AMHERST, N.Y. - With graduate student Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) recording yet another double-double, Daemen led from start to finish and continued their relative dominance in the Thruway Rivalry series with an 81-72 victory over visiting Roberts Wesleyan in East Coast Conference men's basketball action at Lumsden Gymnasium this evening. Daemen has now won 30 of the last 32 meetings with their rivals from Rochester, a span that dates back to the 2007-08 season.

The Wildcats snapped a two-game slide and improved to 4-5 overall and 2-0 in conference play. The win also marked the 400th in the 25-year career of Daemen head coach Mike MacDonald. A fixture in the Western New York basketball community, MacDonald has led Daemen to a 143-62 record in eight seasons following previous stops as the head coach at Division I Canisius College and Division III Medaille College. 

Roberts Wesleyan, which came into the game ranked 33rd in the country for scoring offense and averaging 86.0 points per game, was limited to just 39% shooting overall, including 25% from three-point range. The Redhawks fell to 2-4 overall and 0-1 in the conference. 

Daemen shot a season-high 48% from the field, finishing 28-for-58, and equaled their season-high with nine three-pointers. 

When leading 20-16, Daemen used a 10-1 midway through the first half to open up a double-figure advantage (30-17). The lead would reach 14 points (37-23) on a three-pointer by Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) before the Wildcats took a 39-29 edge into halftime. Daemen canned five three-pointers and shot a blistering 14-for-25 from the field (56%) in the opening stanza.

Daemen's lead reached its widest margin at 68-52 on a layup by Sischo with 5:12 remaining. Still, Roberts Wesleyan managed to hang around and cut the deficit to six (74-68) on a pair of Rian Carter free throws with 1:00 left. That's as close as they would get however as Daemen shot 7-for-10 from the charity stripe in the final minute to seal their victory.

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Sischo shot 14-for-18 from the field and finished with 31 points (19 in the second half) and 15 rebounds. It marks his eight double-double of the season (seventh consecutive) and the 68th of his career. He added a season-high three assists in 37 minutes of action.
• Graduate student Sean Fasoyiro (Houston, Texas) scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half. He finished 4-for-7 from the field and 2-for-4 from three-point range while adding nine rebounds and three assists.
• Mason, a sophomore guard, equaled his season-high with four three-pointers as part of a 14-point, five-rebound performance. 
• Also in the backcourt, graduate student Kyle Harris (Buffalo, N.Y.) scored all nine of his points on a trio of second-half three-pointers and sophomore Juston Johnson (Buffalo, N.Y.) contributed five points and a season-high four assists while making his first start of the season. 
• Fope Okuyiga led a quartet of double-figure scorers for the Redhawks, finishing with 15 points before fouling out. 
• Abou Gbane and Amari Lee scored 14 points apiece and Carter netted 10. 

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.
• The Wildcats played without starting point guard Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.) who missed tonight's game with an injury. Salzberg is averaging 6.3 points and 2.3 assists in seven games this season.
• Sischo has scored in double figures in 74 of his last 75 games and has reached 20+ points in 26 of his last 30 contests. Tonight's outing marked his second 30-point game of the season and the 17th of his career.
• In 12 career games against Roberts Wesleyan, Sischo is averaging 25.1 points and 11.4 rebounds per game. He's scored 30+ points five times against the Redhawks, including three of the last five meetings.
• 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 2,435 points in 113 career games (21.5 ppg). In tonight's game, Sischo moved into 37th place on the all-time NCAA Division II scoring list, passing Tyree Gaiter of Notre Dame (Ohio) (2,421 points, 2013-16) and John Grochowalski of Assumption (2,430 points, 1971-75). 
• Also during the course of tonight's contest, Sischo moved into the top 20 in Division II history for total rebounds. Now with 1,222 rebounds, Sischo ranks 17th all-time. He's also just 59 rebounds shy of becoming the ECC's all-time leader. 
• Daemen has won 13 straight home meetings with Roberts Wesleyan dating back to the 2010-11 season.
• Daemen improved to 2-0 at home this season. The Wildcats have won 44 of their last 48 home games and are now 60-10 all-time in home ECC games. 

NEXT JUMP BALL
The Wildcats continue a three-game homestand this Sunday, December 12 when they host Bridgeport for a 1 p.m. tip-off. 

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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