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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
sischo mbb vs lake erie
Andrew Sischo's 32 points and 18 rebounds led Daemen to a win in the NCAA Division II Basketball Showcase
78
Winner Daemen DAEM 5-1, 1-0 ECC
70
Roberts Wesleyan RWCM 3-4, 0-1 ECC
Winner
Daemen DAEM
5-1, 1-0 ECC
78
Final
70
Roberts Wesleyan RWCM
3-4, 0-1 ECC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Daemen DAEM 30 48 78
Roberts Wesleyan RWCM 23 47 70

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

Wildcats Rally For 16th Straight Thruway Rivalry Win As National Spotlight Shined

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.), Deion Hamilton (Rochester, N.Y.) and Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y.) combined for 71 points to lead the regionally-ranked Daemen College men's basketball team to a 78-70 victory over Roberts Wesleyan College in the East Coast Conference season opener for both squads tonight. Daemen outscored RWC 20-7 over the final five-and-a-half minutes, turning a five-point deficit into their 16th straight victory in the Thruway Rivalry series. Daemen has now won 23 of the last 24 meetings, and tonight's win was their 12th straight in games played at RWC's Voller Athletic Center.
 
The Wildcats, ranked fifth in this week's Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region poll, improved to 5-1 on the season. RWC, which made their first-ever postseason berth at the Division II level last season, dropped to 3-4.
 
The game was featured nationwide as part of the National Collegiate Athletic Conference (NCAA) Division II Basketball Showcase. NCAA Division II Basketball Showcase games are part of a larger initiative launched by the NCAA earlier this fall, aiming to broadcast 11 football games, 18 basketball games and six to 10 additional sporting events in a hybrid model that would allow for distribution on local television stations and online.
 
It was another monster night for Sischo who recorded his sixth double-double in as many games this season, and his seventh straight overall. The 6-foot-9 redshirt sophomore center shot 12-for-18 from the field, 1-for-1 from three-point range and 7-for-9 from the charity stripe while totaling 32 points and 18 rebounds, both season-highs. Sischo, who was voted as the ECC Preseason Player of the Year, ranks second in scoring (24.0 ppg) and first in rebounding (12.7 rpg) among the ECC leaders.
 
Hamilton also had his finest season of the season to date, pumping in 24 points, just two shy of his career-high. He keyed the outcome-altering run late in the second half, notching 11 of Daemen's 20 points in the spurt. Hamilton shot 9-for-14 from the field and 3-for-4 from three-point range, matching his career-high for three-pointers which he's now accomplished six times.
 
Redband added 15 points, six rebounds and two blocks. He knocked down a pair of three-pointers as part of a 5-for-11 shooting performance from the field. Redband has now reached double figures in all but one game this season.  
 
Junior guard Isaiah Lewis poured in 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting to lead the Redhawks. He added five steals and four assists as well. Peyton McLaurin tossed in 15 points and seven boards, while Armon Nasseri chipped in with 10 points.
 
Daemen opened up an eight-point lead early in the first half, and rode a steady dose of Sischo to a 30-23 halftime lead. The Daemen big man shot 8-for-12 and totaled 18 points, and Daemen never trailed in the opening stanza.
 
The hosts would claw back into it, taking their first lead at 43-42 on a layup by Jean Toussaint at the 11:43 mark. Daemen forged back ahead at 47-46 on a layup by Sischo, but the Redhawks responded with a 13-6 spurt to open up their largest lead of the game. A three-pointer by McLaurin ignited the run, and triples from Justin Vaughan and Lewis soon followed. Lewis converted a pair of free throws at the 7:16 mark to put the hosts on top 59-53.
 
The RWC lead was 63-58 after a leaning jumper by Michael Bush with 5:38 to play. That's when Daemen flipped the switch. After Breon Harris (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) split two free throws, Hamilton brought the Wildcats within one with his third trifecta of the game. Just moments later, after a McLaurin bucket for RWC, Hamilton recorded back-to-back layups, tying the score on the first, and giving Daemen a 67-65 lead on the second. RWC continued to come up empty at the offensive end, and Redband's jumper at the 2:05 mark made it a two-possession game. After a RWC turnover, Hamilton drove and scored again, putting Daemen ahead 71-65 with 1:25 to go.
 
The Redhawks got back within four points (74-70) when Lewis converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 32 seconds remaining. His bucket ended a field goal drought that lasted more than four minutes. But, Daemen was up to the task at the charity stripe down the stretch as Redband and Hamilton combined to shoot 5-for-6 to seal the deal.
 
Daemen shot a blistering 65.2 percent in the second half (15-for-23), and finished the game at 47.5 percent (28-for-59). RWC connected on 26-of-60 field goal attempts (43.3%), including just 7-for-23 from downtown (30.4%).
 
The Wildcats owned sizable advantages in points in the paint (42-30), points off turnovers (24-14) and second chance points (10-2).

The 16 consecutive wins over RWC ties Daemen's longest active streak against any single opponent. The Wildcats have also won 16 straight against former American Mideast Conference foe Houghton College, although the teams haven't met since the 2011-12 season. After tonight's result, 11 of the last 16 meetings between Daemen and RWC have been decided by nine points or less, including the last three in a row. Tonight's meeting was the teams' first since Daemen scored a 75-69 win in the opening round of last season's ECC Championship tournament. 
 
Daemen is idle until the weekend of Dec. 14-16 when it travels to Long Island, N.Y. for ECC games against Long Island University Post (Dec. 14) and New York Institute of Technology (Dec. 16).

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