Men's Basketball | 3/7/2021 2:48:00 PM

SPARKILL, N.Y. - The quest for a conference tournament championship at the NCAA Division II level will have to wait for another year as the second-seeded Daemen Wildcats suffered an 83-67 loss to the top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas Spartans today in the final round of the East Coast Conference Men's Basketball Championship at Aquinas Hall. 

The Spartans, who entered the game ranked in the top 15 of both Division II national polls, claimed their fifth ECC tournament crow in the last six seasons and improved to 13-1 on the season. STAC's pressure defense was on full display in the first half, forcing 13 turnovers which resulted in 15 points. The Spartans closed the half with a 21-6 flurry covering the final 6:02, including an 11-2 jaunt in the final 1:58 to take a 13-point halftime lead (41-28). 

Daemen dropped to 8-5 overall with the loss. After trailing by as many as 21 points in the second half, the Wildcats got within 11 twice in the final five minutes, but STAC had an answer each time to quell any thoughts of a miraculous comeback.

Daemen was making its second appearance in the ECC Championship final since becoming eligible for the postseason play at the Division II level, and its first since 2016 when they also fell to STAC, 80-63. The Wildcats were also bidding for a second win over the Spartans in as many weekends. The teams split two games at Aquinas Hall on the final weekend of the regular season. Daemen took an 84-81 overtime victory on Feb. 27 which snapped a 13-game winning streak for the Spartans that dated back to last season. STAC came back a day later with a 71-68 win to clinch the number one seed in the conference tournament and hosting rights to today's contest. Since the 2013-14 season, STAC and Daemen rank first and second, respectively, among all ECC teams, as well as all Division II programs in New York State, in total victories (STAC: 180, Daemen 158). 

STAC's victory gives them an automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship, while Daemen turns its attention to tonight's selection show. Forty-eight teams from across the country will head to the Division II version of the "big dance". Daemen is expected to earn an at-large bid when the competing teams and seeds are unveiled at 10:30 p.m. on ncaa.com. 

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Junior guard Grant Singleton was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after totaling 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists today. Singleton averaged 18.5 points across STAC's two conference tournament games.
• Singleton was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Demetre Roberts and Osbel Caraballo. Roberts, a junior guard, shot 10-for-13 from the field (3-for-5 from three-point range) and totaled team-highs of 23 points, six assists and two steals. Caraballo chipped in with 13 points and team-high eight boards.
• Daemen's Andrew Sischo (Guilerdland, N.Y.) and Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) were also named to the all-tournament team. Sischo went 10-for-17 from the field and 7-for-10 from the charity stripe, finishing with a game-high 27 points to go with nine rebounds. Mason shot 6-for-6 from the field, including 5-for-5 from three-point range, and totaled 19 points.
• Grad student Sean Fasoyiro (Houston, Texas) grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and dished a game-high seven assists for the Wildcats.

First Half (St. Thomas Aquinas 41, Daemen 28) - Daemen hit four three-pointers in the first seven minutes of the contest, including three by Mason, to jump out to a 14-9 lead. STAC grabbed their first lead (15-14) at the 11:35 mark on a jumper by Caraballo. The lead traded hands four times over the next several minutes, including when Caraballo scored back-to-back hoops to spark the Spartans' signature spurt of the period. His jumper at the 5:39 mark put STAC in the lead for good, and it was followed by three-pointers from reserve guard Jamal Barnes and Roberts to make the score 30-24. Roberts would go on to net seven points in the final two minutes of the half, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer that gave the Spartans a 41-28 advantage. Daemen compounded things by committing three turnovers in the final 1:39. 

Second Half (St. Thomas Aquinas 42, Daemen 39) - Roberts picked up where he left off, scoring four points in the first minute of the second stanza as STAC extended to a 45-28 lead before another Mason three-pointer got Daemen on the board. The Wildcats closed to within 11 (54-43) on a bucket by Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y), but STAC responded with nine unanswered. Singleton completed an old-fashioned three-point play, and two more Daemen turnovers were followed by three-pointers from Barnes and Roberts, extending the STAC advantage to 63-43 with 11:43 left. STAC's lead reached its widest point at 67-46 when Singleton split a pair of free throws at the 9:15 mark. Sparked by the play of reserve guard Juston Johnson (West Seneca, N.Y.) who netted five straight points during a 14-5 spurt, Daemen closed to within 76-65 on a fasbreak dunk by Sischo at the 3:31 mark. But that's as close as they would get as Singleton's jumper 20 seconds sparked a game-closing 7-2 run for the hosts. 

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Daemen was the superior shooting team, finishing 25-for-50 (50%) overall and 8-for-17 from three-point range (47.1%), but their 17 turnovers led to 23 points and 16 more field goal attempts for the Spartans who shot 48.5% from the field (32-for-66) and 39.3% from downtown (11-for-28). STAC committed just eight turnovers in the game. 
• STAC won the rebounding battle, 34-32. It marks just the second time this season that Daemen has been out-rebounded, and the first time since Jan. 31 vs. Gannon. Daemen entered the game with +9.5 average rebound margin, fourth best in Division II this season. 

GAME NOTES

• Daemen was making its sixth consecutive appearance in the ECC tournament. The Wildcats have advanced to at least the semifinal round in each season they've been eligible, and are 5-6 all-time in ECC tournament play, including a 2-2 mark as the number two seed. 
• The game marked the 17th meeting overall and the fifth postseason meeting between Daemen and STAC over the last six seasons. The teams have split their regular season series five times in that span, but all five postseason games have gone to the Spartans. 
• The game also featured two of top coaches in Division II. Daemen's Mike MacDonald stands six wins shy of 400 for his career and ranks 37th in wins among active Division II coaches. STAC's Tobin Anderson ranks 45th on the same list with 365 victories.
• 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 13.0 rebounds per game, and has now scored 20 points or more in 11 of his 12 games this season and in 56 games during his career. Sischo has scored 10 or more points in 63 straight games. He failed to collect double-digit rebounds for just the second time this season.  
• Sischo, the three-time ECC Player of the Year, has now earned all-tournament team honors in two successive seasons. He averaged 25.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in the tournament this season.
• Already Daemen's all-time leading scorer Sischo has totaled 2,144 points and 1,062 rebounds. He trails ECC record-holder Justin Reyes (St. Thomas Aquinas) by 103 points for the all-time conference scoring record. He is 41 rebounds shy of Daemen's all-time mark held by Hall of Famer Alex Nwora. 
• Among the 15 players in the history of the NCAA Division II East Region (formerly the Northeast Region and New England Region), Sischo passed American International's Mario Elie (2,124 points, 1,001 rebounds) in scoring. Elie went on to have a 10-year career in the NBA, winning three championships. 
• Mason has scored in double figures in eight straight games, averaging 16.4 points in that span. He averaged 16.5 points and 5.5 rebounds and shot 71% from the field (10-for-14) and 80% on three-pointers (8-for-10) in Daemen's two conference tournament games. For the season, the rookie guard is producing 13.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per contest while shooting 56% overall and 49% from three-point territory.  
• Fasoyiro grabbed double-figure rebounds for the fourth time this season. The grad transfer did so just once in 81 games over three seasons at Franklin Pierce. He's also now dished five or more assists in six games this season and leads Daemen with 55 assists this season (4.2 apg). 
• 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 (D2SIDA) national media poll. 
• St. Thomas Aquinas is ranked first in the official East Region rankings, eighth in the D2SIDA national media poll and 15th in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II coaches poll.
• STAC entered the game ranked first in the country in turnovers forced (20.1) and steals (10.7) per game. 
• STAC is now 8-1 at home this season, improving to 71-11 at Aquinas Hall over the last six seasons. Daemen is one of only three opposing teams (also Bloomfield, Bridgeport) to own multiple victories at Aquinas Hall in that span.
• Daemen advanced to today's final round with a 78-72 victory Friday over third-seeded Roberts Wesleyan. STAC advanced following a 110-75 win over fourth-seeded Molloy.
• 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.
• Additional all-tournament team selections included Molloy's Darren Fergus and Roberts Wesleyan's Armon Nasseri. 

NEXT JUMP BALL
Daemen is expected to be among the 48 teams announced in tonight's NCAA tournament selection show. The East Regional portion of the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship will be held March 13-16 at the Albany (N.Y.) Capital Center. 

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.