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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
kyle harris mbb vs stac
78
Daemen DAEM 24-8
91
Winner St. Thomas Aquinas STACMBB 24-5
Daemen DAEM
24-8
78
Final
91
St. Thomas Aquinas STACMBB
24-5
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Daemen DAEM 34 44 78
St. Thomas Aquinas STACMBB 42 49 91

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

Wildcats Bounced In ECC Semis

Daemen's NCAA Tournament Fate In The Hands Of Committee

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The semifinal round of the East Coast Conference Championship continues to be like kryptonite for the Daemen College men's basketball team. The third-seeded Wildcats suffered a 91-78 loss to second-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas College tonight at the UDC Sports Complex, the fourth-straight time their quest for an ECC tourney title has ended one game away from the finals. The Spartans torched the nets to the tune of 60 percent shooting in the contest. 

The game featured two of the premier programs in the ECC and the NCAA Division II East Region. Since Daemen joined the ECC in 2013-14, only STAC has achieved more wins (165) than the Wildcats' 150 among the 14 Division II programs in New York State.

The Spartans, who came in as the No. 18 ranked team in both Division II national polls, improved to 24-5 overall. They advance to Sunday's ECC Championship final where top-seeded University of Bridgeport awaits. Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m.

Despite the loss, Daemen's season has the potential to continue. The Wildcats, now 24-8 this season, await the NCAA Division II Championship Selection Show which will be posted to NCAA.com at 10:30 p.m. Sunday evening. The No. 7 team in the official East Region rankings, Daemen is positioned for an at-large bid to the East Regional portion of the NCAA tournament. 
 

IMPACT PLAYERS

  • Osbel Caraballo was a man on a mission today for STAC, scoring a game-high 29 points on 11-of-16 shooting. The Venezuelan native, a sophomore forward, added six boards, three assists one block and a steal in 36 minutes of work.
  • Grant Singleton nailed four three pointers and shot 7-for-10 from the field as part of a 20-point outing for the Spartans. He added five assists.
  • Demetre Roberts (14 points, eight assists) and Sekou Cisse (13 points, five assists) also contributed for STAC.
  • Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) was the top man for Daemen, finishing with 23 points and 17 rebounds for his NCAA Division II-leading 22nd double-double of the season.
  • Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y.) netted 10 of his 13 points in the first half, while Breon Harris (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) and Joey Wallace (Rochester, N.Y.) scored 11 points apiece. Wallace chipped in seven boards, seven assists and two steals.
  • Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y.) finished with eight points and made a pair of three-pointers, including his 100th of the season. 

PERIOD-BY-PERIOD SUMMARY
First Half (STAC 42, Daemen 34) - The Wildcats came out strong and led 9-5 early, but STAC battled back with a 15-7 spurt capped by a Roberts three-pointer at the 12:00 mark. Daemen evened things up at 20-20 with an inside score by reserve forward Ryan Bradley (Niagara Falls, N.Y.), but the Wildcats managed just field goals over the next six minutes. STAC took advantage of the drought, opening up a double-figure lead (33-22) on Caraballo's layup at the 6:22 mark. The lead grew to 12 points (42-30) when Roberts scored with 2:47 remaining. The Wildcats kept the Spartans off the scoreboard for the remainder of the period, creeping within eight points at the break thanks to a pull-up jumper by Sarkis and a pair of free throw conversions by Sischo. STAC shot a blistering 57-percent from the field (17-for-30), doing damage both inside (22-12 advantage in paint points) and from three-point range (5-for-8 shooting from downtown) in the period. 

Second Half (STAC 49, Daemen 44) - After Daemen pulled within 44-38 early in the second half, STAC's offensive onslaught continued. A 19-6 spurt increased the Spartan advantage to 63-44 with under 13 minutes to play. Daemen chipped away, but couldn't generate enough defensive stops to make a serious dent in the deficit. Wallace hit a pair of free throws with 2:25 left to get them back within single digits, trailing 84-75. Just over a minute later Louis Griffith drilled a dagger three-pointer with the shot clock about to expire, extending STAC's advantage to 89-77 and all but ending any thoughts of a miraculous Wildcat comeback. The Spartans canned 19-of-30 shots from the field (63.3%) after halftime. 


INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

  • STAC owned the paint, racking up 50 points in that area - the most surrendered by Daemen all season. The Spartans had a 20-point advantage in paint points for the game. 
  • The Spartans were surgical after Daemen miscues as well, turning 18 Wildcat turnovers into 25 points (+15 points off turnovers). Much of that production came in transition as STAC enjoyed an 18-10 advantage in fastbreak points. 
  • Daemen ended with 50-percent shooting on the night, making 28-of-56 field goal attempts. The Wildcats had been 11-1 this season when shooting 50-percent or better coming into tonight. 


GAME NOTES

  • The Wildcats have posted their seventh 20-win campaign in the last nine seasons. They have not won less than 19 games since the 2010-11 season, and their 24 wins this season matches last season's total - the most of Daemen's NCAA Division II era (2015-present). 
  • Daemen is No. 7 and STAC is No. 2 in the official NCAA Division II East Region rankings released earlier this week. The NCAA's Regional Advisory Committee publishes a 10-team ranking in each of the three weeks leading up to the NCAA tournament selection show on March 8.
  • Daemen gave up 90 points for just the second time this season, and the first time in a regulation contest since a 110-83 loss at nationally-ranked St. Edward's University on January 6, 2019.
  • Sischo's production tonight included several personal milestones, including his 1,800th career point and his 900th career rebound. In 89 career games, Sischo has totaled 1,820 points and 906 rebounds. He is the first player in program history with at least 1,800 points and 900 rebounds, and tonight he passed both Gerald Beverly and Monty Montgomery on Daemen's all-time scoring list. He now stands fourth in both scoring and rebounding among Daemen's career leaders. 
  • Sischo also brought his season point total to 773, surpassing the single-season program record of 767 set by Rob Robinson during the 1990-91 campaign. 
  • Redband joins David Skolen as the only players in program history to make 100 three-point field goals in a season. Skolen made a progam-record 114 three-pointers during the 1989-90 season. Redband is also just the fourth player in ECC history to reach the century mark. 
  • The loss tonight ended Daemen's fifth consecutive appearance in the conference tournament. The Wildcats last advanced to the tournament finals in 2016 when they lost to top-seeded STAC 80-63 on the same court they mey on this evening. Daemen is 4-5 all-time in ECC tournament games. 
  • STAC advanced to the tournament finals for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. 


NEXT JUMP BALL
Should they earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, the Wildcats will play next in the opening round of the East Regional on Saturday, March 14 against a to-be-determined opponent at a to-be-determined location. 

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