AMHERST, N.Y. - Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) scored 15 of his game high 24 points in the second half to lead Daemen College to an 83-72 victory over Pace University tonight at Lumsden Gymnasium on the Daemen Campus.

Daemen, which was playing its first game sine Dec. 20, improved to 7-6 on the year. Pace, a long-time member of the Northeast-10 Conference, was playing its first game since Dec. 9 and dropped to 8-3. The Setters entered the game ranked fifth in the D2SIDA East Region media poll.

The teams battled back and forth throughout the first half and the host Wildcats held a 42-37 lead after the first 20 minutes of action. Daemen closed out the first half with a 7-2 spurt and the Wildcats used a 21-10 run over the first nine minutes of the second half to build the lead up to 16 points, 63-47. The Setters put together a quick 10-2 run and cut the lead in half, 65-57, after Austin Gilbertson scored with 9:05 left. Pace later made it a four-point game, 70-66, after Brandon Jacobs drained a three-pointer with 6:35 left, but Daemen got back-to-back three-pointers from Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) and Sean Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.) and later took an 81-66 lead after Sischo made two free throws with 3:28 left. Daemen maintained a double digit lead the rest of the way.

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Sischo registered his 12th double-double (11th consecutive) of the season and finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds. He has now scored at least 20 points in 29 of his last 34 games. His 12 double-doubles this season leads NCAA Division II and tonight's was the 72nd of his career.
• MacDonald went 4-of-6 from downtown and scored a season-high 18 points in 22 minutes off the bench.
• Sophomore Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) made 4-of-5 three-pointers and finished with 12 points.
• Fasoyiro scored in double figures for the fifth time in six games and finished with 11 points, six rebounds and three assists.
• Four players scored in double figures for the Setters.
• Senior forward Marc Dadika connected on 8-of-10 field goals and finished with 18 points and nine rebounds.
• Twin brothers Bryan and Brandon Powell helped the Pace cause. Bryan finished with 15 points, while Brandon added 13.

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.
• Tonight's game was not on Daemen's original schedule, but was necessitated because of several COVID 19 postponements.
• Tonight's game marked just the second all-time meeting between Daemen and Pace. Daemen improved to 2-0 in the series.
• Both teams made 11 three-pointers. The 11 three-pointers were a season-high for the Wildcats, who finished 11-of-23 from downtown. Pace went 11-of-27.
• The Wildcats outscored the Setters 22-3 from the charity stripe. Daemen attempted a season-high 24 free throws and made a season-high 22. Pace went to the lime just three times and made all three.
• Daemen shot 48-percent (25-52) from the field overall, while Pace finished 29-of-59 (49%). Daemen had just nine turnovers tonight, one shy of the season-low eight the Wildcats had in an 83-71 victory over St. Rose on Nov. 27.
• Sischo became just the 34th player in NCAA Division II history to reach 2,500 career points during tonight's game. His layup at the 10:33 mark of the second half was the 1,000th field goal of his career. He is the all-time leader in field goals for both Daemen and the ECC. 
• A two-time consensus All-American and three-time ECC Player of the Year, Sischo is NCAA Division II's active leader in career points (2,514), rebounds (1,280) and double-doubles (72). He is the all-time leading scorer in Daemen and ECC history and is now just one rebound shy of becoming the all-time leading rebounder in Daemen and ECC history. His 13 rebounds tonight ties him with former St. Rose standout Damon Reed atop the ECC career rebounds list with 1,280. He became Daemen's all-time leading rebounder earlier this season.

NEXT JUMP BALL
The Wildcats return to East Coast Conference play Saturday (Jan. 8) when they travel to the D'Youville College.

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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