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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
mbb at stac 2.15.17
50
Daemen DAEM 16-7, 10-5 ECC
84
Winner St. Thomas Aquinas College STACMBB 21-5, 14-3 ECC
Daemen DAEM
16-7, 10-5 ECC
50
Final
84
St. Thomas Aquinas College STACMBB
21-5, 14-3 ECC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Daemen DAEM 22 28 50
St. Thomas Aquinas College STACMBB 39 45 84

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

Daemen Win Streak Snapped At League-Leading STAC

SPARKILL, N.Y. - In a meeting between two of the East Coast Conference's top men's basketball teams, Saint Thomas Aquinas College scored early and often while racing to an 84-50 defeat of visiting Daemen College at Aquinas Hall this evening.

Tonight's matchup never materialized into the back-and-forth affair that transpired the last time these teams met - a 67-64 Daemen win at Lumsden Gymnasium on Jan. 4 in a game that featured 10 ties and 13 changes.  Instead, STAC led from pillar to post tonight, using a game-opening 17-5 run to do so.  With the win, the Spartans (21-5, 14-3 ECC) clinch at least a share of the ECC regular season championship and a bye into the semifinal round of the conference tournament.  With just one league game remaining on their schedule, only Mercy College (2-22, 0-15 ECC) stands between the Spartans and the outright ECC regular season title.  STAC, which is presently receiving votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) NCAA Division II poll, has been ranked as high as No. 3 in that national poll while also being ranked third in the official NCAA Division II East Region rankings which came out earlier today. 

The loss snapped Daemen's six-game winning streak, moving the Wildcats to 16-7 overall and 10-5 in league play.  They'll end the evening in a tie for third place in the ECC standings with Molloy College (14-10, 10-5 ECC) which ousted N.Y. Institute of Technology tonight, 88-80.  In other ECC action, University of Bridgeport (16-9, 11-4 ECC) moved into sole possession of second place with a 75-73 road win at Queens College (12-11, 9-7 ECC), and Long Island University Post (9-16, 8-7 ECC) kept their conference tournament hopes alive with an 88-67 defeat of the University of the District of Columbia (12-11, 9-6 ECC).  The top six teams in the final league standings will move on to the conference tournament.

The win was STAC's 16th consecutive in ECC home games, and it came despite missing starters Jonathan Lawton (Williamstown, N.J.) and Shaquille McFarlan (Mesic, N.C.).  Sophomore guard Adam Koziol (Charlotte, N.C.), who entered the game averaging just 5.5 points per game, stepped up in the absence of Lawton and McFarlan.  He shot 8-for-12 from the field, including a blistering 7-for-10 from three-point land, and totaled a career-high 23 points.

The Spartans also got 18 points, three assists and three steals from redshirt-junior wing Justin Reyes (Haverhill, Mass.), the reigning ECC Player of the Year who missed the earlier meeting at Daemen.  Senior guard Aaron Cust (Uniondale, N.Y.), who came in averaging 15.0 points off the bench in the last nine games, made his first start of the season and contributed 16 points.  Two-time first-team All-ECC pick Chaz Watler (Brooklyn, N.Y.) chipped in with 13 points.

Deion Hamilton (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) was the lone Daemen player to reach double figures, finishing with 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting off the bench.  Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia) extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one three-point field goal to 15, finishing with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting (1-for-2 from three-point range).  Alex Borges (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) grabbed a season-high five rebounds in 15 minutes of action off the bench.

Daemen's two leading scorers, Arif Mehmetaj (Jamaica, N.Y./SUNY Delhi) and Supreme Hannah (Rochester, N.Y./Eastridge), were held to just 12 points on 6-of-22 shooting.  The duo came in averaging a combined 30.3 points per game.  Hannah (4 points) was held below 10 points for the first time since Nov. 30, snapping a string of 15 consecutive double-figure games.

After falling behind by 12 points early in the game, Daemen managed to get within eight on a Hamilton basket at the 4:09 of the first half which made the score 28-20.  But, Daemen shot 1-for-5, missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw, and committed two turnovers in the remainder of the period, allowing STAC to close the half on an 11-2 spurt for a 39-22 lead.

The nightmare continued into the second half as the hosts outscored Daemen 33-14 in the first 10 minutes of the period to open up an insurmountable 72-36 lead.  The STAC lead ballooned to as many as 42 points in the final 10 minutes.

STAC, the ECC's top shooting team, enjoyed 52.5 percent shooting in the game (31-for-59).  It's just the third time this season that Daemen has allowed its opponent to shoot 50 percent or better; the Wildcats entered the game leading the league in field goal percentage defense.

Behind the hot shooting of Koziol, much of the STAC onslaught came from behind the three-point line where they outscored Daemen by 27 points.  The Spartans shot 11-for-24 from downtown (45.8 percent) compared to just 2-for-20 (10 percent) for the Wildcats who entered the game leading the league in three-pointers made per game (9.5).  It was Daemen's shakiest three-point shooting since going 4-for-20 in an 86-62 loss in last season's meeting between these teams at Aquinas Hall.

Daemen shot just 34.5 percent from the field overall (20-for-58), contributing to their lowest point total since a 72-51 loss at Slippery Rock University on Dec. 1, 2015.  The Wildcats had averaged 86.2 points during their six-game winning streak.

Turnovers also plagued the Wildcats as STAC engineered a 20-2 advantage in points off miscues.  Daemen, which entered the game averaging a league-best 11.2 turnovers per game, committed 18 in the game.  The Spartans, who employ a full court press after nearly every made basket, rank fourth in the country in turnovers forced per game.

Despite the loss, the No. 2 seed to the upcoming conference tournament is still at play for Daemen.  The Wildcats will look to quickly put this one in the rearview mirror as another key ECC contest looms with Molloy coming to Lumsden Gymnasium this Saturday, Feb. 18.  Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m.
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