AMHERST, N.Y. – Seeking redemption following a rare Thruway Rivalry series loss last week, the Daemen men's basketball team responded with an 85-69 defeat of Roberts Wesleyan tonight in East Coast Conference action at Lumsden Gymnasium - the third meeting between the two rivals in the last 10 days. Daemen led by as many 17 points before fending off a serious second half rally by the Redhawks.
The teams met last Thursday (Feb. 11) in Rochester with the host Redhawks scoring an 80-75 victory which snapped Daemen's 20-game winning streak in the series that spanned a decade. With tonight's win, Daemen has taken two of three from the Redhawks this season and 28 of the last 30 meetings dating back to the 2007-08 season. It also marked Daemen's 11th straight home win in the series.
Daemen has now won two straight games, moving their record to 4-3 overall and 4-1 in conference play. Roberts Wesleyan, which was coming off a pair of heartbreaking home losses to ECC favorite St. Thomas Aquinas this past weekend, dropped to 4-6 overall and 2-4 in the league.
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Redshirt senior center Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) was back in the lineup after a one-game hiatus, and he led the way for the Wildcats, finishing with game-highs of 30 points and 17 rebounds. Sischo shot 12-of-24 from the field.
- Freshman guard Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) posted the second double-double of his career (both against Roberts Wesleyan), finishing with 15 points and 10 boards to go along with four assists.
- Senior guard Kyle Harris (Buffalo, N.Y.) and sophomore guard Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.) also reached double figures for the Wildcats, scoring 13 and 12 points, respectively. Graduate student Sean Fasoyiro (Houston, Texas) chipped in with nine points, 11 rebounds and a game-high seven assists.
- Senior Reggie Clark (25 points, 13 rebounds, four assists) and graduate student Isaiah Lewis (19 points) paced the Redhawks. The duo combined for nine of RWC's 11 three-pointers.
PERIOD-BY-PERIOD SUMMARY
First Half (Daemen 43, Roberts Wesleyan 31) – Sischo was bound and determined to put his stamp on the game early, scoring 13 points in a little over nine minutes as Daemen opened up a 23-12 lead. The Redhawks clawed back with a 12-2 run, pulling within 25-24 on a three-pointer by Clark at the 6:14 mark. Daemen answered with a trey-ball by Mason which sparked an 18-2 spurt. Redshirt junior guard Da'Shawn Hines (Amherst, N.Y.) keyed the Daemen run with a pair of three-pointers. Sischo's fastbreak slam following a steal by Mason put the Wildcats ahead 43-26, but Clark narrowed the gap by scoring five points in the final minute of the period.
Second Half (Daemen 42, Roberts Wesleyan 38) – Daemen maintained a double figure lead through the early portions of the second half, until Lewis caught fire for the Redhawks. The crafty veteran accounted for 16 points during an 20-9 spurt that brought the guests within 61-60 at the 8:19 mark. Salzberg hit back-to-back three-pointers to provide some breathing room, but the Redhawks continued to hang around. An inside hoop by Armon Nasseri cut the Daemen lead to 71-66, but the Wildcats would score the next nine points to salt the game away. Fasoyiro's driving lay-in made it 80-66 with just over a minute left. The Redhawks were forced to foul, but Daemen made five free throws in the final minute to extinguish any thoughts of a miracle comeback.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- After allowing 58 and 46 points in the paint in the prior two meetings vs. Roberts Wesleyan, Daemen's defense stiffened today, surrendering just 26 inside points.
- Daemen, which entered the game as the ECC leader in rebound margin per game (+7.0), enjoyed a massive 48-30 edge off the backboard. The Wildcats corralled 19 offensive rebounds and finished with a 21-0 advantage in second chance points.
- Daemen shot 30-for-66 from the field (45.5%) and 12-for-24 from three-point range (50%). Daemen has now made 10+ three-pointers in four straight games, and is 29-for-58 (50%) in the last two.
- Roberts Wesleyan was better from three-point range (11-for-24, 45.8%) than their overall field goal percentage (26-for-61, 42.6%).
HEAD COACH MIKE MACDONALD POSTGAME COMMENTS
GAME NOTES
- Sischo, who became Daemen's all-time leading scorer in last Thursday's game vs. Roberts Wesleyan, leads Division II in scoring (29.8 ppg) and rebounding (14.8 rpg).
- Sischo extended a trio of personal streaks with his performance tonight. He's now recorded 10 consecutive double-doubles, 12 consecutive 20-point games and 57 consecutive 10-point games. Tonight's output marked his fourth 30-point game of the season and the 15th of his career.
- Sischo has torched Roberts Wesleyan throughout his career, averaging 24.5 points and 11.8 rebounds in 10 games. He's totaled seven double-doubles and four 30-point games against the Redhawks.
- Sischo now stands just shy of two career milestones. In 95 games, he has totaled 1,999 points and 995 rebounds. He's bidding to become the first player in program history to reach 2,000 career points and just the third player to reach 1,000 career rebounds.
- During the course of today's game, Sischo also moved into the top five in both points and rebounds among the East Coast Conference's all-time leaders. He overtook Jonathan Schmidt of LIU Post and his 1,980 career points to take over fifth place on the scoring list. Sischo passed Molloy's Larry Steimer (993 rebounds) and St. Rose's Ralph Bucci (994 rebounds) to move into fifth place on the rebounding list.
- Including his three-year stint at Franklin Pierce, Fasoyiro has recorded three games with 10 or more rebounds - all against Roberts Wesleyan.
- Since being inserted into the starting lineup five games ago, Harris is producing 15.4 points per game. He has hit multiple three-pointers in six of Daemen's seven games this season, including the last five.
- Mason has hit double figures in each of the last two games and is averaging 12.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
- Salzberg has scored at least nine points in four straight games, totaling 47 points (11.8 ppg). He had totaled 35 points in the first 26 games of his career.
- Already playing with a thinned roster due to eight COVID-19 opt-outs, Daemen was without freshman guard Juston Johnson (Buffalo, N.Y.), who had started the first six games, and freshman forward Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) who each missed the game with injuries.
- Daemen is coming off back-to-back 24-win seasons that resulted in NCAA tournament berths. Daemen's 89 wins from 2016-17 through 2019-20 represents the most successful four-year span in program history. The Wildcats were hit hard by graduation, losing four of their five starters, all of whom were 1,000-point scorers.
NEXT JUMP BALL
Daemen welcomes Mercy to Lumsden Gymnasium for an ECC contest this Saturday, Feb. 20 with tip-off set for 3 p.m. The teams were supposed to play twice this weekend, but it was announced earlier today that Sunday's game would be canceled.
Daemen College features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 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.
Support Daemen College's return to intercollegiate athletic competitions by making a contribution to the Game On Campaign and the Daemen Wildcats Gotta Play Fund. This comprehensive fundraising campaign was established to help offset the loss of valuable external revenue streams that directly support Daemen's 17 varsity teams. To learn more, visit daemenwildcats.com/gameon.
