AMHERST, N.Y. - Redshirt senior Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) totaled 35 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Daemen College men's basketball team to a 66-58 victory over the University of the District of Columbia today at Lumsden Gymnasium on the Daemen Campus.

Daemen extended its winning streak to nine straight games and remained atop the East Coast Conference standings with a perfect 11-0 league record. The Wildcats improved to 14-6 overall. Daemen has won 18 of its last 20 conference games dating back to the start of last season, and its current nine game winning streak ranks as the longest among all East region teams. UDC saw its two game winning streak snapped and dropped to 5-16 overall and 4-7 in the league.

Daemen entered the game ranked sixth in the NCAA Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region Men's Basketball Media Poll.

Sischo gave Daemen 14-6 lead six minutes into the first half and the Daemen big man later gave the hosts a 22-12 lead following a driving layup with 8:49 left before halftime. The Daemen lead was still nine points, 28-19, with just under five minutes left in the half when the Firebirds got back-to-back buckets to make it a five point contest, 28-23. The Wildcats would take a 35-27 lead into the break.

UDC scored the first four points of the second half, but Sischo answered with a step back jumper and the hosts later took a nine point lead, 41-32, after graduate student Sean Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.) made two free throws with 15:49 left. UDC chipped away at the lead and cut it to four points, 43-39, at the 12 minute mark. The teams traded three-pointers before Sischo scored four straight points to give the hosts a 50-42 lead midway through the second half. The teams went back-and-forth for the next seven minutes and the Daemen lead was seven points, 59-52, when Fasoyiro took an inbounds pass from Harris and swished a clutch three-pointer to give the hosts a 62-52 lead with 2:18 remaining. UDC came now closer than eight points the rest of the way. 

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Sischo played 35 minutes and connected on 13-of-19 shots en route to his NCAA Division II-leading 17th double-double of the year. He has now scored 10+ points in 85 of his last 86 games—and in 117 of his 124 career games.
• Fasoyiro finished with 15 points and seven rebounds.
• Junior Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.) added eight points, while Harris finished with six points, four rebounds and five assists.
• Junior Jahmir Marable-Williams paced the Firebirds with 20 points, five rebounds and three steals.

GAME NOTES

• Daemen returns 11 players, including all five starters, from their 2020-21 team that won the NCAA Division II East Region Championship and advanced to the Elite Eight.
• Daemen, which has shot over 50-percent from the field in its last five games, connected on just 23-of-53 (43%) of its shots today and made just 5-of-19 from three-point range.
• UDC shot just 36-percent (21-of-58) overall and was 3-of-10 from downtown.
• Daemen had just 10 assists today. The Wildcats had recorded 15 or more assists in their last 12 games.
• Daemen was also out rebounded 37-33 today. The Wildcats had out rebounded their opponent in each of their last 11 games.
• Daemen finished with an edge in points off turnovers (13-12) and points in the paint (36-30).
• Daemen is off to its best start in conference play (11-0) since winning its first eight league games in 2003-04 when the Wildcats were competing as a member of the now-defunct American Mideast Conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
• A two-time consensus All-American and three-time ECC Player of the Year, Sischo was recently named to the Bevo Francis Award Top 100 Watch List. He is NCAA Division II's active leader in career points (2,673), rebounds (1,368) and double-doubles (77). He is the all-time leading scorer and all-time leading rebounder in Daemen and ECC history. He ranks 21st in points and eighth in rebounds among the all-time NCAA Division II career leaders.
• Sischo became the all-time leading scorer among all NCAA men's basketball programs in the state of New York during Friday's win over Staten Island, surpassing the 2,634 points that Scott Fitch netted at Geneseo from 1990-94.
• Sischo's 35 points were two shy of tying his season-high for points (37) which came in an 83-71 win over St. Rose on Nov. 27. It is the fifth time this season and 20th time over his career he has scored 30 or more points in a game.
• Sophomore Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) saw his streak of 13 straight games with at least one three-pointer come to an end today. He leads the team in three-pointers made (45) and is shooting a league-best 49-percent (45-91) from behind the arc.
• Fasoyiro stands 32 points shy of 1,000 for his career. He totaled 494 points during his three seasons at Franklin Pierce and has netted 474 points in 36 games at Daemen (13.2 per game).

NEXT JUMP BALL

The Wildcats return to action Wednesday (Feb. 2) when they travel to Roberts Wesleyan College for an ECC game.

Daemen College features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 18 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.

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