SPARKILL, N.Y. - All five starters scored in double figures to propel the Daemen College men's basketball team to a big 84-81 overtime victory over nationally-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas College today at Aquinas Hall on the STAC campus. Daemen ran its winning streak to five games and improved to 7-3 overall and 7-1 in the East Coast Conference. STAC suffered its first loss of the year and dropped to 10-1 overall and 8-1 in the league. The win also snapped STAC's 13-game winning streak dating back to last season.

The host Spartans entered the game ranked fifth nationally in the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) media poll and 11th nationally in the National Association of  Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II poll.

IMPACT PLAYERS

• All-American Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) played 39 minutes and totaled 28 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks, two steals and two assists. The redshirt senior center connected on 11-of-15 shots overall and was 2-for-2 from three-point land. Sischo, who entered the game ranked second nationally in points per game and first in rebounds per game, is now averaging 27.4 points and 13.7 rebounds per game. He has now totaled 55 career double-doubles.
• Senior Kyle Harris (Buffalo, N.Y.) drilled four three-pointers and finished with 19 points, a season-high seven rebounds and three assists.
• Freshman Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) played 43 of a possible 45 minutes and contributed 11 points, five rebounds, a season-high five assists and two blocks.
• Graduate transfer Sean Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.) equaled his season-high for rebounds (11) and also added 11 points and five assists.
• Sophomore Ryan Salzberg (Manilus, N.Y.) played a career-high 38 points and totaled 11 points and three assists.
• Four players scored in double figures for the host Spartans. Junior forward Osbel Caraballo connected on 11-of-18 shots and totaled 27 points and 12 rebounds. Junior guard Grant Singleton added 14 points and eight assists, while junior guard Demetre Roberts also scored 14 points.

PERIOD-BY-PERIOD SUMMARY
First Half (Daemen 33, STAC 31) - The game was tied at 9-9 five minutes into the game when the Wildcats got a layup from Salzberg and a three-pointer from Harris to take a 14-9 lead. The Wildcats later took an eight point lead, 19-11, following a conventional three-point play by Sischo with 12:39 left before halftime. STAC answered with a 12-4 run and the hosts evened the game at 23-23 following a three-pointer by freshman Jamal Barnes with 7:50 left in the frame. Neither team led by more than four points the rest of the half, and a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Salzberg sent the Wildcats into the locker room with a 33-31 lead.

Second Half (STAC 40, Daemen 38) - The teams traded baskets for the first five minutes of the second half and the game was tied at 44-44 when the Wildcats managed five unanswered points. A three-pointer by Sischo capped the spurt and gave Daemen a 49-44 lead at the 14:37 mark. The Daemen lead was 51-48 when the hosts scored eight straight points and took a 56-51 following a steal and layup by graduate student Louis Griffith midway through the second half. The STAC lead was eight points, 65-57, with just under four minutes to play when the Wildcats cut the lead in half following a put back by Sischo and a layup by Mason. The hosts answered with bucket by senior Kevin Lynch, but the Wildcats tied the game at 67-67 following a back-to-back three-pointers by Fasoyiro and Harris. Sischo came up with a steal on STAC's next possession and the big man gave the Wildcats a 69-67 lead after making two free throws with 34 seconds left. Roberts split a pair of free throws for STAC with 18 seconds remaining, and after Fasoyiro was off the mark with two from the charity stripe seconds later the hosts had possession and the chance to take the lead. Roberts did just that, as he hit a three-pointer with six seconds left to give STAC a 71-69 lead. Daemen nearly threw the ensuing inbounds pass away, but Mason saved it from going out bounds at half court and the ball went right to Fasoyiro who drove to the bucket and scored with 2.6 seconds left to tie the game. STAC called timeout, but a desperation three-pointer by the Spartans was off the mark.

Overtime (Daemen 13, STAC 10) - The STAC lead was 79-76 with just under a minute to play in overtime when Salzberg drilled a triple to tie that game at 79. The hosts turned the ball over on their next possession and Salzberg came up big again with another three-pointer to make it 82-79 Daemen. Roberts was then off the mark with a layup and Sischo grabbed the round and was fouled. He made one of the two free throws to give Daemen an 83-79 lead, before STAC got a quick layup from Caraballo with 11 ticks left. Mason went to the line with nine seconds left and made one of two, giving the Spartans a chance to tie the game with a three-pointer. Roberts went for the quick two, but his jumper was blocked out of bounds by Fasoyiro with just 2.5 seconds left. A buzzer-beating three-point attempt by Griffith was then blocked by Salzberg to secure the win for Daemen.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Daemen shot 51-percent (31-of-61) from the field overall and went 12-of-30 from three-point land. The Wildcats made 10-of-15 free throws.
• STAC shot 48-percent (35-for-73) from the field overall, but the hosts connected on just 5-of-21 from downtown. The Spartans converted 6-of-9 from the charity stripe.
• Daemen finished with a 41-31 edge in total rebounds.The Spartans forced Daemen into 23 turnovers, which STAC converted into a 29-15 edge in points off turnovers. The hosts also held an advantage in bench points (14-4) and points in the paint (52-38).

GAME NOTES

• It marked Daemen's first win at Aquinas Hall since the 2017-18 season. 
• Sischo has now scored 20 or more points in 53 career games and has scored in double figures in 60 consecutive games.
• In 98 career games, he has totaled 2,067 points and 1,029 rebounds. He is the only player in program history—and just the second player in ECC history—to total 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rounds. 
• Sischo ranks second in career points among the ECC's all-time leaders. Justin Reyes of St. Thomas Aquinas sits atop the list with 2,247 points. Sischo also ranks fourth among the ECC's all-time leading rebounders. 
• Fasoyiro has reached double figures in nine of 10 games this season and is averaging 16.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.
• Mason has started all 10 games and is averaging 12.6 points and 7.3 rebounds. He also ranks second on the team in three-pointers made (21).
• Harris has scored in double figures in five of the last seven games. He is averaging 12.5 points with a team-high 26 three-pointers.
• Salzberg has reached double digits in points in four of the last six games. He is averaging 11.2 points over the last six games.
• The Wildcats are averaging 90.4 points during their current five game winning streak.
• 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

The teams will meet again tomorrow (Feb. 28) with the winner claiming the No. 1 seed in the upcoming ECC Championship Tournament. Game time is 2 p.m. at Aquinas Hall. It will mark the regular-season finale for both teams.

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.