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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
sischo mbb vs mercy 12.15.17
86
Winner Daemen DAEM 5-4, 1-1 ECC
82
Mercy MERM 5-5, 1-2 ECC
Winner
Daemen DAEM
5-4, 1-1 ECC
86
Final
82
Mercy MERM
5-5, 1-2 ECC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Daemen DAEM 42 44 86
Mercy MERM 28 54 82

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

Wildcats Hold Off Mavericks To Even League Record

NYACK, N.Y. - Redshirt freshman center Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) poured in a career-high 27 points to lead the Daemen College men's basketball team to an 86-82 victory over Mercy College in an East Coast Conference game this evening at Bowman Gymnasium. Sischo, who connected on 12-of-14 field goal attempts, helped Daemen fend off a furious rally with some timely buckets as the home-standing Mavericks rallied from a 16-point deficit to pull within a single possession on four occasions in the final six minutes. 

Daemen snapped a two-game skid with the win, improving to 5-4 overall and 1-1 in league play this season. It also kept Daemen's unblemished record in the all-time series with Mercy intact at 10-0; the Wildcats' 10-game winning streak against the Mavericks is their third longest active streak against a single opponent (16-straight wins vs. Houghton College; 12-straight wins vs. Roberts Wesleyan College). Mercy, which has already more than doubled their win total from all of last season, fell to 5-5 overall and 1-2 in league play with tonight's loss. 

Sischo's production, which included a team-high seven rebounds, came in just 20 minutes of action. The 6-foot-9 greenhorn has now reached double figures five times while coming off the bench in all nine games this season. Tonight marked the second 20-point outing of his career, and it came after he scored just nine points total in the last three games.

The big fellow had a lot of help as well. Redshirt sophomore forward Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y.) tossed in 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-7 from three-point range. Redshirt sophomore guard Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y.) notched 14 points and redshirt senior forward Aleks Miljenovic (Belgrade, Serbia) chipped in with 10 points. Junior forward Giambattista Davis (Buffalo, N.Y.) knocked down a pair of three-pointers and totaled a career-high eight points in 11 minutes off the bench.

Mercy was paced by junior forward Dequawne Richards (Bronx, N.Y.) who scored 19 of his 28 points in the second half. Richards, who came into tonight's game among the league leaders in both scoring and rebounding, added a game-high 12 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season.

Senior forward Marko Kozul (Astoria, N.Y.) came off the bench to hit 10-of-13 field goal attempts as part of a 25-point effort for the Mavericks. Junior guard Chris Myers (Hackensack, N.J.) added 14 points and a game-high six assists ot the Mercy cause.

Miljenovic's basket on the first possession of the second half gave Daemen its largest lead of the game at 44-28. But, Mercy would score the next nine points to let their guests know they weren't going away, pulling within single digits for the first time since the 6:55 mark of the first half. 

Daemen responded with an 8-2 spurt of their own to re-establish a double-figure advantage (52-39). Sischo scored six points in the run.

Later in the period, a fast-break dunk by Kelvin Howard (Temple Hills, Md.) pulled the Mavericks within six points (62-56) at the 7:09 mark. But, Howard was whistled for a technical foul after hanging on the rim. Sarkis made the one technical free throw that was awarded, and Miljenovic scored in the paint on the ensuing possession to run Daemen's lead back to nine (65-56).

An old-fashioned three-point play by Kozul at the 5:29 mark brought Mercy within a single possession at 67-64. Daemen answered with a Redband three-pointer on the ensuing possession. 

Richards, who scored 15 of Mercy's final 24 points, brought the Mavericks within two points (78-76) with his jumper at the 2:54 mark. On the other end, Redband's three-pointer was off the mark, but Sischo was there to clean the glass and stick the ball up and in. 

The Daemen lead was three points (80-77) with under 90 seconds to play when junior guard Darius Garvin (Elmira, N.Y.) came up with perhaps the biggest play of the game. With Mercy in possession, Garvin forced a turnover and converted a fast-break layup in traffic to spread the Daemen lead back to two possessions. After another empty possession for Mercy, the Mavericks elected not to foul as the clock ticked under a minute to play. Sischo scored again on an offensive rebound opportunity with 25 seconds left to put Daemen ahead by seven (84-77), all but sealing the game.

Tonight's game marked the first of six-straight on the road for Daemen, and the result marked their first win away from the friendly confines of Lumsden Gymnasium this season (1-2 road record).

The Wildcats are back in action Sunday, December 17 when they visit nationally-ranked University of Bridgeport. The Purple Knights are the No. 1 ranked team in this week's D2SIDA East Region poll and the No. 19 ranked team in the D2SIDA national poll. 

 
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