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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
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salzberg mbb vs gannon
72
Roberts Wesleyan RWCM 8-7,6-4 ECC
78
Winner Daemen DAEM 8-4,7-2 ECC
Roberts Wesleyan RWCM
8-7,6-4 ECC
72
Final
78
Daemen DAEM
8-4,7-2 ECC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Roberts Wesleyan RWCM 32 40 72
Daemen DAEM 34 44 78

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | CONTACT: Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications | (716) 839-8385 | mmiranto@daemen.edu

Men's Basketball Advances To ECC Title Game For First Time Since 2016

Wildcats hold off pesky Redhawks for six-point victory

AMHERST, N.Y. - For the first time since 2016, the Daemen men's basketball team will compete for an East Coast Conference tournament championship. The second-seeded Wildcats fended off a late rally to defeat third-seeded Roberts Wesleyan 78-72 in the semifinal round of the ECC Championship this evening at Lumsden Gymnasium. 

Four players scored in double figures and Daemen shot 48% from the field in the second half en route to their sixth win in the last seven games. The Wildcats improved to 8-4 overall and tonight's win sets up a showdown with top-seeded and nationally ranked St. Thomas Aquinas this Sunday, March 7 at Aquinas Hall in Sparkill, N.Y. The Spartans advanced with a 110-75 victory over fourth-seeded Molloy tonight. 

Roberts Wesleyan, which is ranked eighth in this week's official East Region rankings published by the NCAA, likely saw their NCAA tournament hopes dashed with tonight's loss, falling to 8-7 overall. It marked the fourth meeting this season between the Wildcats and Redhawks with Daemen grabbing three victories. Daemen has won 29 of the last 31 meetings, including 12 straight at home and three straight in postseason play. 


IMPACT PLAYERS

  • Redshirt senior center Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) overcame a slow start to post his 10th double-double of the season, finishing with game-highs of 24 points and 14 rebounds. The Daemen big man, who was named the ECC Player of the Year for the third time yesterday, shot 8-for-15 from the field and 8-for-12 from the free throw line, and scored 18 points in the pivotal second half. 
  • Senior guard Kyle Harris (Buffalo, N.Y.) went a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line, including two big ones in the waning moments. He scored 11 of his 15 points in the opening stanza. 
  • Freshman Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.), sophomore Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.) and grad student Sean Fasoyiro (Houston, Texas) all played impactful minutes for the Wildcats. Mason keyed a second-half run with nine straight points, finishing with 14 points, five boards and three assists. Salzberg drilled a trio of three-pointers and totaled 12 points. Fasoyiro battled foul trouble, but still managed nine points, nine boards, a game-high five assists and two steals before fouling out. 
  • Senior forward Armon Nasseri and grad student Isaiah Lewis scored 17 points apiece to pace the Redhawks. Nasseri went 6-for-9 from the field and 3-for-5 from three-point range, and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. 
  • Senior guard Reggie Clark netted nine points on 4-of-8 shooting before fouling out, and junior forward Fope Okuyiga scored eight of RWC's 18 bench points. 


PERIOD-BY-PERIOD SUMMARY
First Half (Daemen 34, Roberts Wesleyan 32) - After the Redhawks scored the opening six points of the game, Daemen rattled off 14 unanswered, holding the Redhawks off the scoreboard for more than five minutes. After a Mason three-pointer put Daemen ahead 18-10, the Redhawks made some headway thanks to their bench. Zecaree Veiga, Demani Smith, Ja'Kair Sanchez and Okuyiga sparked a 20-8 run. Okuyiga's layup at the 2:26 mark capped the run with the Redhawks leading 30-26. Daemen would score eight of the final 10 points of the half, however, evening the game at 30-30 on a layup by Harris and taking a two-point lead into halftime when Salzberg beat the buzzer with a deep three-pointer. 

Second Half (Daemen 44, Roberts Wesleyan 40) - The teams traded the lead six times in a little more than 10 minutes of second half action. After evening the score at 54-54 with two free throws, Sischo's layup at the 9:15 mark gave Daemen a lead it would not relinquish. After Lewis' floater in the lane brought Roberts within 58-56, Mason personally accounted for a 9-1 run that put Daemen firmly in control. The freshman guard nailed a corner three-pointer off a feed from Fasoyiro, went coast to coast for an old-fashioned three-point play, and struck again from downtown at the 5:47 mark to give Daemen a 67-57 lead. The Redhawks refused to back down though, and Clark's three-pointer with 2:22 to go cut the deficit to 71-67. A rare technical foul whistled on Sischo with 24 seconds left breathed some added life into the RWC comeback attempt, but Lewis split the two free throws, cutting it to a three-point deficit (73-70). Twice in the final 22 seconds Roberts Wesleyan had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead, but neither happened. Harris and Sischo calmly sank two free throws apiece in the final seven seconds of the game to provide the final margin.  

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

  • After allowing Roberts to shoot 14-for-26 in the first half (53.8%), the Daemen defense stiffened in the second as the Redhawks shot just 38.9% (14-for-36). 
  • Daemen finished 24-for-52 from the field (46.2%) and 9-for-24 from three-point range (37.5%).
  • Daemen outscored the Redhawks by 10 from the free throw line, shooting 21-for- 30 (70%) while RWC managed just 11-for-18 (61.1%).
  • The game featured five ties and 11 lead changes.


HEAD COACH MIKE MACDONALD POSTGAME COMMENTS

 


GAME NOTES

  • The victory snapped a four-game slide in ECC Championship semifinal round games for Daemen. Their last semifinal round victory came five years ago to the day (March 5, 2021) in a 103-102 overtime thriller vs. Mercy in Washington, D.C. The Wildcats are 5-5 all-time in ECC Championship games and are seeking their first tournament title. 
  • Daemen will be meeting St. Thomas Aquinas in the postseason for a second straight season and for the fifth time in the last six seasons. STAC denied Daemen's lone title game quest in 2016, winning 80-63. 
  • Tonight's game marked the 100th in Sischo's career as he becomes the 32nd player in program history to reach the century mark. Already Daemen's all-time leading scorer Sischo has totaled 2,117 points and 1,053 rebounds. He trails ECC record-holder Justin Reyes (St. Thomas Aquinas) by 130 points for the all-time conference scoring record. He is 50 rebounds shy of Daemen's all-time mark held by Hall of Famer Alex Nwora. 
  • Sischo entered the game ranked second in scoring and first in rebounding among the Division II national leaders. He's averaging 27.0 points and 13.4 rebounds per game, and has now scored 20 points or more in 10 games this season and in 55 games during his career. Sischo has scored 10 or more points in 62 straight games and tonight's double-double was the 57th of his career. 
  • In 11 lifetime games vs. Roberts Wesleyan, Sischo is averaging 24.5 points and 12.0 rebounds. 
  • Mason has scored in double figures in seven straight games, averaging 16.0 points in that span. For the season, the rookie guard is producing 13.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists per contest. 
  • Salzberg has scored at least nine points in eight of the last nine games, averaging 11.3 points in that span. 
  • Daemen is ranked third in the official East Region rankings released by the NCAA this week, and is also receiving votes in the Division II Sports Information Directors of America national media poll. 
  • Tonight's game marked the second postseason meeting between Daemen and Roberts Wesleyan since both programs joined the ECC. Daemen also defeated the Redhawks 75-69 in an opening round game on Feb. 28, 2018.
  • Daemen has won six straight postseason home games dating back to the program's NAIA era, including a perfect 4-0 in ECC Championship play. Daemen's last home playoff loss came on Feb. 27, 2010 in the American Mideast Conference tournament (80-78 vs. Cedarville).
  • Daemen has is 5-1 at home this season and has won 42 of their last 46 here dating back to the 2017-18 season. The Wildcats are now 81-15 in seven seasons under head coach Mike MacDonald. 
  • 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
Tip-off for Sunday's ECC Championship final is slated for 1 p.m. as the Wildcats and Spartans battle it out for the third time in nine days. Catch all the action live on the ECC Sports Network. 

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.
 

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