SYRACUSE, N.Y. - An 11-2 run late in the second half broke open a close game and sparked Le Moyne College to an 84-77 victory over Daemen College here tonight at Ted Grant Court on the Le Moyne Campus.

The host Dolphins registered their second-straight win and improved to 5-3 on the season. Daemen suffered their second-straight loss and fell to 3-5 on the year.

Both teams put together early runs and the Dolphins held a 21-18 lead midway through the first half. The game was tied at 28 with seven minutes left before halftime when a jumper by Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) sparked the Wildcats on a 12-5 run. A conventional three-point play by Sischo with 3:34 left in the frame capped the run and gave the Wildcats a 40-33 lead. The Daemen lead was still seven points, 42-35, when back-to-back steals by Le Moyne led to four straight points for the hosts. Daemen would take a 46-44 lead into intermission.

The teams traded buckets for most of the second half and the Dolphins held a 67-65 lead with just over six minutes to play when a layup by redshirt freshman Jack Poirier ignited an 11-2 run by the hosts. A pull up jumper by Poirier with 4:01 left capped the run and gave the Dolphins a 78-67 lead. Back-to-back three-pointers by Daemen cut the lead to five points with just over a minute left, but the Wildcats would come no close than five points down the stretch.

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Senior guard Nino Hernandez paced a balanced Le Moyne attack with 17 points. He also added six rebounds and three steals. Redshirt freshman guard Christian Davis added 15 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, while redshirt freshman guard Kevin Constant also netted 15 points.
• The Wildcats were once again paced by Sischo and fellow graduate student Sean Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.).
• Sischo went 11-of-22 from the field and finished with 28 points and a season-high 18 rebounds. It marked his seventh double-double of the season—and the 67th double-double of his career. Fasoyiro added 16 points and seven boards.
• Sophomore Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) reached double figures for the fourth time this season and finished with 10 points, while graduate student Kyle Harris (Buffalo, N.Y.) added eight points and a season-high six assists. 

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 connected on just 36-percent (14-39) of its shots in the second half and finished 29-of-70 (41%) from the field overall. Le Moyne shot 55-percent (17-31) in the second half and finished 34-of-65 (52%) from the field overall.
• The host Dolphins also finished with a sizable advantage in bench points (24-12) and fast break points (33-14).
• Sischo has scored in double figures in 72 of his last 73 games and has reached 20+ points in 24 of his last 28 contests. He has now totaled 2,404 points and 1,207 rebounds in 112 career games.
• 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 and has become just the 39th player in NCAA Division II history to reach 2,400 points.
• Daemen head coach Mike MacDonald remains one win shy of 400 for his career. The veteran bench boss owns a 399-288 record across 25 seasons. MacDonald ranks 37th among active Division II coaches in career wins. He has led Daemen to a 142-62 record since taking the reins of the program in 2014.

NEXT JUMP BALL

The Wildcats are back in action Wednesday (Dec. 8) when they open East Coast Conference play by hosting rival Roberts Wesleyan College.

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.