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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
J_Hemphill_Canadian_Tipoff
Wilson Wong
83
Winner Western Wash. WWU 1-0,0-0 Great Northwest
72
Daemen Daemen 0-1,0-0 ECC
Winner
Western Wash. WWU
1-0,0-0 Great Northwest
83
Final
72
Daemen Daemen
0-1,0-0 ECC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Western Wash. WWU 40 43 83
Daemen Daemen 39 33 72

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

Wildcats Open CCA Division II Canadian Tip-Off Classic With Loss To Western Washington

LANGLEY, B.C. – Sophomore forward BJ Kolly went 9-for-9 from the field and totaled 20 points, six rebounds and three blocks to lead Western Washington University to an 83-72 victory over Daemen University this evening at the Langley Events Center during opening day action of the 2023 Conference Commissioners Association (CCA) Division II Canadian Tip-Off Classic. It marked the 2023-24 season opener for both teams.

IMPACT PLAYERS
  • Graduate student guard/forward Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.) connected on 11-of-16 shots and scored a career-high 23 points for the Wildcats.
  • Senior Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) added 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench.
  • Sophomore Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) played a career-high 39 minutes and equaled his career-high with 15 points. Glover also dished out four assists.
  • Kolly was one of four players to score in double figures for the Vikings. Junior Will Wilson added 16 points and six rebounds, while junior Kai Johnson played 39 minutes and totaled 12 points and fiver boards.

GAME NOTES
  • It marked the first ever meeting between the two programs. WWU is a member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) and finished 15-13 overall and 8-10 in the GNAC last year. The Vikings were picked fourth in the GNAC preseason poll.
  • Daemen returns four starters from last year's team that finished 20-8 overall and 12-4 in the East Coast Conference. The Wildcats were picked second in the ECC preseason poll and are receiving votes in the National Basketball Coaches Association (NABC) Division II preseason poll.
  • The game was tied at 6-6 early on when the Wildcats got back-to-back three-pointers from Fasoyiro and senior Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) for a 12-6 lead.
  • That would be the largest lead of the half for either team, as WWU answered with an 11-4 run and took a 17-16 lead following a three-pointer by senior Jonathan Ned with 13:06 left before halftime.
  • The remainder of the half featured 10 lead changes and five ties. Redshirt freshman Tijan Saine made two-of-three free throws with 0.4 seconds left in the half to give the Vikings 40-39 halftime lead.
  • WWU went 5-for-6 overall and 2-for-3 from downtown at the start of the second half and opened up a 53-41 lead after Kolly converted a conventional three-point play with 17:14 left to play.
  • Daemen scored seven of the next nine points and cut the lead to seven points, 55-48, after Glover hit a three-pointer, but the Vikings eventually took their largest lead of the game, 66-52, following a driving layup by Kolly with 11:04 remaining.
  • Daemen rallied and cut the lead to five points, 68-63, after Hemphill scored with 6:49 left, but the Wildcats went scoreless over the next 4:17.
  • WWU took advantage of the Daemen drought and eventually regained a 13-point lead, 76-63, after Johnson made two free throws with 2:38 left.
  • Daemen shot 48-percent (30-62) from the field overall and made 3-of-14 from three-point land. The Wildcats were 9-of-17 from the charity stripe.
  • WWU shot 58-percent (15-26) from the field in the second and finished 29-of-57 (51%) overall. The Vikings made 5-of-21 from downtown and canned 20-of-26 from the charity stripe.
     
NEXT JUMP BALL
Daemen will square off against the tournament host Simon Fraser University tomorrow (Nov. 4) during day two of the three-day event. The game tips off at 7 p.m. PST (10 p.m. EST).
 

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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