AMHERST, N.Y. – It's not about how hard you hit. It's about how you can get hit and keep moving forward.
After watching a 37-33 halftime lead turn into a 48-43 deficit with just over 13 minutes left to play in the second half, Daemen men's basketball chipped away and controlled the final 6:39 of play on a 16-3 run for a 71-59 victory over visiting Bridgeport in an East Coast Conference Sunday matinee held at Lumsden Gymnasium.
With the victory, Daemen has now won two consecutive games – both in ECC play – and return to .500 at 5-5 overall. Daemen is also 3-0 in conference play for the first time since the 2018-19 season (16-2 ECC finish.) Daemen also snapped a three-game losing streak against the Purple Knights and won in the series for the first time since a 93-71 victory on March 3, 2019. The Wildcats are also 6-2 at home against Bridgeport.
Daemen jumped out to a 13-2 run over the first 5:39 of play, in large part due to a trio of three-pointers coming from graduate student guard
Kyle Harris (Buffalo, N.Y.). A jumper from fellow veteran
Sean Fasoyiro (Houston, Texas) extended the lead to 13 points (29-16) with 6:30 remaining in the first half. The Purple Knights responded with an 11-3 run to cut the deficit to 32-27 with 4:02 remaining. A lay-up from Bridgeport's Malcom Moye with two seconds remaining cut Daemen's lead down to 37-33 at the break.
After trailing 48-43 with 13:04 left in the contest, Daemen started finding its groove offensively as inside baskets from
Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) and timely perimeter shooting from both Harris and
Juston Johnson (Buffalo, N.Y.) kept the momentum moving. Johnson's three-point attempt tied the game at 53 apiece with 8:41 left. Bridgeport sophomore D'Andre Collins responded moments later to give the Purple Knights a 56-53 lead. But following two major baskets from Sischo - the first off a slam dunk - the Wildcats did not look back. Sischo's lay-up in the paint from guard
Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) gave Daemen a 57-56 lead with 6:39 remaining. Two late three-pointers from Mason plus inside shots from Sischo, Harris and
Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) were highlights of Daemen's 16-3 run to secure the victory.
In the win, Daemen shot 43.1%, finishing 28-for-65, and established a new season-high with 10 three-pointers. Daemen previously tied their season-high of nine three-pointers in an 81-72 victory versus Roberts Wesleyan on Dec. 8. The Wildcats were also 5-of-6 from the free-throw line and recorded 50 total rebounds, 18 rebounds and seven blocks.
Bridgeport, meanwhile, had shooting spurts throughout the contest, but were limited to 31.5% shooting overall, including 17.9% from beyond the arc. The Purple Knights fell to 3-7 and 1-1 in East Coast Conference play.
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Graduate student Kyle Harris (Buffalo, N.Y.) recorded his first career double-double and led Daemen in points (16) and tied for first in rebounding (12.) Harris shot 5-of-13 from the floor and converted a team-high four three-pointers along with three assists in 33 minutes of play.
- After a 14-point, five-rebound performance against Roberts Wesleyan on Dec. 8, sophomore Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) followed up with 15 points, seven rebounds and a team-high six assists in 28 minutes of action against Bridgeport Sunday.
- Graduate student Sean Fasoyiro (Houston, Texas) scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half alone. He shot 6-of-7 from the field while adding four rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 25 minutes of play.
- Graduate student Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) shot 6-of-12 from the field and finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds. It marks his ninth double-double of the season (eighth consecutive) and the 69th of his career. Sischo also added one block in a team-high 36 minutes of action.
- Junior Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) and sophomore Juston Johnson (Buffalo, N.Y.) contributed a combined 14 of Daemen's 16 bench points.
- Sophomore guard Tim Dawson led a trio of double-figure scorers for the Purple Knights, finishing with a game-high 23 points on 9-of-23 shooting plus a team-high nine rebounds and made three assists in a game-high 37 minutes of action.
- Junior forward Malcolm Moye recorded 12 points and Collins added 10 points.
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.
- In the victory, Harris recorded the first double-double of his Wildcat career. In what was his 33rd career start and 58th career appearance, Harris also crossed the 400-point plateau while wearing the blue-and-white. So far in 2021-22, Harris is averaging 6.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
- Including today's contest, Fasoyiro has finished in double-figures in 19 of his 26 career starts with Daemen, including seven times this season. So far in 2021-22, Fasoyiro is averaging 13.2 and 5.4 rebounds per game.
- A two-time ECC Rookie of the Week last winter, Mason has now finished in double-figure scoring six times and in each of his last four contests in 2021-22, averaging 10.5 points per game.
- Sischo has scored in double figures in 75 of his last 76 games and nine times in 2021-22 alone.
- A two-time consensus All-American and three-time ECC Player of the Year, Sischo is NCAA Division II's active leader in career points, career rebounds and career double-doubles. He is the all-time leading scorer in Daemen and ECC history with 2,447 points in 114 career games (21.5 ppg). Sischo currently stands in 37th place on the all-time NCAA Division II scoring list.
- Earlier this season, Sischo moved into the top 20 in Division II history for total rebounds and through today's contest has recorded 1,234 rebounds. He's also just 47 rebounds shy of becoming the ECC's all-time leader.
- Starting point guard Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.) returned to the starting lineup Sunday after missing Wednesday's game against Roberts Wesleyan with an injury and recorded two assists in 23 minutes played against Bridgeport. Salzberg is averaging 5.3 points and 2.3 assists in eight games this season.
- Today marked the 16th all-time meeting between Daemen and Bridgeport since the series began on Jan. 18, 2014. With the victory today, Daemen avoided a fourth straight loss in the series and won their first since March 3, 2019 (93-71 at Lumsden Gymnasium.)
- Today's contest featured two of the most successful coaches in Division II between Daemen's Mike MacDonald and Bridgeport's Mike Ruane. MacDonald ranks 37th among active Division II coaches with 401 wins, while Ruane ranks 38th with 396.
- Daemen improved to 3-0 at home this season. The Wildcats have won 45 of their last 49 home games and are now 61-10 all-time in home ECC games.
NEXT JUMP BALL
The Wildcats conclude a three-game homestand Saturday, December 18 when they host Franklin Pierce for an 11 a.m. tip-off at Keybank Center. The contest is part of a speical Big 4 Basketball Tripleheader followed by Niagara vs. UAlbany (2 p.m.) and Canisius vs. University of Buffalo (5 p.m.). Tickets purchased
here are valid for all three games.
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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