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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
kyle harris mbb @ syracuse
83
West Liberty WLU 2-1
98
Winner Daemen DAEM 5-1
West Liberty WLU
2-1
83
Final
98
Daemen DAEM
5-1
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
West Liberty WLU 45 38 83
Daemen DAEM 57 41 98

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

Wildcats Topple West Liberty In Matchup Of Top-25 Teams

AMHERST, N.Y. - Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) scored 29 points and grabbed 18 rebounds to lead Daemen College to a wire-to-wire 98-83 defeat of West Liberty University in a meeting of nationally-ranked men's basketball teams here today. Daemen (No. 22 NABC / No. 18 D2SIDA) led for more than 39 minutes while the high-powered Hilltoppers (No. 4 NABC / No. 3 D2SIDA) were kept at bay.

Sischo was dominant throughout, shooting 12-of-13 from the field and adding three blocks at the defensive end. It marked his sixth double-double in as many games this season, and the 31st of his career. 

Daemen improved to 5-1 on the season while earning their fifth straight victory. It also marked Daemen's 12th straight home win, and their 13th straight non-conference home win. The Wildcats are now 3-2 against nationally-ranked teams since the start of the 2018-19 season.

West Liberty, which averaged a Division II-best 100.9 points per game last season, suffered their first loss of the 2019-20 campaign, dropping to 2-1. The Hilltoppers averaged 130.5 points during wins last weekend over Mansfield University and Shaw University. They were held under 100 points for the first time since an 82-70 loss to Mercyhurst University in the NCAA Tournament Atlantic Region finals last March. The Hilltoppers, who went 26-8 last season, have made 10 straight NCAA Tournament berths, and have been ranked in every NABC top-25 poll since Feb. 2, 2010, an NCAA Division II record string of 145 consecutive appearances.

TOP PERFORMERS
  • Sischo was one of five Wildcats to reach double figures. He was joined by fellow starters Joey Wallace (Rochester, N.Y.), Breon Harris (Niagara Falls, N.Y.), Kyle Harris (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y.).
  • Wallace stuffed the stat sheet for the second straight game, contributing season-highs in points (19), assists (5), steals (2) and blocks (1) while also hauling in five rebounds. He connected on 8-of-15 shots from the field.
  • Breon Harris was a game-time decision due to a nagging injury and ended up with 17 points and a season-high four steals. He canned a trio of three-pointers in the game.
  • Kyle Harris made the first start of his Daemen career, filling in for the injured Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y.). He responded by shooting 3-of-5 from three-point range, finishing with 11 points.
  • Redband finished with 10 points, seven boards, three assists, a steal and a blocked shot. It marked his third game in double figures this season, and the 57th of his career.
  • Sophomore guard Will Yoakum paced the Hilltoppers with 18 points on 8-of-17 shooting.
  • All-American guard Dalton Bolon overcame a slow start to finish with 15 points. Bolon shot 6-for-16 in the game, and scored 12 points in the second half.
  • Preston Boswell chipped in with 14 points and four steals.

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Daemen was able to convert early and often against West Liberty's full court pressure defense, opening up a 28-14 lead less than nine minutes in the contest. Sischo accounted for 13 points in the run, including his second three-pointer of the season.
  • The Daemen lead reached 18 points (55-37) on a layup by Sischo with 35 seconds remaining in the first half, but West Liberty closed with a flourish. The  Hilltoppers scored eight points in the final 30 seconds, pulling within 57-45 at the break when Boswell banked in a three-pointer at the buzzer.
  • West Liberty was able to cut the deficit to seven points three times in the first seven minutes of the second half. A three-pointer from Bolon at the 13:09 mark made it 68-61, but Daemen scored 17 of the next 23 points to re-establish an 18-point advantage (85-67). Sischo and Wallace combined for 11 points in the run which was capped by Sischo's layup at the 5:24 mark. 
  • Daemen built their advantage to 98-78 on a layup by Donte' Williams (Buffalo, N.Y.) before WLU netted five points in the final 42 seconds.

HEAD COACH MIKE MACDONALD POST-GAME COMMENTS
"It was a great team win. We got contributions across the board. We talked about really trying to be the aggressor early on. In some of our other games this year, it's been more of a feeling out process, but we wanted make the first hit in this game, and I thought we did that. To find out right before the game that your starting point guard [Jay Sarkis] can't play because on an injury is tough, especially against a team like West Liberty that bings so much pressure. But I thought our guys rallied around Jay a little bit, and that was awesome to see."  

GAME NOTES
  • Daemen has now defeated the two Atlantic Region finalists from last season in back-to-back games. The Wildcats knocked off Mercyhurst 67-65 on Thursday evening.
  • Daemen held West Liberty to a season-low 41% field-goal shooting (31-for-76). The Hilltoppers came in shooting 58% from the field this season, and with a 149-5 record when shooting 50% or better since the 2011-12 season.
  • Daemen shot 55% from the field (36-of-66), 74% from the free throw line (14-of-19) and 41% from three-point range (12-for-29). The team's 12 three-point field goals are a season-high. 
  • Daemen evened the all-time series with West Liberty at 1-1. Today's game marked the first meeting between the two since the 1994-95 season. 
  • Daemen is 1-1 this season against nationally-ranked teams; they're only setback of the season is an 85-65 loss to No. 1 (both polls) Northwest Missouri State University, the defending national champions.
  • Daemen has now defeated top-five ranked team in successive seasons. The Wildcats knocked off No. 4 (both polls) Saint Anselm College 78-72 at Lumsden Gymnasium last Jan. 2. It also marked Daemen's first win against a nationally-ranked opponent since an 82-79 decision over St. Thomas Aquinas College (No. 11 NABC / No. 12 D2SIDA) last Jan. 25.
  • Daemen has won 27 of their last 29 home games, and the Wildcats are now 111-14 at Lumsden Gymnasium since the start of the 2011-12 season. Daemen's last non-conference home loss was a 69-55 setback vs. Mercyhurst on Nov. 14, 2017. 
  • Sischo surpassed Mark Rouse for 13th on Daemen's all-time scoring list today. He stands just two points shy of becoming the 13th player in program history to reach 1,200 career points. He's averaging 25.2 points, 15.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 69% from the field this season. 
  • Redband moved into 20th place on Daemen's all-time scoring list, surpassing Therreon Blackwell. Redband has totaled 1,073 points in 94 games played. 
  • Breon Harris now has 134 steals in his career, one shy of moving into the top-10 in program history. 

UP NEXT
Daemen's six-game homestand continues Tuesday (Nov. 19) when they welcome regional rival Le Moyne College to Lumsden Gymnasium for the first time since 2004. 

 
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