AMHERST, N.Y. - Paced by the career-high 30 points of Arif Mehmetaj (Jamaica, N.Y./SUNY Delhi) and 29 from Torrence Dyck (Rochester, N.Y./San Jacinto College), the highest scoring team in the East Coast Conference was it again tonight as Daemen College scored a 106-102 barn-burning victory over visiting Dowling College at Lumsden Gymnasium.

The Wildcats came out hotter than a pistol, connecting on 11-of-20 three-point attempts in the first half en route to a nine-point halftime lead (50-41) which they would not relinquish. Dowling made it interesting late in the game, but the Wildcats held on for their eighth-straight victory to improve to 13-6 overall and 9-3 in ECC play. The Golden Lions fall back to .500 overall (10-10) and to 6-7 in the league.

Dyck fueled the Wildcat offense in the opening frame, hitting 7-of-10 shots from the field, including 4-of-5 from three-point range, totaling 20 points in the period. In addition to Dyck's four first-half triples, the Wildcats got three apiece from Mehmetaj and Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) in the frame.

After Dyck wowed the crowd with back-to-back jams near the start of the second half, Mehmetaj took over, scoring 19 points in the period. For the game, Mehmetaj canned 10-of-15 field goal attempts, including 6-of-8 from long distance, and added 13 rebounds for his second-straight double-double (sixth of the season). Dyck also doubled up, posting 10 boards for his third double-double of the year.

Sarkis finished with 15 points and six assists for the Wildcats, while grad student Ryan Grandits (Kenmore, N.Y./Medaille College) came off the bench to post 13 point on 5-of-7 shooting for his second double-figure scoring game in the last three.

Evan Maxwell (East Islip, N.Y.) paced a potent Golden Lions squad with 25 points and six boards. Chris Millender (Coram, N.Y.), the league's second-leading scorer behind Dyck, was hampered with a bit of foul trouble and finished with 16 points to go with seven rebounds. Myron Hickman (Bronx, N.Y.) came off the bench to shoot 7-of-8 from the field, totaling 16 points, all of which came in the second half. And, Dowling got 15 bench points from Ali Mableton (Brentwood, N.Y.) while starter Vincent Abbandola (Bayport, N.Y.) reached double figures with 10.

All 15 lead changes happened in the first half. Daemen got a bucket by freshman guard Darius Garvin (Elmira, N.Y./Notre Dame) just before the under-eight-minute media timeout to knot the score at 32-all, sparking a 13-2 spurt which resulted in the final lead change of the game. Dyck had four points in the run which put the Wildcats ahead by nine (43-34) after his layup at the 2:41 mark. The Daemen defense stiffened out of that media timeout, allowing just nine points to their guests in the final seven minutes of the half.

Daemen raced out of the gates in the second and led by 15 after an alley-oop slam from Sarkis to Dyck at the 17:29 mark made the score 58-43. But, Dowling hung around and eventually wittled the deficit down to just four points (72-68) at the 10:01 mark.

The Wildcats responded by scoring eight of the next 10 points, getting four apiece from Sarkis and Grandits to re-establish a double-figure lead (80-70) at the 8:36 mark.

After Dowling cut the lead to six (84-78) on a Maxwell layup with 4:59 to go, Daemen exploded on a 14-3 spurt that appeared to put the game out of reach. Mehmetaj scored the first 12 points of the run which was capped with a Grandits layup at the 2:20 mark to make the score 98-81 in favor of the hosts.

But, Dowling refused to die as they embarked on an 11-1 run to pull within striking distance (99-92 with 46 seconds left). Daemen converted 7-of-10 free throws in the final minute to preserve the victory, never letting Dowling get within a single possession.
 

For the game, Dowling hammered Daemen in the paint (68-34), but the Wildcats outshot the guests from long range (15-of-32 for Daemen, 8-of-18 for Dowling) and from the charity stripe (23-of-33 for Daemen, 8-of-11 for Dowling). Daemen also turned 17 offensive rebounds into an 18-6 boon in second chance points, and led the backboard battle 46-31.

The output tonight marked Daemen's third-straight game hitting the century mark - the first time the Wildcats have done so since posting four-straight to start the 2012-13 season. And, Daemen's eight-game winning streak is the team's longest since posting 14-straight victories during the 2013-14 season.

The win tonight gives Daemen a sweep of the season series with Dowling. In fact, it's the third-straight year that Daemen has done so, improving to 6-0 all-time against the Golden Lions. Daemen scored a 97-80 victory at Dowling in mid-December.

Tonight's result sets the stage for a huge ECC showdown at Lumsden Gymnasium on Sunday (February 7) when University of Bridgeport comes to town. The Purple Knights (12-8, 9-3 ECC) scored a 77-70 win at Roberts Wesleyan College tonight to remain even with the Wildcats for second place in the ECC standings. Daemen will be looking for a split of the season series after dropping a 94-85 decision at UB in the team's final game before Christmas. Tip-off Sunday is slated for 3 p.m.

HOMETOWN HEROES: Tonight's game also marked Daemen's celebration of Hometown Heroes Night, paying tribute to U.S. military personnel from past, present and future. Military members and veterans were offered free admission into the game, and the Daemen Athletic Department collected donations and held raffles with the proceeds earmarked for the Wounded Warrior Project.

In addition, Daemen welcomed former men's basketball player Brian Pettit and his family back to campus for a special pre-game ceremony. Pettit, who played at Daemen from 1994-97 and 1998-99, began his career here after serving in the U.S. Army as a combat field medic from 1990-94. His military career included time spent on the frontlines of Operation Desert Storm, and he was honored for his service to our country tonight.