SPARKILL, N.Y. - Daemen led for 37 minutes but their quest for a weekend sweep against nationally ranked St. Thomas Aquinas came up just short, falling 71-68 in a matchup of the top two teams in the East Coast Conference men's basketball standings today at Aquinas Hall.

Daemen was looking to put an exclamation point on the weekend following their 84-81 overtime victory yesterday afternoon which snapped the Spartans' 13-game winning streak dating back to last season. But, STAC overcame a 10-point second half deficit to emerge victorious today, avoiding their first back-to-back home losses since November of 2014. The Spartans (11-1, 9-1 ECC), who 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, secured the ECC regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming conference tournament with today's win.

Daemen will end the regular season at 7-4 overall and 7-2 in conference play. The Wildcats saw their five-game winning streak go by the wayside today. 

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Junior guard Grant Singleton scored 12 of his team-high 20 points in the final eight minutes, including STAC's go-ahead three-pointer with just over a minute to play. He shot 9-for-18 from the field and added a team-high six rebounds.
• Junior guard Demetre Roberts tossed in 17 points, including the 1,000th of his career, and junior forward Osbel Caraballo added 12 points to the Spartan cause. 
• All-American Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) led the way for Daemen, shooting 12-for-14 from the field to finish with a game-high 26 points. He added 10 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season and the 56th of his career. Along the way today, Sischo became the ECC's all-time leader in made field goals, surpassing the record of 825 set by STAC's Justin Reyes from 2014-18. Sischo, who became Daemen's career field goals leader last season, now has 832 in his career. 
• Freshman guard Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) hit 7-of-9 shots from the field, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, and totaled 18 points, six boards and five assists.
• Sophomore Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.) hit double figures for the second straight game, finishing with 14 points including a 4-of-8 showing from downtown. 

PERIOD-BY-PERIOD SUMMARY
First Half (Daemen 34, STAC 30) - With the STAC offense getting off to a sluggish start, Daemen capitalized an opened up an early eight-point lead (13-5) following an old-fashioned three-point play by Sischo. The Spartans found their footing with a quick 6-0 spurt, taking their first lead of the contest at 21-20 on a short jumper by Caraballo at the 6:49 mark. It was short-lived however as Daemen climbed back in front 24-23 on a Salzberg drive and score. The Wildcats would extend back to a six-point advantage (34-28) when Sischo scored inside of a minute to go, but Roberts had an answer for the Spartans, pulling them within four points at the break. 

Second Half (STAC 41, Daemen 34) - After STAC evened the score at 34-34, Daemen went on a 10-0 run, getting a pair of interior buckets from Sischo as well as trey-balls from Mason and Kyle Harris (Buffalo, N.Y.). STAC cut it to a five-point deficit on Caraballo's layup with 14:34 to go, but Mason and Salzberg would knock down three-pointers, the second of which pushed Daemen back ahead by nine (52-43). Another field goal from Sischo at the 8:27 mark ended a four-minute scoring drought as Daemen continued to lead (54-45). Singleton's three-pointer at the 7:42 mark got him and the Spartans going, cutting the deficit to 56-51. After Caraballo made it a four-point game, Daemen got and old-fashioned three-point play from Mason to provide some additional breathing room at 64-57. Antonio Vendola's three-pointer at the 3:44 mark sparked a game-closing 13-4 run for the Spartans. Singleton scored nine straight points in the spurt, including a layup with 1:53 left that evened the score at 66-66. After an empty Daemen possession, Singleton struck again with his second three-pointer of the game, giving STAC a 69-66 lead with 1:04 to play. Daemen responded by going to Sischo inside, his bucket pulling Daemen back within one with 35 seconds left. The Wildcats forced a turnover on STAC's next possession and took the ball with a chance to take the lead. But, STAC forced Daemen into its 21st turnover of the game as senior guard Louis Griffith came up with the steal. He nailed a pair of free throws with five seconds left to put STAC ahead by three. Daemen got a good look at a tying three-point attempt, but Sean Fasoyiro's (Houston, Texas) shot rimmed out at the buzzer. 

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• STAC shot 61% from the field in the second half (17-for-28) and 49% for the game (30-for-61). The Spartans overcame a chilly start from three-point range (3-for-14 in the first half) and made 4-of-7 from downtown in the pivotal second half.
• Daemen shot 53% from the field (27-for-51) and made 10-of-27 three-point attempts (37%), but scored a season-low four points from the free throw line (4-for-8). 
• STAC entered the weekend forcing 19.7 turnovers per game - third best in Division II. The Spartans turned Daemen's 21 miscues into 19 points while committing only four turnovers themselves. The turnover disparity resulted in STAC attempting 10 more field goals than the Wildcats who averaged only 13.0 turnovers per game coming into the weekend - best in the ECC.

GAME NOTES

• The loss negated Daemen's attempt for a third ECC regular season title. The Wildcats claimed that achievement in the 2013-14 and 2018-19 seasons. 
• In 99 career games, Sischo has totaled 2,093 points and 1,039 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 entered the weekend ranked second in scoring and first in rebounding among the Division II national leaders. He's averaging 27.3 points and 13.3 rebounds per game, and has now scored 20 points or more in nine games this season and in 54 games during his career. Sischo has scored 10 or more points in 61 straight games and 93 times total in his career.  
• Mason has scored in double figures in six straight games, averaging 16.3 points in that span. For the season, the rookie guard is producing 13.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per contest. 
• Salzberg has scored at least nine points in seven of the last eight games, averaging 11.3 points in that span. 
• It was a meeting of two ECC heavyweights. Since the 2013-14 season, St. Thomas Aquinas and Daemen rank first and second respectively in overall and conference victories among all ECC teams. STAC's 178 wins in that span also rank first among all NCAA Division II teams in New York State. Daemen's 157 wins ranks second. The teams have also combined for seven NCAA tournament berths in the last five seasons (STAC 5, Daemen 2).
• It also marked the 16th meeting between Daemen and STAC since the 2015-16 season. The teams have met four times in postseason play over the last five campaigns and this marks the fifth straight season they've split their regular season series. 
• 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 turns its attention to the ECC Championship tournament which gets underway this week. The Wildcats are the No. 2 seed and will host third-seeded Roberts Wesleyan in the semifinals Friday, March 5 at Lumsden Gymnasium. The Wildcats won two of three regular season meetings with the Redhawks this season. 

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.