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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
mbb at liu post 11.30.16
Arif Mehmetaj scored a team-high 15 points in tonight's overtime defeat
70
Daemen DAEM 5-2, 0-1 ECC
73
Winner LIU Post LIUPM 2-5, 1-0 ECC
Daemen DAEM
5-2, 0-1 ECC
70
Final
73
LIU Post LIUPM
2-5, 1-0 ECC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Daemen DAEM 40 25 5 70
LIU Post LIUPM 27 38 8 73

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

Daemen Goes Cold In Overtime Loss At LIU Post

BROOKVILLE, N.Y. - A nearly 11-minute drought between field goals proved costly as the Daemen College men's basketball team saw their double-figure lead evaporate down the stretch in a 73-70 overtime loss to host Long Island University Post tonight at the Pratt Recreation Center.  The game was the East Coast Conference season opener for both squads.

Daemen (5-2, 0-1 ECC) canned 14 three-pointers over the first 34 minutes of the contest, establishing as much as a 15-point bulge, before the proverbial lid got placed on the basket.  LIU Post (2-5, 1-0 ECC) forced the game into overtime with a 16-4 run to close the second stanza, knotting the game at 65-all.  The hosts would go on to outscore Daemen 8-5 in the extra session, limiting Daemen to 1-for-7 shooting in the period.

Senior Greg Dotson (Abington, Pa.), a second-team All-ECC pick last year, led the way for the Pioneers, posting his third double-double of the season with 24 points and 10 rebounds while playing the full 45 minutes.  The 6-foot-5 forward hit 8-of-12 shots from the field, and 5-of-7 from three-point range.  He was backed up by senior guard Jemal Mosley (Nanuet, N.Y.) who totaled 15 points, including a layup at the 1:39 mark of overtime that snapped a 68-68 tie, giving the Pioneers the lead for good.

Senior guard Jared Hall (South Orange, N.J.), a first-team All-ECC pick last year, added 12 points and four assists for the Pioneers.  Freshman forward Hall Elisias (Valley Stream, N.Y.) hauled in a game-high 13 rebounds, helping LIU Post to a 50-35 advantage on the backboard.

Daemen was paced by redshirt-senior forward Arif Mehmetaj (Jamaica, N.Y./SUNY Delhi) who converted 5-of-10 three-point attempts for 15 points.  Redshirt-sophomore wing Deion Hamilton (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) posted the first double-double of his career, scoring 14 points while adding a career-high 11 rebounds.  The Wildcats also got double-figure scoring (10 points) off the bench from senior guard Jaleo Wilkes (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Polk State College).

Redshirt-senior guard Supreme Hannah (Rochester, N.Y./Eastridge) chipped in with nine points, while redshirt-freshman forward Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia) added eight.

It was a 19-2 run in the final 4:05 of the first half that saw the Wildcats turn a four-point deficit (25-21) into a 13-point lead (40-27) at the break.  Daemen hit five three-pointers - by four different players - in the spurt which was capped by a trifecta from Wilkes with under 10 seconds remaining in the period.  The Wildcats shot 10-for-22 from three-point range in the first half.

Another three-pointer, this one from Mehmetaj early in the second half gave the Wildcats their largest lead of the game at 45-30.  

Later, a fastbreak layup by Hamilton at the 7:26 mark put Daemen up 61-49.  That's when the Pioneers got to work.  Mosley hit back-to-back triples to bring the Pioneers within six (61-55) before Redband answered with a triple at the 6:20 mark to temporarily stem the tide.  Two more Pioneer three-pointers followed as Dotson and junior guard Kyle McLeggan (Jersey City, N.J.) got in on the act, pulling the hosts within three (64-61).  

LIU Post would finally even things up (65-65) on a drive-and-score by Hall with 32 ticks on the clock.  Following a timeout, the Wildcats held for the final shot, but Hamilton's corner three-pointer was off the mark - the eighth straight missed field goal for the Wildcats in the final six minutes of the stanza.

In the extra session, Elisias split a pair at the charity stripe with 3:59 to go, giving the Pioneers their first lead in over 24 minutes worth of action.  Daemen would go back ahead 68-66, but shot 2-of-6 from the free throw line over four possessions to do so.  Mosley's two freebies at the 2:16 mark pulled the Pioneers even again, and after a missed Daemen jumper, he drove and scored again to boost LIU Post to a two-point lead (70-68).  

After Elisias (Valley Stream, N.Y.) split another pair of free throws to put the hosts ahead by three (71-68), Hannah pulled the Wildcats back within one on a driving layup with 17 seconds remaining.  The bucket was Daemen's first since Redband's three-pointer at the 6:20 mark of the second half, ending an 0-for-13 drought, and it came after Mehmetaj saw three-pointers rim out on the two previous Daemen possessions.

But on the ensuing possession, Dotson got free in the back of Daemen's full court press, taking a long pass for a wide open dunk.  The Wildcats raced the ball back down the floor but Hannah's desperation three-point attempt was off the mark as time expired.

Daemen shot just 34.9 percent for the game (22-for-63), including a chilly 8-of-26 in the final 25 minutes.  The guests launched a season-high 40 shots from long distance, shooting 35 percent from there for the game. 

The hosts weren't much more proficient at shooting the ball, finishing at 36.8 percent from the field (25-for-68), but that included a 12-for-28 showing (and 6-of-12 from three-point range) in the pivotal second half.

The loss was Daemen's second straight after opening the season at 5-0.  The Wildcats were seeking their third 1-0 start to ECC play in the last four seasons.

It also snapped a modest two-game winning streak in overtime games for the Wildcats. Daemen's last overtime loss was the infamous 85-84 decision at the hands of N.Y. Institute of Technology on January 24, 2015 that snapped the Wildcats' 44-game home winning streak.

The Pioneers snapped a two-game skid with the win.  LIU Post was picked second in the ECC preseason poll despite a roster that features just four returners and 10 freshmen.

Daemen looks to even up its conference mark when facing the University of the District of Columbia in our nation's capital this Saturday, Decemeber 3.  Tip-off is slated for 3 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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