season.

Caldwell, whose roster features nine players who are either freshmen or sophomores, falls to 0-1 with the loss this evening in their first game against Daemen since January 15, 2000.  The Wildcats own a 3-0 edge in the all-time series.

Redshirt-sophomore guard/forward Deion Hamilton (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) led the way with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, while redshirt-senior guard Supreme Hannah (Rochester, N.Y./Eastridge) made his return to the lineup and posted 14 points and a team-high four assists.  Hannah, who logged 33.4 minutes per game in 2014-15, was limited to just four games last season before shutting down with an injury.  The game tonight marked his first action since December 1, 2015.

Redshirt-junior forward Aleks Miljenovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Roberts Wesleyan College) made his Daemen debut with 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting, and sophomore guard Darius Garvin (Elmira, N.Y./Notre Dame) stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, a team-high six boards, two assists, two steals and a block.  Miljenovic, who redshirted last season after transferring from rival Roberts Wesleyan College, last played in 2014-15, appearing in all 26 contests and posting averages of 2.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per game for the Redhawks.

Freshman forward Ruud Lutterman (Dalern, Netherlands) made his stateside debut with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting for the Cougars.  Fellow freshman Vaughn Covington (Sicklerville, N.J.) matched Lutterman with 14 points, while classmate Daan Vianen (Nieuwegein, Netherlands) reached double figures with 10.

The visitors road hot shooting in the early going to lead by as many as seven points (20-13), holding the lead for essentially the first 11 minutes of the ballgame.  Daemen responded with a dunk and three-pointer by senior big man Alex Borges (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) - just the second trifecta of his career - before a breakaway slam by Hannah gave the Wildcats their first lead (23-22) at the 8:52 mark.

Lutterman's tip-in re-established a five-point edge (30-25) for the Cougars with 6:30 left in the half before Daemen rattled off 12 unanswered to end the period with a 37-30 lead.  Miljenovich scored on back-to-back layups to spark the run.  Then, he found redshirt-freshman Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia) for a layup at the 3:11 mark to put the hosts ahead by one (31-30).  Freshman guard Breon Harris (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Falls) knocked down a three-pointer and Garvin capped the period with a double-clutch, two-handed slam in transition which brought the standing-room-only crowd to its feet.

Held without a point in the final six-and-a-half minutes of the stanza, Caldwell went 0-for-7 from the field and committed six turnovers in that span.

Redband converted a pair of freebies to open the second half and Hannah's jumper at the 18:21 mark capped the 16-0 spurt, putting the Wildcats ahead by double figures (41-30).

Caldwell would get back to a single-digit deficit just twice in the remainder of the game.  Lutterman battled for an offensive board and put home his own two-handed dunk at the 17:22 mark to make the score 43-34, but the Cougars would get no closer.

Freshman forward Eric Johnson-Alford (Clifton, N.J.) split a pair from the charity stripe at the 6:33 mark to get the Cougars within 10 (53-43), but Daemen responded with back-to-back threes from Hannah and Hamilton to push the lead back to 16 (59-43).  The Wildcat advantage would swell to 18 points following Hannah's two free throws with under a minute to play.

After going to the free throw line just twice in the first half, Daemen made good on 19-of-20 attempts from the charity stripe in the second.  The Wildcats shot just 7-of-28 from long range (25-percent) and 24-for-58 from the field (41-percent), but limited the Cougars to 39-percent shooting from the field (22-for-56), including a 9-of-29 showing (31-percent) from deep.  

Daemen hauled in 37 rebounds compared to the Cougars' 30, and 11 of the Wildcats' 16 assists came in the opening 20 minutes.  The 64 points allowed by Daemen today are the fewest since an 81-64 league win over Molloy College last January 22.

Another day brings another challenge for the Wildcats as they'll take on the CACC's Dominican College in tomorrow's tournament capper.  The Chargers scored a 74-66 win over Roberts Wesleyan College in the opening game today at Lumsden Gymnasium.  Big man Gerrel Irvin (Bay Shore, N.Y.) scored 22 points and hauled in 15 board to lead Dominican.  RWC's Manny Joseph (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting and corralled eight boards in a losing effort for his Redhawks' debut. 

RWC battles Caldwell in tomorrow's opener at 2 p.m., followed by the Wildcats and Chargers at 4 p.m.  Daemen and Dominican have met in each of the last three seasons with Daemen winning the last two, including a 69-60 road win last season.

For breaking news and continuing coverage of the Daemen men's basketball team, follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenMBB on Twitter.

WATCH GAME HIGHLIGHTS:



WATCH MIKE MACDONALD'S POST-GAME COMMENTS:
Print Friendly Version