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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
N_MacDonald_2023-24vsUB
Geoff Schneider
82
Daemen DAEM 12-6, 2-3 ECC
92
Winner St. Thomas Aquinas STACMBB 12-3, 4-1 ECC
Daemen DAEM
12-6, 2-3 ECC
82
Final
92
St. Thomas Aquinas STACMBB
12-3, 4-1 ECC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Daemen DAEM 36 46 82
St. Thomas Aquinas STACMBB 45 47 92

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

Second Half Rally Falls Short; Wildcats Drop 92-82 Decision To Spartans

SPARKILL, N.Y. – The Daemen University men's basketball suffered a 92-82 loss to East Coast Conference rival St. Thomas Aquinas College in a battle of regionally-ranked teams this evening at Aquinas Hall on the STAC campus. The loss dropped to the Wildcats to 12-6 overall and 2-3 in the ECC, while the host Spartans improved to 12-3 overall and 4-1 in the league.

STAC entered the game ranked 16th nationally and second in the East Region by the Division II College Sports Communicators (D2CSC). Daemen is ranked eighth in the region by the D2CSC.

IMPACT PLAYERS
  • Sophomores James Patterson and Kyle Pulliam paced the hosts with 27 and 24 respectively. Patterson, who entered the game averaging a league-high 24.2 points per game, went 12-of-13 from the charity stripe and grabbed 11 rebounds.
  • Pulliam, who scored 19 first-half points, went 9-of-13 from the field overall and connected on 3-of-4 from downtown.
  • Four players scored in double figured for the Wildcats.
  • Fifth-year senior Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) netted 16 points.
  • Freshman Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) made his first career start, drilled 4-of-5 three-pointers and finished with a career-high 14 points and six rebounds.
  • Graduate student Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.) added 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
  • Sophomore Josh Haskell (West Seneca, N.Y.) played 13 minutes off the bench, drilled four three-pointers and scored a career-high 12 points.
  • Sophomore Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) and senior Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) both scored nine points. Mason also dished out a career-high eight assists.

GAME NOTES
  • Daemen opened the game with a three-pointer by Philipkoski, but the hosts scored the next 13 points and took a 13-3 lead following a bucket by Pulliam with 13:14 left in the first half.
  • STAC held a 21-9 lead midway through the first half when a four-point play by MacDonald sparked the Wildcats on a 12-0 run. Haskell drilled two triples during the run and his three-pointer with 7:47 left capped the rally and knotted the score at 21-21.
  • The Spartans held a 30-28 lead with just under four minutes left in the half and the hosts outscored the Wildcats 15-8 the rest of the half to take a 45-36 lead into the break.
  • A layup by Patterson at the 11:46 mark of the second half gave the Spartans a 17-point lead (68-51), but the Wildcats responded with a 20-6 run and made it a one-possession game, 74-71, after Philipkoski made a three-pointer with 3:18 to play.
  • STAC answered with a three-pointer by senior Vasilis Tolias and the hosts later regained a double-digit lead, 83-73, when a putback by sophomore Rich Smith beat the shot clock with 1:09 left.
  • Daemen shot 44-percent (27-62) from the field overall and made a season-high 16 three-pointers (16-of-30). The Wildcats canned 12-of-18 from the charity stripe.
  • STAC shot 47-percent (31-of-66) overall and made 8-of-24 from downtown. The hosts made 22-of-27 from the charity stripe.
  • The Spartans collected 15 offensive rebounds and posted a 20-9 edge in second chance points. STAC also held a 41-18 advantage in points in the paint.
NEXT JUMP BALL
Daemen returns to action Sunday (Jan. 21) with a conference game at Mercy University.
 

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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