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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
mbb vs rwc 1.18.17
Darius Garvin led Daemen to its fifth ECC win of the season with 19 points tonight
85
Roberts Wesleyan RWCM 2-14, 1-7 ECC
88
Winner Daemen DAEM 11-6, 5-4 ECC
Roberts Wesleyan RWCM
2-14, 1-7 ECC
85
Final
88
Daemen DAEM
11-6, 5-4 ECC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Roberts Wesleyan RWCM 28 57 85
Daemen DAEM 43 45 88

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

Daemen Staves Off Upset-Minded Redhawks

Wildcats Win 11th Straight Game In Series With Roberts Wesleyan

AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's basketball team saw five players hit for double-figure scoring during tonight's 88-85 victory over upset-minded Roberts Wesleyan College in an East Coast Conference battle at Lumsden Gymnasium.  Daemen has now won 11 consecutive meetings, and 18 of the last 19 against their long-time rivals from Rochester.

The win pushes Daemen to 11-6 overall this season, having won six of their last eight ballgames.  At 5-4 in ECC play, Daemen currently sits in a tie for fifth place in the league standings.  The Wildcats, who were coming off a gut-wrenching loss at the buzzer to Molloy College last Saturday, have now won five of their last six ECC contests.

The Redhawks dropped to 2-14 overall and 1-7 in the league.  The loss marked the continuation of a pair of unfortunate trends for the Redhawks who are now just 2-8 in games decided by eight points or less, and 0-11 when surrendering 80 or more points to their opponents this season.

Sophomore guard Darius Garvin (Elmira, N.Y./Notre Dame) paced a balanced scoring effort for the Wildcats, finishing with 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting (3-of-5 from three-point range).  Garvin connected on all six of his free throw attempts and added six rebounds, three assists and three steals as well.  

Redshirt-senior forward Arif Mehmetaj (Jamaica, N.Y./SUNY Delhi) was strong again for Daemen tonight, collecting 15 points and a game-high five assists.  Mehmetaj hit on 5-of-10 shots from the field tonight, including 2-of-4 from three-point range, and he's now averaging an even 17.0 points and shooting 51.8 percent from the field in five games this month.  Fellow redshirt-senior Supreme Hannah (Rochester, N.Y./Eastidge) extended his double-figure scoring streak to 10 straight games.  He finished with 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds this evening.  

Off the bench, Daemen got 12 points from redshirt-sophomore wing Deion Hamilton (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena), and 10 more from senior guard Jaleo Wilkes (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Polk State College).  Redshirt-junior forward Aleks Miljenovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Roberts Wesleyan College), playing in his first game against his former team, narrowly missed double figures with nine points.  The trio of Wildcat reserves combined to shoot 13-for-21 from the field.

Junior guard/forward Manny Joseph (Brooklyn, N.Y.) paced a quartet of double-figure scorers for RWC with 18 points, 14 of which came in the second half.  Freshman guard Isaiah Lewis (Churchville, N.Y.) and junior center Malik Dare (Cohoes, N.Y.) each scored 13 second-half points; Lewis finished with 15 in the game.  Junior guard Tristan Brown (Elmont, N.Y.) posted a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) despite shooting 0-for-7 from the charity stripe.

After Daemen jumped out to a 10-0 lead, prompting an RWC timeout just over three minutes into the game, it appeared as if Daemen would run away with things.  But, as would become the theme of the game, the Redhawks hung around and pulled within one (12-11) after scoring 11 of the next 13 points in the game.

The Wildcat lead was four points (17-13) when Garvin single-handedly put Daemen in firm control by nailing back-to-back-to-back three-pointers on three successive possessions.  The last of Garvin's long-range barrage came at the 6:58 mark and it put the Wildcats ahead 26-13, prompting another 30-second timeout by the guests.

From there, the Daemen lead never got below double figures for the remainder of the half.  The Wildcats, who tickled the nets with 8-for-10 three-point shooting in the period, took a 43-28 lead into the locker room at the half.

The lead swelled to as many as 18 points in the second half before the Redhawks began their climb back into contention.  Hamilton's layup at the 3:10 mark made the score 82-67, but RWC would outscore Daemen 13-3 over the next two minutes, pulling within five points (85-80) with just over a minute remaining.  Lewis sparked the RWC rally, accounting for seven points in the spurt, including his layup at the 1:06 mark which brought the Redhawks as close as they had been since Garvin's first-half shooting exhibition.

Daemen came up empty on its next possession, giving RWC the chance to make it a one-possession game, but Garvin came up with the biggest defensive play of the game, intercepting a pass in transition.  He was subsequently fouled and converted both free throws with 20 ticks left to basically salt the game away.  Zack Panebianco (Jamestown, N.Y.), who came in as the Redhawks' leading scorer, hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to bring RWC within three points at the game's conclusion.  He finished with nine points after coming in averaging over 17 points per game in RWC's last nine.

Daemen cooled off considerably from long distance in the second half, shooting 1-for-10 in the period, but the Wildcats still enjoyed 50.8 percent shooting overall for the game.  The Wildcats converted 19-of-25 attempts at the charity stripe (76 percent), compared to a paltry 18-for-33 showing (47.7 percent) for the Redhawks.  RWC came into the contest leading the league in free throw attempts per game (23.9), but also ranking 10th in free throw percentage (60.7 percent).

The Wildcats are now 9-1 at home this season, and 65-9 since the start of the 2011-12 season.  

With the first round of league play now under their belt, the Wildcats begin the second round by hosting league-leading University of the District of Columbia this Saturday, Jan. 21.  The Firebirds (10-7, 7-2 ECC) suffered just their second ECC loss of the season this evening, falling 80-77 at the University of Bridgeport, but they remain in a tie atop the league standings.  UDC scored a 90-84 overtime win over the Wildcats in the teams' first meeting this season.  Tip-off Saturday is slated for 3 p.m.
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