AMHERST, N.Y. - Veterans Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) and Sean Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.) accounted for a combined 60 points to lead the Daemen College men's basketball team to an 83-71 victory over The College of Saint Rose today at Lumsden Gymnasium on the Daemen Campus.

The Wildcats evened their record to 3-3 on the year. Five of Daemen's first six opponents have been ranked either regionally or nationally and the Wildcats are now 2-3 in those contests.

CSR, which entered the game ranked No. 10 in the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region poll and receiving votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) top-25 poll, suffered its first loss of the year and stands at 4-1 on the season.

St. Rose built held a nine point lead, 24-15, with just over eight minutes left in the first half when a Fasoyiro put back sparked the hosts on a 14-3 run. Fasoyiro scored six points during the run and his layup with 3:34 left before halftime capped the rally and gave Daemen a 29-27 lead. The teams traded the baskets the rest of the half, before a conventional three point play by Sischo with five seconds left in the frame gave the Wildcats a 39-35 halftime lead.

Daemen was clinging to a six point lead, 51-45, with 12 minutes to play when Fasoyiro scored six-straight points and gave the hosts their first double digit lead of the game, 57-45. Saint Rose stayed within striking distance for a while, but the Golden Knights could never get the Daemen lead under five points. The Wildcats were up 68-61 heading into the final five minutes when the hosts finally took control with a 13-6 run. A three-pointer by junior Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) capped the spurt and gave the Wildcats an 81-67 lead with 1:21 to play.

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Sischo went 15-of-21 from the field and finished with a season-high 37 points. He also grabbed 14 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season—and the 65th double-double of his career.
• Fasoyiro flirted with a triple-double and finished with a season-high 23 points, a career-high 11 rebounds, a career-high nine assists and a career-high four steals.
• MacDonald helped Daemen cause with 10 points and three assists in just 15 minutes of action.
• Saint Rose was paced by freshman guard/forward Shane O'Dell, who entered the game averaging 22.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. The rookie scored 18 points in the first half, but was limited to just six points over the final 20 minutes and finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Adam Anderson added 16 points and five boards for the visitors. 

GAME NOTES

• Daemen returns 11 players, including all five starters, from their 2020-21 team that won the NCAA Division II East Region Championship and advanced to the Elite Eight.
• Daemen has now prevailed in the last four meetings between the two in-state rivals and the Wildcats own a 4-1 advantage in the all-time series.
• Daemen shot a season-high 48-percent (33-for-69) from the field and dished out a season-high 19 assists with a season-low eight turnovers. St. Rose shot just 33-percent (12-for-37) in the second half and finished 26-for-71 (37%) from the field overall.
• Daemen finished with a sizable advantage in points off turnovers (13-3), bench points (15-9) and points in the paint (42-28).
• Sischo, who grew up less than 10 miles from the St. Rose campus,  has scored over 30 points in his last two meetings with CSR and has averaged 31.0 points and and 9.3 rebounds in three career games against the Golden Knights.
• Sischo has now scored in double figures in 71 of his last 72 games. Tonight's outing marked the 16th 30-point game of his career. He has now totaled 2,355 points and 1,176 rebounds in 110 career games.
• Fasoyiro reached 20 points in a game for the third time in his two-year Daemen career. He has now totaled 304 points (13.8 pg) in 22 games with Daemen.
• Daemen head coach Mike MacDonald is now just one win shy of 400 for his career. The veteran bench boss owns a 399-286 record across 25 seasons. MacDonald ranks 37th among active Division II coaches in career wins. He has led Daemen to a 142-60 record since taking the reins of the program in 2014.

NEXT JUMP BALL
Daemen travels to Liberty, W. Va. Monday (Nov. 29) to take on nationally-ranked West Liberty University. The Hilltoppers are currently ranked No. 7 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II poll and No. 4 in the D2SIDA national poll.

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.