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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
sarkis mbb vs edinboro 11.28.17 (1)
Jay Sarkis has reached double figures in four of the last five games
78
Daemen College DAEM 4-3
81
Winner Lake Erie College LECM 4-3
Daemen College DAEM
4-3
78
Final
81
Lake Erie College LECM
4-3
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Daemen College DAEM 43 35 78
Lake Erie College LECM 33 48 81

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

Wildcats Upended Thanks To Late Storm Flurry

PAINESVILLE, Ohio - A 6-0 run in the final minute of the game lifted Lake Erie College to an 81-78 win over Daemen College in non-conference men's basketball action this afternoon at the Osborne Family Athletic and Wellness Center.

An old-fashioned three-point play by LEC's Gabe Kynard (Toledo, Ohio) with 16 seconds remaining turned a two-point deficit into a 79-78 lead. Daemen came up empty on the ensuing possession as Jeff Redband's (Batavia, N.Y.) pull-up jumper at the elbow rimmed out. LECs Erron James (Westerville, Ohio) was fouled as he pulled in the defensive rebound, and with the Storm in the bonus, James connected on a pair of free throws with 2.7 seconds remaining. After a timeout and needing to go the length of the floor, Daemen was unable to get off a game-tying shot attempt as James came away with a steal to seal the deal. 

Lake Erie, a member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, rallied back from double-figure deficits twice in the contest. The Storm improved to 4-3 overall while remaining unbeaten (4-0) at home and matching their win total from all of last season (4-24 record in 2016-17). Daemen dropped to 4-3 overall and 0-2 on the road this season.

Kynard, a sophomore guard, led the way for Lake Erie with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Fellow sophomore Jordan Humphrey (Columbus, Ohio) added 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 2-of-3 from downtown. The Kynard-Humphrey duo combined for 27 of Lake Erie's 48 second-half points.

Senior forward Michael Morris (New Palestine, Ind.) came off the bench to can 6-of-10 field goal attempts, including 4-of-7 from three-point land, to notch a season-high 17 points in just 19 minutes. Morris accounted for half of LEC's scoring off the bench as the Storm reserves outscored their Wildcat counterparts 34-8.

Redband paced a quartet of double-figure scorers for Daemen with 18 points. The 6-foot-7 redshirt sophomore shot 6-of-9 from the field and 4-of-6 from three-point range. Redshirt junior wing Deion Hamilton (Rochester, N.Y.) added 17 points, five rebounds and three assists. Redshirt sophomore guard Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y.) and junior guard Darius Garvin (Elmira, N.Y.) chipped in with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Garvin added a game-high seven rebounds. The Wildcats' fifth starter - redshirt senior forward Aleks Miljenovic (Belgrade, Serbia) - contributed nine points and game-high four assists. All five Daemen starters played at least 33 minutes, and no reserve played more than 10.

After surrendering the first two baskets of the game, Daemen used a 14-3 run to seize control. Hamilton, who accounted for seven points in the run, and Sarkis hit back-to-back three-pointers to prompt a Lake Erie timeout just six minutes into the game. 

The Daemen lead extended to double digits as the Wildcats embarked on an 12-3 run. The spurt was capped by back-to-back layups from sophomore guard Breon Harris (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) which put the Wildcats ahead 28-16. Daemen would go on to lead by as many as 13 points in the period before taking a 43-33 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

With Daemen leading 47-35 early in the second half, Lake Erie stormed back with a 17-3 run of their own to take a 52-50 lead. Humphrey nailed a pair of three-pointers and accounted for seven points in the spurt which was capped by Kynard's lead-changing layup at the 12:48 mark and his split of two free throws just 19 seconds later. Daemen managed just one field goal - a layup by Hamilton - during the Lake Erie run which spanned five-and-a-half minutes.

Daemen regained the lead a short time later as Sarkis' jumper at the 10:29 mark evened the score (54-54) and sparked a 13-3 run. Back-to-back jumpers by Garvin (three-pointer) and Redband capped the spurt which re-established Daemen's double-figure lead at 67-57 with under six minutes to play.

The Daemen lead was still 10 points (71-61) with just over four minutes to play when Lake Erie mounted another comeback. Aided by three consecutive Daemen turnovers, the Storm rattled off 10-straight points in just 56 seconds to knot the score once again. Humphrey had back-to-back steals and layups in the flurry.

The teams traded baskets down the stretch and there was no more than a two-point separation until Hamilton converted an old-fashioned three-point play at the 1:11 mark to put Daemen ahead 78-75. But that would be the final points Daemen would score in the contest.

The Lake Erie win came despite surrendering 54.7 percent field-goal shooting (29-for-53) and 50 percent three point shooting (8-for-16) to the Wildcats. Daemen also shot well from the charity stripe, connecting on 12-of-14 attempts (85.7%). The hosts outscored Daemen from the three-point line where they shot 9-for-22 (40.9%) and from the charity stripe where they were 16-of-23 (69.6%).

Daemen committed 12 second-half turnovers which resulted in 17 points for the Storm. Lake Erie enjoyed full-game advantages in points off turnovers (22-11), second-chance points (14-7) and points in the paint (38-32). 

Today's game marked Daemen's final tune-up opportunity before beginning East Coast Conference play. The Wildcats will host unanimous league favorite and two-time defending ECC champion St. Thomas Aquinas College in their ECC opener next Friday, Dec. 8. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m.
 
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