EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Cinderella slipper didn't fit during Daemen's first-ever trip to the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Elite Eight.
Playing with a roster reduced to 10 players due to injuries and opt-outs, the eighth-seeded Wildcats, champions of the East Region, suffered a 97-83 setback to No. 1 seed West Texas A&M in the national quarterfinals this afternoon at the Ford Center. The highly-touted Buffs, ranked in the top six of both Division II national polls and champions of the South Central Region, outscored Daemen 32-14 over the final 10:43 of the first half, turning a six-point lead into a commanding 56-32 advantage. The Wildcats put up 51 points in the second half, outscoring the Buffs by 10, but couldn't string together enough defensive stops to cut the deficit to single digits.
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