WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. - In a meeting between two of last season's Elite Eight participants, Daemen led for more than 32 minutes before suffering a 63-61 loss to nationally-ranked West Liberty in non-conference men's basketball action at the Academic Sports and Recreation Center on the WLU campus this evening. 

Daemen led 59-55 following a runner by junior guard Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) with 5:35 to play, but the Hilltoppers' defense stiffened considerably from there. The Wildcats made just one of their final seven field goal attempts and committed five costly turnovers down the stretch. Viktor Koracevic evened the score with a jumper, and with 3:13 to play, gave the Hilltoppers a 61-59 advantage with a fastbreak layup. It was the first time WLU held a lead since a Koracevic three-pointer put them ahead 5-4. 

After West Liberty's Pat Robinson III split a pair of free throws to put them ahead by three, Daemen pulled back within a point when Sean Fasoyiro (Houston, Texas) canned a mid-range jumper at the 1:29 mark. Daemen would come up with two defensive stops, giving themselves an opportunity to reclaim the lead, but committed consecutive turnovers. 

Still, aided by shaky free throw shooting from the hosts (1-for-4 in the final 20 seconds, 8-for-18 for the game), Daemen had a chance to tie or take the lead as time ticked away. The Wildcats generated an open three-point attempt for Kyle Harris (Buffalo, N.Y.), but his shot was off the mark. All-American center Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) got the offensive rebound but could not get the tying attempt away before time expired. 

Daemen used an efficient offense to control the first-half tempo. The Wildcats shot over 60% from the field (14-for-23) and three-point range (4-for-6) and led for more than 15 minutes in the period. Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.) scored five points in a quick 6-1 spurt that saw the Wildcats build an 11-point lead (29-18) just over 14 minutes into the contest. The Hilltoppers chipped away and pulled within 29-26, but a three-pointer by Harris sparked the Wildcats on a 7-2 run to end the half, allowing the guests to take a 36-28 lead into halftime. 

West Liberty managed to flip the script. Their signature pressure defense forced Daemen into 12 second-half turnovers (21 in the game) and limited them to just 37% shooting (11-for-30) in the period. The Wildcat miscues resulted in 26 points for the Hilltoppers, including 15 in the second half. 

The loss snapped Daemen's modest winning streak at two straight games, dropping them to 3-4 on the season. All four of their losses have come against nationally-ranked opponents, including two by three points or fewer. 

West Liberty, which is ranked in the top 10 of both Division II national polls (No. 7 NABC, No. 4 D2SIDA), improved to 5-1. The Hilltoppers have won 86 of their last 91 home games and are now 74-5 in non-conference home games over the last 18 seasons. They came into today's game averaging 97.6 points per game - third-best in the country - and were held under 70 points for the first time since a 98-66 loss to Shippensburg on March 10, 2018. It was also their first win when scoring less than 70 points since a 67-65 defeat of Fairmont State on March 5, 2017.  

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Koracevic shot 50% from the field (6-for-12) and three-point range (3-for-6) and totaled 16 points to pace a balanced West Liberty offense. Malik McKinney finished 5-for-7 from the field and matched Koracevic with a team-high 16 points.
• Robinson III came into the contest averaging a team-high 22.0 points per game, but shot just 4-for-12 overall and 1-for-7 from downtown while finishing with 10 points. The junior guard added game-highs of five assists and three steals. 
• Bryce Butler chipped in 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting and Marlon Moore was impactful off the West Liberty bench, finishing with seven points, nine rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
• Sischo paced the Wildcats yet again, score 15 of his 21 points in the first half. He added 13 rebounds for the 66th double-double of his career.
• Sophomore guard Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) returned to the starting lineup and made a trio of three-pointers while totaling 13 points and nine rebounds.
• Fasoyiro (nine points), Harris (eight points) and Salzberg (seven points, four assists) all logged 30+ minutes for the Wildcats.

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.
• West Liberty boasts 12 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. The Hilltoppers are the defending Atlantic Region champions. 
• West Liberty owns a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series. Daemen had evened the series with a 98-83 win over the Hilltoppers, then ranked in the top-five of both national polls, at Lumsden Gymnasium on Nov. 16, 2019. Tonight's game was Daemen's first at West Liberty. 
• In seven games this season, Daemen has played four games against nationally-ranked opponents (Colorado Mesa, West Texas A&M, Mercyhurst, West Liberty) and two more against teams that were receiving national poll votes (Minnesota State Moorhead, Saint Rose). 
• Daemen finished 25-for-56 from the field (44.6%), 7-for-16 from three-point range (43.8%) and 4-for-9 from the free throw line (44.4%). West Liberty won despite shooting just 40% overall (24-for-60), 25% from three-point range (6-for-24) and 47% from the charity stripe (8-for-18). The Wildcats attempted just one free throw in the second half. 
• Sischo has now scored 20+ points in 24 of his last 28 games and has reached double figures in 72 of his last 73 games. He is the NCAA Division II active leader in points (2,376), rebounds (1,189), field goals made (946), free throws made (457) and attempted (649) double-doubles (66).   
• Daemen head coach Mike MacDonald remains just one win shy of 400 for his career. The veteran bench boss owns a 399-2867 record across 25 seasons. MacDonald ranks 37th among active Division II coaches in career wins. He has led Daemen to a 142-61 record since taking the reins of the program in 2014.

NEXT JUMP BALL
Daemen will take a week to regroup, next traveling to Syracuse on Monday, Dec. 6 for a meeting with regional rival Le Moyne. 

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.

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