COLCHESTER, Vt. - Redshirt junior center Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) paced a balanced attack with 24 points to lead nationally-ranked Daemen College past upset-minded Saint Michael's College here today in non-conference men's basketball action.

Daemen, ranked in the top-20 of both NCAA Division II national polls, improved to 13-3 overall. Saint Michael's, a member of the Northeast-10 Conference, dropped to 3-8.

TOP PERFORMERS

• Four of Daemen's five starters scored in double figures.
• Sischo played a season-high 39 minutes, connected on 9-of-15 shots and 6-of-8 free throws, and also added seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
• Senior Breon Harris (Niagara, Falls, N.Y.) added 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Redshirt seniors Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y.) and Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y.) both drilled three three-pointers and finished with 13 and 12 points respectively. Sarkis also added six assists and no turnovers.
• Senior forward Eli DiGrande led the Purple Knights with 20 points and nine rebounds, while classmate Jordan Guzman drilled four three-pointers and finished with 18 points.
  

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both teams struggled to score early on and Daemen held a 16-10 lead with nine minutes to play in the first half when a layup by DiGrande sparked the Purple Knights on a 10-1 run. A jumper by freshman forward Kasai Brown with 3:46 left before intermission capped the rally and gave the hosts a 20-17 lead.
• Daemen answered with a three-pointer from the top of the key by Redband and the Wildcats later took a 24-20 lead following back-to-back layups by Sischo and Harris. Daemen would go on to take a 31-25 lead into the break.
• Daemen appeared ready to take control six minutes into the second half when the Wildcats opened up an 11-point lead (55-44) following a 12-4 run. A three-pointer by Redband with 11:56 to play capped the run.
• Saint Michael's responded with five unanswered points to cut the lead to six, but Sischo scored six-straight points (including a thunderous dunk off a feed from redshirt senior Joey Wallace (Rochester, N.Y.)) to regain a 12-point cushion at 61-49.
• The Purple Knights battled back once again and strung together 10 unanswered points to make it a 61-59 game with just over eight minutes left.
• Daemen answered with back-to-back buckets by Sischo and Harris to take a 65-59 lead, but the Purple Knights countered with baskets by DiGrande and Guzman to once again make it a two-point game at 65-63 with six minutes left.
• Daemen took a 69-65 lead following a layup by Sischo with 3:35 left, but the Wildcats would not score again until a clutch three-pointer by Redband gave the Wildcats a 72-68 lead with 40 ticks left.
• Redband then came up with a steal on SMC's next possession. Harris then missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Guzman was off the mark with two three-point attempts in the final seconds.  
• Daemen shot 14-for-26 (54%) in the second half and finished 26-of-57 (46%) from the field overall. The Wildcats connected on 7-of-22 from behind the arc and made 13-of-18 free throws. SMC shot 48-percent (28-for-59) from the field overall and made 6-of-24 from three-point land. The Purple Knights went 6-of-10 from the charity stripe.
• SMC dominated the glass (40-22), but the hosts committed 23 turnovers.
• The Wildcats finished with a 22-12 edge in points off turnovers, while the hosts posted a 40-34 advantage in points in the paint.
  

GAME NOTES 

• Daemen is ranked No. 16 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) top-25 poll, and also No. 15 in the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) national media poll. 
• It marked the fourth-straight season that the Wildcats and Purple Knights have met. Daemen has now prevailed in three of the four meetings. 
• Daemen improved to 8-4 against Northeast-10 Conference opponents under head coach Mike MacDonald. The Wildcats entered today's game as winners in five of their last seven against NE-10 teams, including wins over Le Moyne College and St. Rose already this season. 
• Daemen entered the game averaging 83.4 points per game and was held to less than 75 points for just the fifth time this season. 
• Redband entered the game just two points shy of 1,200 for his career. He has now scored 1,211 points in 104 career games. With three triples today he is now just 23 three-pointers shy of the program's all-time record of 288 set by Brian Montanaro from 2002-06.
• Sarkis went over 900 career points and moved closer to his 300th career assist. He has totaled 291 assists in 96 career games.
• Sischo now stands 42 points shy of becoming the eighth player in program history to score 1,500 career points.
  

NEXT JUMP BALL

• Daemen concludes it three-game swing through New England on Saturday (Jan. 4) when it plays a non-conference game at Stonehill College.