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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
sarkis mbb vs buffalo
Jay Sarkis canned five three-pointers and scored a season-high 19 points
87
Winner Daemen DAEM 11-1
80
Dallas Baptist DBU 9-5
Winner
Daemen DAEM
11-1
87
Final
80
Dallas Baptist DBU
9-5
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Daemen DAEM 37 50 87
Dallas Baptist DBU 36 44 80

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

Wildcats Outlast Dallas Baptist To Extend Winning Streak To Nine

AUSTIN, Texas - They say everything is bigger in the state of Texas, so the magnitude of a ninth straight win for the Daemen College men's basketball team can't be overstated. The Wildcats defeated Dallas Baptist University 87-80 today in a non-conference game played at the Convocation and Recreation Center on the camps of Saint Edward's University. The win pushes Daemen's record to 11-1 this season, while Heartland Conference affiliate DBU fell to 9-5. The Patriots, who went 26-6 a season ago, had entered the game as winners in 26 of their last 30 games played within The Lone Star State, and ranked 10th in the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) South Central Region media poll. 

The game, Daemen's first-ever in Texas, featured 12 lead changes and a barrage of three-pointers from each team. Daemen canned 11-of-24 from deep (45.8%), including an efficient 7-of-12 in the second half alone (58.3%). The Patriots were even more willing to let it fly as they knocked down 15-of-35 from long distance (42.9%).. DBU entered the game as one of the top 25 teams in the country in three point field goals made per game. 

Redshirt junior forward Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y.) scored a game-high 22 points, and needed just seven field goal attempts to do so. He shot 6-for-7 from the field, 4-for-5 from three-point range, and 6-for-8 from the charity stripe, while adding eight rebounds. It marked Redband's third 20-point game of the season, and he's now made at least one three pointer in 16 consecutive games dating back to last season.

Redshirt junior guard Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y.) turned in his finest offensive performance of the season, scoring 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field, including 5-of-6 from downtown. The Wildcat point guard scored 14 second-half points. Sarkis, who missed the majority of November and December while recovering from an injury suffered in Daemen's season-opener, has now reached double-figure scoring in back-to-back games. 

The Wildcats also got solid outings from Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) and Breon Harris (Niagara Falls, N.Y.). Sischo recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 16 points and 14 rebounds, and Harris totaled 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Quinn Lee Yaw (Jamestown, N.Y.) had a couple of big baskets in the second half and finished with five points and five rebounds. Senior guard Darius Garvin (Elmira, N.Y.), who has also been hampered by injuries this season, came off the bench to score a season-high seven points.

Chandler Jacobs, the 2017-18 Heartland Freshman of the Year, led a quartet of double-figure scorers for DBU with 21 points. He added eight assists, six rebounds, two steals and a block in a stat-stuffing performance. Jordan Manse (17 points, 5-of-9 three-pointers), Zach Lord (14 points) and Connor Lidiak (11 points, six rebounds) all reached double figures as well.

The first half featured 10 lead changes, and the teams were never separated by more than five points. Daemen closed the period on a 12-6 spurt, turning a 30-25 deficit into a slim 37-36 lead. Sischo accounted for half the Daemen scoring in the run, including an offensive rebound and put-back on the Wildcats' final possession.

Daemen opened the second half by connecting on four of their first five three-point attempts. Sarkis bookended the 12-0 spurt that saw Daemen open up the game's largest spread at 49-39. 

The Wildcat lead grew to 11 points when Sischo scored at the 14:13 mark to make the score 56-45. Every time Daemen got separation, DBU would battle back. A three-pointer by Manse at the 12:10 mark cut the deficit to 59-56, but Daemen responded with a 9-2 run. It was again kick-started by a Sarkis three-pointer, featured a pair of buckets by Sischo, and a driving lay-in by Lee Yaw, the last of which put the Wildcats ahead by 10 again (68-58).

Jacobs' two free throws with 4:13 remaining again cut it to a three-point deficit (71-68), but Sarkis had the answer for Daemen. He drove and scored on Daemen's next possession, and after an empty DBU possession, he buried another three-pointer, this one putting Daemen ahead 76-68 with 3:15 to play. DBU never got back within a single possession, and Daemen shot 7-for-10 from the free throw line in the final 1:22 to seal the deal.

Daemen, which is ranked fourth in the D2SIDA East Region media poll and receiving votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II national poll, is now 28-3 since Dec. 31, 2017. It was Daemen's third win of the week having previously dispatched of the College of Saint Rose (74-55 on Dec. 31) and nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College (78-72 on Jan. 2). 

Daemen goes for its 10th straight win Sunday when they'll close this Texas trip by facing Saint Edward's. The Hilltoppers (12-1) are ranked first in the D2SIDA South Central Region media poll, seventh in the NABC Division II national poll and seventh in the D2SIDA national poll. 

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