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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
redband mbb vs lake erie
The shooting prowess of Jeff Redband helped Daemen build a 24-point lead in the first half today
55
Saint Rose M-1347
74
Winner Daemen M-30174
Saint Rose M-1347
55
Final
74
Daemen M-30174
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Saint Rose M-1347 26 29 55
Daemen M-30174 45 29 74

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

Redband Leads Wildcats To Seventh Consecutive Win

Batavia Native Hits Six Three-Pointers As Part Of 23-Point Outing; "Game of the Year" On The Horizon

AMHERST, N.Y. - Redshirt junior forward Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y.) was hotter than a $2 pistol as he racked up a career-high 23 points to lead Daemen College to a 74-55 victory over the College of Saint Rose in non-conference men's basketball action today. Redband canned his first five three-pointers, helping Daemen build an insurmountable 24-point advantage en route to their seventh consecutive victory. The Wildcats improved to 9-1 this season, while the visiting Golden Knights dropped to 4-8.

It was Daemen's 10th straight win at the friendly confines of Lumsden Gymnasium, a streak that dates back to last season. The Wildcats are 26-3 over the their last 29 games, a stretch that began with a 68-60 road win at St. Rose last New Year's Eve. 

Redband shot 8-for-10 from the field and a blistering 6-for-7 from three-point range in the win. The six three-pointers match his career-best for a single game, and the point production marked his second 20-point game of the season, and the fourth of his career. He added three steals and two blocks at the defensive end as well.

Breon Harris (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) narrowly missed his third straight 20-point game, finishing with 19 points and two steals. Harris knocked down half of his field goal attempts (5-for-10) and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe. Deion Hamilton (Rochester, N.Y.) put forth a solid all-around effort (11 points, seven rebounds, three assists), and Quinn Lee Yaw (Jamestown, N.Y.) finished two rebounds shy of a double-double (10 points, eight rebounds). Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y.) dished off a season-high six assists.

Sophomore guard Adam Anderson paced the Golden Knights with 12 points, all of which came in the second half. Matt Cerutti chipped in with 11 points and eight boards. The Golden Knights also got solid efforts off the bench from Jeff Allen (10 points) and Kamron Johnson (game-high seven assists). 

Led by the hot shooting of Redband, Daemen connected on 11 of their first 13 field goal attempts, including 7-of-8 from three-point land, while racing out to a 31-10 lead in the opening nine minutes of action. Redband canned a quintet of triples, and additional three-balls came from Sarkis and Harris in the spurt. 

The Daemen lead grew to 40-17 when Dmarco Barnes (Baldwin, N.Y.) buried a three-pointer later the in the half. The Wildcats largest lead came minutes later when Hamilton completed a three-point play to put the hosts on top by 24 points at 43-19. Daemen went to the locker room with a 45-26 lead after shooting 17-of-26 from the field (65.4%) and 8-of-13 from long range (61.5%), while forcing St. Rose into 11 turnovers which resulted in 16 points.

Daemen's shot-making dropped off the in the second half, however, and St. Rose chipped away at the deficit. Anderson's three-pointer at the 8:42 mark brought the Golden Knights within nine points, trailing 56-47. After a Daemen timeout, Redband connected on his sixth three-pointer of the game, and was fouled on the play. He connected on the ensuing free throw to push the lead back to 13 points. St. Rose never got closer than 11 points for the remainder of the contest. 

The Wildcats shot 53.3 percent for the game (24-for-45), and knocked down 9-of-17 from three-point range (52.9%). St. Rose had entered the game ranked 38th out of the 39 teams in the East Region for field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot 48.0 percent this season. On the flip side, Daemen ranks first in the region in field goal percentage defense, and posted another stellar outing today, limiting the Golden Knights to just 34.6 percent shooting (18-for-52). 

The outcome came despite the Wildcats playing without leading scorer Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.). He missed his second straight game with an injury, taking more than 20 points and 11 rebounds out of the Daemen lineup.

Daemen is now 88-13 at Lumsden Gymnasium since the start of the 2011-12 season, and the win was head coach Mike MacDonald's 90th with the program. The veteran bench boss, now in his 22nd season overall (346-264 career record) and his fifth at Daemen (90-38), is closing in on 350 career victories. 

Today's win also continued Daemen's dominance against NCAA Division II East Region opponents. Since joining the East Coast Conference in 2013-14, Daemen has gone 92-30 against regional opponents (those affiliated with the ECC, Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference or Northeast-10 Conference). 

The win sets up a meeting that's being hailed as the East Region's "Game of the Year" by the experts at D2 East Hoops. Saint Anselm College, ranked fourth in both national polls for Division II, will visit Lumsden Gymnasium for a noon tip-off on Wednesday, Jan. 2. The Hawks have been the top-ranked team in the region all season, and will be meeting the Wildcats for the first time. 

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