Skip To Main Content

Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
sischo mbb edinboro 1
82
Winner Daemen DAEM 12-6 (6-2 ECC)
74
Molloy MOLM 3-15 (2-6 ECC)
Winner
Daemen DAEM
12-6 (6-2 ECC)
82
Final
74
Molloy MOLM
3-15 (2-6 ECC)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Daemen DAEM 38 44 82
Molloy MOLM 33 41 74

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

Men's Basketball Runs Winning Streak To Seven

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's basketball team ran its winning streak to seven straight games with an 82-74 defeat of Molloy College in East Coast Conference play this evening at Quealy Gymnasium. 

Daemen, tied for 10th in this week's D2SIDA East Region media poll, improved to 12-6 overall and 6-2 in the league to maintain a firm grasp on third place in the ECC standings. The Wildcats, who came into today's game as the top field-goal shooting team in the league, enjoyed 54.5 percent shooting today, marking the fourth time in the last five games that they've made better than half their attempts.

The host Lions, who advanced to the ECC Tournament championship game last season, suffered their eighth consecutive setback to fall to 3-15 overall and 2-6 in the league. It was the Lions' third straight loss by single digits as they fell to just 1-8 at home this season. It was also Molloy's sixth loss this season to a regionally-ranked opponent.

Redshirt freshman center Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) paced a quartet of double-figure scorers for the Wildcats with 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting. The 6-foot-9 Sischo, who has now reached double-figure scoring in 10 consecutive games, added nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 32 minutes of action. It marked the first game in Sischo's career that he logged better than 30 minutes of playing time.

Junior guard Darius Garvin (Elmira, N.Y.) and redshirt sophomore forward Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y.) totaled 17 points apiece. Redband, who scored 12 of his points in the first half, ended the game shooting 7-of-9 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point land. Garvin matched Redband's three-point production (3-for-5 from downtown) while adding a perfect 6-for-6 showing at the charity stripe and five assists. Garvin has now scored 10 or more points in seven of the last eight games, raising his season scoring average from 6.7 to 9.9 points per game in that span.

Sophomore guard Breon Harris (Niagara Falls, N.Y.), the reigning ECC Player of the Week, flirted with what would have been the first double-double of his career, finishing with 11 points and a career-high nine rebounds. It marks the third straight game that Harris has eclipsed his previous career-high for rebounding. The 5-foot-9 guard added two steals and a block. He's posted multiple steals in six of the last eight games, and has four straight games with a blocked shot.

Sophomore guard Nick Corbett (Staten Island, N.Y.) led the Lions with 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 3-of-8 from behind the arc. The reigning ECC Rookie of the Year, Corbett entered the contest as the fifth-highest scorer in the ECC this season, averaging 17.0 points per game. Junior guard Curtis Jenkins (Farmingdale, N.Y.) tossed in 20 points on 7-of-21 shooting, his third straight game with 20 or more, while adding a game-high 10 rebounds. Sophomore forward Josh Dennis (Valley Stream, N.Y.) scored 14 of his career-high 18 points in the first half. No other Molloy player managed more than five points.

Molloy took their first and only lead when Dennis' old-fashioned three-point play on the third possession of the game made the score 3-2. That was quickly erased as Daemen used a 14-4 run to seize control. All five Daemen starters scored in the spurt which was sparked by Garvin's three-pointer at the 18:49 mark and capped by Harris' layup with 13:18 remaining in the period. 

Later in the opening stanza, Daemen's lead grew to 13 points (29-16) following an 8-0 run. Field goals by Sischo, Garvin and Harris all came in the painted area during the run which also included a pair of free throws by redshirt sophomore wing Melvin Grayson (Rochester, N.Y.). Molloy chipped away and closed the period with a 13-6 spurt which closed the gap to just five points at the half. Dennis converted his second three-point play with 37 ticks remaining, and Corbett found an open Nolan Kelly (Mount Sinai, N.Y.) who buried a three-pointer just before the buzzer, sending the teams into their respective locker rooms with Daemen leading 38-33.

The Daemen lead bounced between five and 11 points over the first eight minutes of the second half. A 19-10 Daemen flurry expanded their 56-50 lead into a 15-point advantage (73-58) with less than seven minutes to play. Sischo scored three consecutive baskets in the run, the last of which came off a feed from Harris at the 6:47 mark.

But, Molloy scrapped back into contention with 10 consecutive points over the next three-plus minutes. Seven points in the spurt came at the free throw line, including Jenkins' pair of freebies at the 3:23 mark which pulled Molloy within five points (73-68). Daemen committed turnovers on five of their seven possessions during the Molloy run. The Wildcats got some breathing room back when Redband hit an improbable leaning three-pointer at the 2:51 mark, just before the shot clock expired. The Lions would get no closer than six points for the remainder of the game as Daemen shot 6-for-7 at the free throw line in the final 90 seconds to close things out.

While the Daemen offense clicked (30-for-55 from the field, 9-for-22 from three-point range, 13-for-15 from the free throw line), Molloy was limited to just 41.8 percent shooting (28-for-67), including 7-for-21 from downtown (33.3%). 

Daemen looks for a sweep of this road trip on Sunday, Jan. 21 when the Wildcats visit Queens College for a 3:30 p.m. tip-off. Queens fell to 5-9 overall and 3-4 in league play with their 72-60 loss this evening to Roberts Wesleyan College.  

 
Print Friendly Version