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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
N_MacDonald2023-24vsCheyney
Geoff Schneider
56
Queens (NY) Queens 11-8,5-3 ECC
78
Winner Daemen Daemen 15-6,5-3 ECC
Queens (NY) Queens
11-8,5-3 ECC
56
Final
78
Daemen Daemen
15-6,5-3 ECC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Queens (NY) Queens 24 32 56
Daemen Daemen 39 39 78

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

Wildcats Take Control Early In 78-56 Win Over Queens

Nick MacDonald Nets His 1,000th Career Point During The Win

AMHERST, N.Y. – Graduate student Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.) totaled 16  points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals to lead the Daemen University men's basketball team to a 78-56 victory over Queens College in an East Coast Conference contest this afternoon at Lumsden Gymnasium on the Daemen campus.

Daemen, which entered the game ranked eighth in the East Region by the Division II College Sports Communicators (D2CSC), ran its winning streak to three games and improved to 15-6 overall and 5-3 in the ECC. Daemen has won its last three games by an average of 24 points. The visiting Knights had their five-game winning streak come to an end and dropped to 11-8 overall and 5-3 in the league.

IMPACT PLAYERS
  • Atkins paced a balanced Daemen attack, as five players scored in double figures. It marked the seventh time this season that five players have scored in double figures for the Wildcats.
  • Atkins connected on 7-of-13 shots en route to his third double-double of the year.
  • Fifth-year senior Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) scored 13 points—all in the second half—and in the process scored his 1,000th career point. A transfer from Niagara University, MacDonald scored 204 points in his two seasons with the Purple Eagles and has scored 798 points at Daemen.
  • Senior Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) added 15 points, five rebounds and three assists.
  • Senior Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) went 4-of-5 from downtown and totaled 14 points. He now stands 23 points shy of 1,000 for his career.
  • Junior Payton Shumpert (Syracuse, N.Y.) made the most of his 14 minutes off the bench, as he connected on 5-of-6 shots and equaled his career-high with 13 points.
  • Senior Malik Bentinek totaled 12 points, nine rebounds and two blocks for the Knights.

GAME NOTES
  • It marked the 22nd all-time meeting between the Wildcats and the Knights. Daemen has prevailed in 13 of the last 15 meetings and owns an 18-4 advantage in the all-time series.
  • Daemen has limited 12 of its 21 opponents to less than 70 points and leads the ECC in team defense, allowing just 69.9 points per game.
  • The Wildcats are 9-1 at home this season and have won 18 of their last 19 home games dating back to last season. They are 101-19 (.842) at home during Daemen's NCAA Division II era (2015-present).
  • Daemen held a 10-7 lead early on when a three-pointer by Mason kick started the Wildcats on a 14-4 run. Shumpert drilled two three-pointers during the run and his second triple capped the rally and gave the hosts a 24-11 lead midway through the first half.
  • The Wildcats later opened up a 17-point lead, 37-20, following a bucket by Atkins with just over two minutes left in the half and the hosts took a 39-24 lead into the break.
  • Daemen held a 25-point lead, 57-32, after opening the second half with an 18-8 run and the Knights came no closer than 17 points the rest of the way.
  • Daemen shot 58-percent (15-26) from the field in the second half and finished 29-of-57 (51%) from the field overall. Daemen is now 8-0 this season when it shoots 50-percent or better from the field. The Wildcats made 9-of-19 from three-point land and canned 11-of-14 from the charity stripe.
  • Queens shot just 22-percent (5-of-22) from the field in the first half and finished just 18-of-54 (33%) from the field overall. The Knights made just 3-of-21 from downtown and made 17-of-19 from the charity stripe.
  • Daemen finished with a 34-16 edge in points in the paint.
NEXT JUMP BALL
Daemen is idle until next Sunday (Feb. 4) when it heads across town to take on D'Youville University in an ECC game.
 

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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