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top 10 moments sischo 47 points

Top 10 Moments of 2019-20: Sischo's Big Night Cements Record-Setting Season

7/29/2020 11:30:00 AM

AMHERST, N.Y. - On Wednesdays and Fridays this summer, daemenwildcats.com will feature stories that look back upon the top 10 moments of the 2019-20 season. Record-setting performances, important wins and history-making achievements will be documented in the series.

THE MOMENT:
Sischo's big night cements record-setting season
In most sports there's certain statistical numbers that when achieved add a certain "wow factor" for spectators, something to talk about during the car ride home or at the water cooler the next day. In basketball, a player scoring 40 points is somewhat of a rare phenomenon, especially in the college game which is played in just 40 minutes. It's something that's happened only a handful of times in the 34-year modern history of the Daemen men's basketball program, yet it's exactly what fans were treated to on the night of March 4 when redshirt junior center Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) erupted for 47 points to lead the Wildcats past Queens in the opening round of the East Coast Conference tournament. It was Daemen's first 40-point outing since Gerald Beverly did so vs. Concordia (Ala.) on March 5, 2014, and it made Sischo the program's all-time leader in single-game scoring, surpassing the record 44 points scored by Rob Robinson on Jan. 16, 1991 against Westminster (Pa.). 

The benchmark performance didn't start out as such. Sischo overcame a slow start which saw him shoot just 3-for-9 from the field before going to the bench at the 6:43 mark of the first half. He heated up after a short rest, scoring 14 of his 21 first-half points after re-entering. The hot streak continued as the teams re-emerged from their locker rooms with Sischo making 11 straight field goals over a nine-minute stretch that spanned both halves. Finishing 19-of-29 from the field, he also broke the program record for field goals made in a game (16), a record he shared with former Daemen great Ralph Henderson. Sischo added 15 rebounds, two assists and a block for good measure in the Wildcats' 90-76 win which sent them to the ECC tourney semifinals for the fifth straight year.
Despite the gaudy numbers, Sischo was humble after the game, saying, "I don't think I played that well, to be honest. I didn't start off too hot, but it was just the fact that my teammates believed in me and they just kept giving me the ball throughout the whole game. That's something that I love about this team. It's just whoever is taking the good shots and making the good shots is what we're going to roll with." 

"We were able to run our offense through him," said Daemen head coach Mike MacDonald in his post-game comments. "I think what Andrew said, he hit the nail right on the head. He doesn't do that without Jeff Redband passing to him, without Joey Wallace passing to him, without Breon [Harris] passing to him, without Jay [Sarkis] finding him. All these guys find him and then it makes their life easier. He's 100 percent right that early in the game they doubled off Breon and Breon hit a three. I think they got a little gun shy about leaving Breon some, and it created some space for him to go one on one."

Sischo came just four points shy of the ECC tournament scoring record (51) set by Molloy's Charlie Marquardt in the 2017 championship game, and his 47 points were the most scored by a player from the NCAA Division II East Region in 2019-20, and tied for fifth-most nationwide. The performance was the cherry on top of a thoroughly dominant season for the Daemen big man as he cemented his place among the cream of the crop in Division II. Sischo's memorable campaign included: In 31 games, Sischo averaged 24.9 points and 11.7 rebounds per game while shooting 64.5 percent from the field. He became just the fourth Division II player since the 2010-11 season to average at least 24 points and 11 rebounds, and the only one of those four to also shoot at least 60 percent from the field. He ranked in the top 10 nationally for per game scoring (8th) and rebounding (2nd), as well as field goal percentage (10th), and his production keyed the Wildcats' 24-win season which included a second straight NCAA tournament berth. 

Although he garnered much attention as a potential graduate transfer to the Division I ranks for his final collegiate season, Sischo is set to return to Daemen. His decision was documented in a wivb.com story that posted just hours before he torched Queens. Despite the uncertainty of what his redshirt senior season may look like due to the COVID-19 pandemic, when Sischo takes the court again he'll be chasing more milestones. He already ranks fifth in points (1,820) and fourth in rebounds (906) among Daemen's career leaders with both record totals (1,962 points by Robinson; 1,103 rebounds by Alex Nwora) within reach. Sischo will be bidding to become just the third player in program history with at least 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds (Nwora, Beverly), and to out-seat Torrence Dyck (20.7 ppg) for the program record in career scoring average.   

ADDITIONAL TOP 10 MOMENTS FROM THE 2019-20 SEASON:

Daemen College features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.

 
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