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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
mbb at mercyhurst 11.27.16
Jaleo Wilkes scored a career-high 16 points today vs. Mercyhurst
61
Daemen DAEM 5-1
70
Winner Mercyhurst MER-M 3-2
Daemen DAEM
5-1
61
Final
70
Mercyhurst MER-M
3-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Daemen DAEM 28 33 61
Mercyhurst MER-M 33 37 70

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

Mercyhurst Knocks Wildcats From Ranks Of The Unbeaten

Poor Shooting Plagues Daemen In Nine-Point Road Loss

ERIE, Pa. - The Daemen College men's basketball team shot just 27-percent from the field in a 70-61 non-conference loss vs. Mercyhurst University at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center this afternoon.  The loss snapped Daemen's five-game winning streak, knocking the Wildcats (5-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten this season.

Mercyhurst, the defending Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference champions, improved to 3-2 on the season.  The Lakers, who have finished in the top-10 nationally in scoring defense five times during head coach Gary Manchell's first 13 seasons on the bench, limited Daemen to under 30-percent shooting for the first time since a 61-54 loss at Ave Maria University on January 5, 2013, some 104 games ago.

Daemen entered today's game having gotten off to its best start since beginning the 2012-13 season at 6-0.  The Wildcats were looking to make it a perfect three-for-three against PSAC opponents this week after defeating Edinboro University (90-79) and Slippery Rock University (69-57) on Wednesday and Friday, respectively.  But, wins against Mercyhurst have been elusive over the years, and the Lakers improved to 7-1 in the series during the modern era of Daemen basketball (from the 1986-87 season on) with today's win.

Senior center John Majors (Upper Marlboro, Md.), a 6-foot-6 transfer from Division I Presbyterian College, went off for season-highs of 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Lakers.  Majors, who came into today's contest averaging 7.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, canned 9-of-16 attempts from the field, and 6-of-8 from the charity stripe.

The Lakers also got double-figure scoring from senior guards Durrell McDonald (Henderson, Nev.) and Hi'an Hale (Kalamazoo, Mich.), as well as from freshman center Dontae Williams (Girard, Pa.).  McDonald, another Division I transfer from DePaul University, hit 8-of-10 at the free throw line as part of his 14-point outing.  Hale and Williams combined to shoot 6-for-7 from the field, totaling 12 points and three assists apiece.

Daemen was led in defeat by senior guard Jaleo Wilkes (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Polk State College) who came off the bench to score a career-high 16 points.  Wilkes shot just 1-of-7 from the field, but converted 14-of-15 shots at the free throw line.

Redshirt-senior guard Supreme Hannah (Rochester, N.Y./Eastridge) notched 15 points and six boards, while redshirt-sophomore wing Deion Hamilton (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) hit 3-of-4 from the three-point range as part of a 14-point effort.  Redshirt-senior forward Arif Mehmetaj (Jamaica, N.Y./SUNY Delhi) came off the bench for the third straight game and contributed a team-best nine rebounds.

After getting off to a miserable start that saw Mercyhurst rattle off the game's first nine points, Daemen got an old-fashioned three-point play by Hamilton to cap a 13-4 spurt to close out the first-half scoring, pulling the Wildcats within five points (33-28) at the break.  

Daemen would get within a one-possession deficit five times over the first eight minutes of the second half, before a Hamilton three-pointer knotted the score at 47-47 with 11:21 left to play.

Shortly thereafter, the Wildcats took the first lead of the contest (51-49) when Wilkes nailed a pair at the charity stripe with 9:19 to go, triggering a string of six lead changes over the next four-and-a-half minutes.  

A layup by Majors at the 4:45 mark spawned a brief but decisive 5-0 spurt that put the hosts on top for good.  His dunk at the 3:25 mark off a feed from McDonald put the Lakers ahead 59-55.  

Daemen cut the deficit in half following two more free throws from Wilkes at the 2:47 mark, but on the ensuing Mercyhurst possession, Majors corralled an offensive board and was subsequently fouled.  He went to the line and converted a pair to put it back to a four-point lead (61-57) with 2:25 to play.

After the Lakers' lead grew to as much as seven, Daemen cut it back to a three-point edge (64-61) with 35 ticks left when Mehmetaj made two free throws. But, Mercyhurst went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe and Daemen misfired on three field goal attempts and committed a turnover in the final 30 seconds.

The Lakers shot 43-percent from the field (19-of-44) in the game, while Daemen hit on just 15-of-56 shot attempts, including 6-of-20 from long distance.

In a physical affair, the two teams combined to be whistled for 53 fouls resulting in 69 total free throws.  Mercyhurst connected on 30-of-40 from the charity stripe - the first time Daemen has surrendered at least 40 free throw attempts to an opponent since Dominican College got up 43 attempts in their 98-93 overtime win over the Wildcats on January 7, 2014.  Daemen's 25-of-29 showing at the line (86-percent) helped the Wildcats overcome a 28-16 disparity in points in the paint to stay in the game.  The 25 made free throws are the most for Daemen in a loss since shooting 29-for-46 vs. St. Thomas Aquinas College on January 16, 2015.

Today's game marked the first of four straight on the road for Daemen.  The Wildcats open East Coast Conference play by visiting Long Island University Post on Wednesday, November 30 with tip-off slated for 6 p.m.

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