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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
hamilton mbb vs edinboro 2
72
Daemen DAEM 5-5, 1-2 ECC
84
Winner Bridgeport BPTM 9-2, 3-1 ECC
Daemen DAEM
5-5, 1-2 ECC
72
Final
84
Bridgeport BPTM
9-2, 3-1 ECC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Daemen DAEM 33 39 72
Bridgeport BPTM 42 42 84

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

Late Rally Lifts Nationally-Ranked Bridgeport Past Daemen

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - A 16-2 run over the final three-and-a-half minutes lifted the University of Bridgeport men's basketball team to an 84-72 win over Daemen College in East Coast Conference action at Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium today.

Daemen, which was contending for its first road win in the series since the 2013-14 season, held a 70-67 lead with just under four minutes to play. But, the normally sure-handed Wildcats, who entered the game averaging an ECC-low 13.3 turnovers per game, committed five turnovers down the stretch, resulting in eight points for the Purple Knights. Turnovers were a problem throughout the game as UB forced the Wildcats into 24 miscues which led to 36 points for the hosts.

Bridgeport, which was coming off an 85-82 loss to Roberts Wesleyan College on Friday evening, entered the game as the No. 1 ranked team in the latest D2SIDA East Region poll, and ranked 19th in the D2SIDA national poll. The Purple Knights improved to 9-2 overall and 3-1 in league play with the win today. Daemen, which was looking for a weekend sweep after their 86-82 win over Mercy College on Friday, fell to 5-5 overall and 1-2 in league play.

Freshman forward/center Hashem Abbas (Nahlus, Palestine) came off the bench to lead the Purple Knights with 17 points in 19 minutes of work. Abbas, who had just 38 total points in four games played this season coming into today, canned 7-of-9 field goal attempts and shared team-high honors with five rebounds as well.

Senior guard Sharif Cobb (Harlem, N.Y.) also played a starring role for UB, scoring seven of his 16 points in the game-clinching run. Junior guard D'Vonne Trumbo (Pilesgrove, N.J.) and senior guard Sam Joseph (Brooklyn, N.Y.) also reached double figures, scoring 12 and 10 points, respectively. Frontcourt starters Bakary Camara (Harlem, N.Y.) and Vakas Iqbal (Staten Island, N.Y.) combined for 15 points and nine boards.

Redshirt junior wing Deion Hamilton (Rochester, N.Y.) led the Wildcats with a game-high 21 points. Hamilton shot 9-for-13 from the floor while going reaching the 20-point plateau for the third time this season (second in the last three games) and the sixth time in his career. 

Daemen also got double-figure scoring from redshirt sophomores Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y.) and Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y.) who notched 12 and 11 points, respectively, as well as from redshirt freshman center Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) who scored 10 points off the bench. Redband and Sarkis combined for five of Daemen's three-pointers in the game.

Sischo's tip-in at the 5:32 mark gave Daemen a 32-29 lead, but Bridgeport closed the period with a 13-1 run to take a 42-29 lead into halftime. Turnovers were again the catalyst as UB forced five Daeme miscues which resulted in eight points during the spurt.

Bridgeport extended to an 11-point lead (46-35) early in the second half on a layup by Joseph. But, Daemen battled back with a 16-6 run to pull within one point (52-51) on Redband's fast-break layup at the 14:46 mark. 

Daemen would later regain the lead at 62-61 when Aleks Miljenovic (Belgrade, Serbia) hit a pair of free throws in the midst of a 10-3 Wildcat run. Hamilton capped the spurt just moments later with a layup, but Trumbo buried a triple at the 7:05 mark to knot the score at 64-all. After an empty Daemen possession, Iqbal canned a pair of freebies to re-establish a lead for the hosts.

Sischo's layup at the 5:13 mark but Daemen back on top (68-67), and Garvin's layup at the 3:42 mark made it a three-point Daemen lead. 

Following a timeout, Trumbo found Cobb who knocked down his only three-pointer of the game to even things up at 70-70 with 3:16 to play. Just 20 seconds later, after a Daemen turnover, UB had the lead again Trumbo dished off for an easy lay-in by Abbas. 

Daemen went the next five possessions without scoring. A controversial charge call with 1:24 remaining negated a Hamilton layup that would have cut the UB lead to four (UB led 76-70 at the time of the call). Bridgeport went a perfect 8-for-8 at the charity stripe over the final 1:07 to seal the deal.

Today's contest was Daemen's last before the NCAA-mandated holiday break. The Wildcats resume their 2017-18 season with back-to-back non-conference road games at St. Michael's College (Dec. 30) and the College of St. Rose (Dec. 31). 
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