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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
mbb vs st edwards 11.19.16
Aleks Miljenovic recorded the first 20-point game of his career today
64
St. Edward's SEU 2-2
74
Winner Daemen DAEM 3-0
St. Edward's SEU
2-2
64
Final
74
Daemen DAEM
3-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
St. Edward's SEU 29 35 64
Daemen DAEM 40 34 74

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

Men's Hoops Stays Unbeaten With 10-Point Win Over St. Edward's

Miljenovich Erupts For Career-Best 21 Points To Lead The Wildcats

AMHERST, N.Y. - A 10-4 run coming out of the final media timeout helped seal a 74-64 victory for Daemen College over visiting St. Edward's University in non-conference men's basketball action at Lumsden Gymnasium this afternoon.  

With the win, Daemen remains unbeaten this season (3-0) as head coach Mike MacDonald moves within one victory of 300 for his career.  MacDonald, who spent a combined 17 seasons as the head coach at Canisius College (1997-2006) and Medaille College (2006-14), has led Daemen to a 43-20 record since taking the reins prior to the 2014-15 season.  He has the Wildcats off to their first 3-0 start since the 2012-13 season.

The visiting Hilltoppers of SEU, affiliates of the Heartland Conference, made the nearly 1,600-mile trek from Austin, Texas for today's contest - their third in the last five days, including a three-point exhibition loss to Division I University of the Incarnate Word.  With the loss, the Hilltoppers drop to an even 2-2 this season.

Redshirt-junior forward Aleks Miljenovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Roberts Wesleyan College) had a breakout game in just his third outing for the Wildcats, scoring a game-high 21 points while adding a game-high 12 rebounds.  Miljenovic, who finished 8-of-13 from the field, hit on seven of his 10 first-half field goal attempts, totaling 15 points in the period to help Daemen establish a double-figure lead (40-29) at the break.  He's now reached double-figures in all three games this season after doing so once in his two seasons playing at Roberts Wesleyan College.

Redshirt-sophomore wing Deion Hamilton (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half, while redshirt-freshman forward Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia) shot 3-of-5 from behind the three-point arc and totaled 15 points for the first double-figure game of his career.  Sophomore guard Darius Garvin (Elmira, N.Y./Notre Dame) chipped in with eight points and a career-high 10 rebounds for the Wildcats.

Sophomore forward Cory McKendree (League City, Texas) paced the Hilltoppers with 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting.  He was backed up by senior forward Ethan Gilbert (Levander, Texas) who tossed in 13 points, six rebounds and four assists, and by junior guard Sean Watkins (Frisco, Texas) who posted nine points and a game-high five assists.

The Hilltoppers' leading scorer, senior guard Ramir Burton (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) was limited to just eight points - eight off his average - as the Niagara Falls High School product returned to his home region for the first time as a collegian.  Burton entered his senior season having led the Hilltoppers in scoring in each of the last two seasons, and totaling nearly 1,200 points for his career.

After a back-and-forth opening 10 minutes, Daemen embarked on an 18-6 run covering nearly eight minutes of action to turn a slim 20-17 lead in a 15-point bulge (38-23).  The Wildcats rattled off six unanswered to spark the spurt, getting a three-pointer from senior Alex Borges (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep), a layup from Garvin and a split of two free throws by redshirt-junior Xavier Long (Brooklyn, N.Y./Williamsburg Prep).  After a Hilltopper bucket interrupted the string, Daemen's Jesse Lalka (Tonawanda, N.Y./Tonawanda) corralled an offensive rebound and found a cutting Long who rose up for a monster jam.  Miljenovic would add a pair of buckets before Hamilton's trifecta at the 2:50 mark capped the run.

Burton, McKendree and Gilbert scored six quick points ot bring SEU back within nine, but Hamilton closed out the half with a drive and score to put Daemen back ahead by 11.  The Wildcats ended the half shooting 47-percent (16-for-34) with 10 assists and just two turnovers.

The Wildcats would go on to maintain a lead of at least seven points throughout the first 10 minutes of the second half.  Redband's three-pointer at the 10:25 mark put Daemen ahead 56-45.

But, SEU chipped away with an 11-4 spurt over the next four minutes to pull within two possessions (60-56) for the first time since the 10:26 mark of the first half.  Gilbert accounted for four points in the run which was capped by McKendree's lay-in at the 6:10 mark.

The teams traded baskets over the next two-and-a-half minutes and went to the under-four media timeout with Daemen leading 64-60 and 3:27 showing on the game clock.  On the SEU possession out of the timeout, Gilbert's three-point attempt was off the mark and Daemen went on to score the seven points.  A Hamilton layup was followed by a Redband jumper, and after an SEU turnover, Hamilton scored again off a feed from senior guard Supreme Hannah (Rochester, N.Y./Eastridge) - one of Hannah's five assists in the game - to re-establish a double-figure lead at 70-60 with 1:50 left.  After Garvin split a pair at the line with 1:14 to play, the Hilltoppers would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way as Miljenovic converted 3-of-4 freebies in the final minute to salt this one away.

Daemen ended the game shooting 44-percent (28-for-63) and won the rebound battled 42-34.  The Hilltoppers, who came in averaging 87.7 points per game, were limited to 43-percent shooting (26-for-61), including a chilly 5-of-21 (24-percent) from three-point range.

All three of Daemen's wins this season have come at the friendly confines of Lumsden Gymnasium where the Wildcats are 59-8 since the start of the 2011-12 season.

Daemen returns to action with its first road game of the season, visiting Edinboro University next Wednesday, November 23.  It'll be the first of three contests next week, all of which come against Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference opponents.

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