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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
sischo mbb vs liu post
60
Daemen DAEM 21-4, 13-2 ECC
75
Winner St. Thomas Aquinas STACMBB 20-5, 12-3 ECC
Daemen DAEM
21-4, 13-2 ECC
60
Final
75
St. Thomas Aquinas STACMBB
20-5, 12-3 ECC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Daemen DAEM 33 27 60
St. Thomas Aquinas STACMBB 36 39 75

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

Wildcats Falter Against Defending ECC Champs

SPARKILL, N.Y. - Saint Thomas Aquinas College erased an early 11-point deficit and outplayed nationally-ranked Daemen College en route to a 75-60 win in a key East Coast Conference men's basketball contest here tonight. Daemen, which came into the game having won 10 straight games overall, as well as 14 consecutive ECC road games, suffered its first defeat since a 72-71 setback against Molloy College on Jan. 11. 

Daemen drops to 21-4 overall and 13-2 in league play. The Wildcats, who are ranked No. 10 in the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) national media poll and No. 13 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II poll, maintain their grasp on first place in the ECC standings despite tonight's loss. STAC, which has won the last three ECC championships, improved to 20-5 overall and 12-3 in the league, while also avenging an earlier loss to the Wildcats. Daemen had defeated STAC 82-79 in overtime at Lumsden Gymnasium on Jan. 25.

Freshman guard Demetre Roberts scored 18 points to lead a quartet of double-figure scorers for the Spartans who improved to 11-1 on their home floor this season. Sekou Cisse, who missed the teams' prior meeting with an injury, contributed 17 points and seven rebounds. Kevin Lynch posted a double-double (12 points, 12 rebounds) and Louis Griffith notched 11 points off the bench.

Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) was the lone Daemen player to reach double figures, finishing with 15 points on 5-of-13 shooting. He added 12 rebounds for his 15th double-double of the season, and the 23rd of his career. His rebounding effort tonight brings his career total to 501 as he becomes just the 14th player in team history to surpass 500 rebounds.

Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y.) and Quinn Lee Yaw (Jamestown, N.Y.) scored nine points apiece, and Deion Hamilton (Rochester, N.Y.) chipped in with eight points for the Wildcats.

Daemen built a 22-11 lead less than 10 minutes into the contest, but STAC chipped away at the deficit. The Spartans went on a 14-2 run and took their first lead of the game (25-23) on a layup by Cisse at the 5:02 mark. Daemen would go back ahead 31-28 on a pair of Hamilton free throws, but the hosts closed the opening period on an 8-2 run to take a 36-33 lead at halftime. 

The Spartans extended the run when play resumed, scoring 10 of the first 13 points of the second half to open up a 46-36 lead. All 10 of STAC's points in the run came in the paint, and the run was punctuated by an alley-oop slam by Cisse. The Spartans held Daemen without a field goal until Sischo converted in the paint at the 13:28 mark, ending an eight-and-a-half minute drought that stretched back into the opening frame.

The Spartan lead grew to 13 points when Roberts scored a layup at the 9:41 mark to make the score 59-46. Daemen battled back by scoring nine of the next 11 points. The run cut the deficit to six (61-55), and they had two possessions to climb closer but failed to do so. Another field goal drought for the Wildcats and timely free throw shooting by the Spartans shut the door on any thought of a comeback. After a layup by Sischo at the 5:00 mark, Daemen was held scoreless until Breon Harris' (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) layup with 1:07 to go. STAC converted 10-of-11 free throws in the final 4:37.

Daemen was held to season lows in points (60), field goals (20), field goal percentage (35.7), three-point field goals (2) and three-point field goal percentage (11.1). The Wildcats compounded matters by committing a season-high 25 turnovers. STAC shot 50 percent for the game (29-of-58), and enjoyed advantages in paint scoring (42-30) and points off turnovers (27-15). 

The game featured two of the most successful East Region teams in recent years. Following tonight's result, STAC's 122 wins since the start of the 2014-15 season rank first among all ECC and New York State Division II teams. Daemen ranks second with 102 wins in the span.

The contest also came just days after the first NCAA Division II East Region rankings were released by the regional advisory committee. Daemen came in ranked No. 2, while STAC is ranked No. 7. The NCAA announces the 10-team regional rankings each of the three Wednesdays prior to the NCAA Championships selection announcement, which will be made this year on Sunday, March 10. The eight-team NCAA Championships East Regional will consist of three automatic berths and five at-large selections, and it takes place Mar. 16-19 at a site that is yet to be determined. 

Daemen, which hadn't lost a conference road game since Dec. 17, 2017 (82-74 at then-No. 19 Bridgeport), looks to start a new winning streak this Sunday, Feb. 24 when they visit our nation's capital to take on the University of the District of Columbia. UDC (14-11, 7-8 ECC) stayed in the conference tournament picture with a 76-61 win over Roberts Wesleyan College tonight. Daemen scored a 95-66 win over UDC when the teams met in Amherst last month.

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