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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
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sischo mbb vs msu moorhead
Tevor Fleeman
63
MSU Moorhead MSUM 0-1,0-0 NSIC
67
Winner Daemen DAEM 1-0,0-0 ECC
MSU Moorhead MSUM
0-1,0-0 NSIC
63
Final
67
Daemen DAEM
1-0,0-0 ECC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
MSU Moorhead MSUM 30 33 63
Daemen DAEM 32 35 67

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | CONTACT: Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for Communications/Operations

Wildcats Slay Dragons For 67-63 Win In Season Opener

Sischo becomes program's all-time leading rebounder

CANYON, Texas - Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) posted the 61st double-double of his career and Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) led a pivotal second half run to help the Daemen men's basketball team hang on to earn a 67-63 victory over Minnesota State Moorhead in their 2021-22 season opener tonight. The game was played as part of the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA) Tip-Off Classic at the First United Center on the campus of West Texas A&M University. 

With the victory, Daemen starts 1-0 for the 18th time in the last 20 seasons, knocking off a MSU Moorhead squad that just yesterday was picked first in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference preseason coaches' poll. Both Daemen and MSU Moorhead are receiving votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) top 25 poll to start the season. 

IMPACT PLAYERS
  • In his Daemen debut, MacDonald came off the bench to can 4-of-6 three-pointers as part of a game-high 17-point outing. The junior guard, who transferred after playing two seasons at Division I Niagara, added three rebounds, three assists and two steals in 28 minutes of action, and scored 12 points in the second half.
  • Sischo, the two-time consensus All-American, has now recorded double-doubles in 18 of his last 20 games dating back to the 2019-20 season, finishing today with 16 points (14 in the first half) and 15 boards. His rebound at the 11:52 mark of the first half was the 1,102nd of his career, breaking the program record held by 1993 graduate Alex Nwora. Already Daemen's all-time leading scorer, Sischo has now totaled 1,116 rebounds in his illustrious career. With his career point total up to 2,239, he's now just nine points shy of becoming the East Coast Conference's all-time leading scorer.
  • Sophomore guard Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) connected on all three of his three-point attempts and gave the Wildcats a third double-figure scorer, finishing with 10 points. 
  • Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.) and Sean Fasoyiro (Houston, Texas) chipped in nine and points, respectively.
  • Lorenzo McGhee led a balanced scoresheet for the Dragons, finishing with 12 points. Gatdoar Kueth chipped in 10 points and eight boards, while Bryce Irsfeld came off the bench to net 10 points.

DOWN THE STRETCH
In a game that featured 11 lead changes, Daemen used the three-point shot to power a quick 9-2 run that gave them an advantage more than midway through the second half which they would not relinquish. MacDonald canned back-to-back trey balls, the first of which gave the Wildcats a 47-46 lead with 9:56 to play. Mason added a triple at the 7:56 mark to put Daemen head 53-48, prompting a timeout by the Dragons.

The Daemen defense held the Dragons without a field goal for more than seven minutes, and extended to their largest lead of the game at 61-50 when MacDonald drilled another three-pointer. Still, the Dragons managed to pull within 64-62 with under 10 seconds remaining. Gavin Baumgartner scored two layups in mere seconds of one another, the second coming after a stolen inbounds pass. 

Mason split a pair of free throws, keeping the door open with the Dragons trailing by just three (65-62). Daemen played the foul game and sent Jacob Beeninga to the free throw line with three ticks left. He hit the first and intentionally missed the second, but the Dragons committed a foul on the rebound. Redshirt junior Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.) sank two free throws to cap his Daemen debut, putting the game out of reach in the waning seconds.

NEXT JUMP BALL
The Wildcats return to action tomorrow when they meet No. 4 Colorado Mesa for a 6:30 p.m. (CDT) tip-off. The Mavericks suffered a 72-63 loss to No. 3 West Texas A&M earlier today. 

Daemen College features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 18 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.

Follow the Daemen College men's basketball program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @DaemenMBB.  
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