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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
hamilton mbb vs buffalo
Deion Hamilton scored 18 points in a two-point loss at Mercyhurst tonight
65
DAEM DAEM 2-1
67
Winner Mercyhurst MER-M 1-1
DAEM DAEM
2-1
65
Final
67
Mercyhurst MER-M
1-1
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
DAEM DAEM 28 37 65
Mercyhurst MER-M 28 39 67

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

Men's Basketball Nipped At Mercyhurst, 67-65

ERIE, Pa. - The Daemen College men's basketball team had its modest two-game winning streak snapped following a 67-65 road loss to Mercyhurst University in non-conference action at the MU Athletic Complex tonight. 

Mercyhurst, a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, improved to 2-0 while earning their first win against a Division II opponent this season. The Lakers opened with a 59-point win over Division III SUNY Fredonia last week. Daemen fell to 2-1 on the season. The Wildcats were coming off back-to-back wins as part of the ECC-CACC Challenge this past weekend. The meeting marked the sixth in as many seasons between the Wildcats and Lakers, and the slim margin tonight was par for the course. Five of the last six meetings have been decided by single-digit margins.

Jason Massey, a transfer from Division I Brown University, led a balanced scoring effort for the Lakers with 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Nelson Maxwell didn't miss a shot (4/4 FG, 2/2 3PT, 2/2 FT) while totaling 12 points and two steals. Patrick Smith, the Lakers' leading returning scorer (8.9 ppg in 2017-18), also reached double figures with 11. 

The Lakers also got solid efforts off the bench from Nicholas Lang (eight points) and Edvaldo Ferreira (six points, 10 rebounds, two blocks, two steals), while starting guard Derrick Ellis, Jr. dished a game-high six assists.

Redshirt senior guard/forward Deion Hamilton (Rochester, N.Y.) led a quartet of double-figure scorers for the Wildcats with a game-high 18 points. Hamilton went 8-of-14 from the field and 2-for-5 from three-point range, while adding two assists, two steals and a block. Redshirt sophomore center Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) registered his third double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds) in as many games this season. The Daemen big man shot 7-for-9 from the field. Junior guard Breon Harris (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) and redshirt junior forward Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y.) also reached double figures with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Both Harris and Redband knocked down a pair of triples, and Harris added a season-high three steals.

The Wildcats played without starting guards Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y.) and Darius Garvin (Elmira, N.Y.), taking a combined 148 games of experience out of their lineup. Sarkis missed his second straight game after suffering an injury in Daemen's season-opening 75-60 win over Caldwell University. Garvin left after just four minutes of action the following day vs. Nyack College. With both players out of action today, the Wildcats played just seven players and totaled two points off the bench. All five starters played at least 28 minutes. 

After falling behind by eight points (28-20) late in the first half, Daemen got back-to-back three-pointers by Harris and Hamilton, and Redband beat the first-half buzzer with a mid-range jumper to take the teams into halftime knotted at 28-apiece. 

The second half featured eight lead changes, including six in the opening six minutes of the period. After Daemen pulled ahead 52-50 on a layup by Hamilton at the 7:28 mark, Mercyhurst embarked on a 9-0 run to seize control. Daemen responded with three straight scores, including a three-pointer by Redband with 2:42 remaining to tie the score at 59-59.

On the ensuing Mercyhurst possession, Lang drilled a three-pointer off a feed from Ellis. Daemen would get within one point on three occasions in the final 1:20, but were never able to equalize or take the lead. After a pair of Nick Petrucelli (Hicksville, N.Y.) free throws which cut the Mercyhurst lead to 64-63 with 42 seconds left, the Wildcats needed a defensive stop to give themselves a chance down the stretch. Ellis was off the mark with a layup attempt, but Smith corralled the offensive rebound and scored to push it back to a three-point MU edge with 12 ticks on the clock. 

The Wildcats had one final chance in the waning seconds, but Harris' desperation three-point attempt was off the mark. The Wildcats were forced to go the length of the floor trailing by two following a missed free throw by Trystan Pratapas with under five seconds left.

Daemen shot 48.1 percent from the field (25-for-52), but committed a season-high 17 turnovers in the loss. Mercyhurst connected on 16-of-29 field goal attempts in the second half (55.2%) and shot 46.6 percent for the game (27-for-58). The home-standing Lakers also made eight three-pointers, while Daemen connected on six.

The 65-point output was 14 points fewer than Daemen's two-game average coming in. The Lakers are traditionally one of the top defensive teams in the country, finishing with a top-10 ranked defense six times in the last 15 years under head coach Gary Manchel. 

Daemen now has a nine-day break between games. The Wildcats return to action on Saturday, Nov. 24 when they host PSAC affiliate Slippery Rock University at Lumsden Gymnasium for a 2 p.m. tip-off.

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