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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
R_Salzberg_2022-23
Ryan Salzberg scored 11 second-half points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds
62
Winner Mercyhurst Mercy 1-0,0-0 PSAC
61
Daemen Daemen 2-1,0-0 ECC
Winner
Mercyhurst Mercy
1-0,0-0 PSAC
62
Final
61
Daemen Daemen
2-1,0-0 ECC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Mercyhurst Mercy 28 34 62
Daemen Daemen 30 31 61

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | CONTACT: Tom McDermott, Director of Athletics Communications | tmcdermo@daemen.edu

Buzzer-Beater Lifts Mercyhurst to 62-61 Win Over Daemen

AMHERST, N.Y. – Michael Bradley's buzzer beating jumper lifted the Mercyhurst University men's basketball team to a 62-61 victory over Daemen University tonight in a battle of regionally-ranked teams at Lumsdem Gymnasium on the Daemen campus.

Daemen, which dropped top 2-1 on the year, entered the game ranked fourth in the East Region by the NCAA Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA). It marked the 2022-23 season opener for Mercyhurst, which is tied for fifth in the D2SIDA Atlantic Region poll.

IMPACT PLAYERS
  • Bradley, a senior guard, led all scorers with 21 points. Graduate student Nick Lang helped the Mercyhurst cause with 15 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore forward Aidan Reichert chipped in 12 points off the bench.
  • Four of Daemen's starters scored in double figures.
  • Redshirt senior Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.) totaled 17 points, six rebounds and two blocks to lead the hosts.
  • Senior Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) added 15 points and five boards.
  • Junior guard Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) drilled two three-pointers and scored 12 points.
  • Senior Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.) scored 11 points—all in the second half—and also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
GAME NOTES
  • Today's game marked the ninth all-time meeting between the two regional powers. Mercyhurst, which has prevailed in seven of the last eight meetings and maintains 7-2 advantage in the all-time series.
  • Daemen took a 12-point lead, 55-43, following a fastbreak dunk by Atkins with 6:06 to play, but the Lakers followed with three unanswered three-pointers—the last two by Bradley—to quickly cut the lead to three points, 55-52.
  • Daemen later regained a six-point lead, 59-53, following a bucket by Atkins with 3:08 left, and the Daemen lead was five points, 61-56, after MacDonald scored with 1:33 to play.
  • Mercyhurst cut the lead to three, 61-58, after Lang hit two free throws with 1:13 to play, and neither team scored again until Bradley scored with eight seconds left to make it 61-60.
  • Daemen missed the front end of a 1-and-1 and Bradley got a floating jump shot off just before the final buzzer to complete the Mercyhurst comeback.
  • Neither team led by more than four points in a tightly played first half and the hosts took a 30-28 lead into halftime.
  • Daemen shot 48-percent (12-25) from the field in the second half and went 20-of-51 (39%) from the field overall. Daemen, which made 11 three pointers in an 81-69 win over regionally-ranked Saint Anselm this past Saturday, made 6-of-17 three-pointers tonight.
  • Mercyhurst shot 38-percent (24-64) from the field overall and canned 7-of-26 three-pointers.
  • The game featured 15 lead changes and 11 ties.
  • Mercyhurst committed just nine turnovers in the game, while the hosts turned the ball over 15 times. The Lakers finished with a 17-9 advantage in points off turnovers.
     
NEXT JUMP BALL
The Wildcats close out their season-opening four game homestand on Saturday (Nov. 19) when they host Clarion University in a non-conference tilt.
 

Daemen University 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.

Follow the Daemen men's basketball program on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @DaemenMBB.
 
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