WATERBURY, CONN. – The #20/#13 Daemen University men's basketball team secured their first road win of the season with a 78-59 victory over Post University Saturday afternoon at the Drubner Center.
With the win, the Wildcats remain undefeated at 4-0 while the Eagles dropped to 4-2. It marks the first time since the 2016-17 season that Daemen has won four-or-more games to begin the year.
IMPACT PLAYERS
• Graduate student guard and Fairfield, Conn., native
Matt Becker led Daemen with his first double-double of the season and 11
th of his career, dropping 15 points and hauling in a season-high 10 rebounds while knocking down each 3-pointer he took.
• Redshirt sophomore center
Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.) continued his torrid start to the season, leading the Blue and White in scoring with 16 points on seven-of-eight (.875) shooting from the field to compliment five boards.
• Graduate student guard
Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) tallied 11 points of his own to help the Wildcats secure the victory while
Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) tied the game-high in steals with four of his own.
• Harrison Warnock led Post with 21 points with his teammate, Tyler Small adding in 10 of his own. On the glass, Deng Deang paced the hosts with a team-high eight rebounds.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• In a defensive battle from tip-off, Daemen found themselves down one, 11-10, with 11:54 left in the half.
• The Wildcats found their spark moments later as a basket from sophomore guard
Ryan Heath (Rochester, N.Y.) off a steal from
Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) sparked 15-2 run that saw Daemen command a 25-13 lead with 5:20 remaining.
• The two sides traded buckets to close the half, with Daemen scoring seven of the final 10 points of the stanza to enter halftime ahead, 39-26.
• Daemen came out hot to begin the second half, scoring 11 of the first 16 points of the frame to extend their lead to a then game-high 19, 50-31, with 15:26 remaining .
• From there, the host Eagles began to chip away at the Wildcats lead, cutting it down to eight, 64-58, with 4:32 left in regulation.
• Daemen survived the Post scoring blitz and limited the Eagles to just three points for the remainder of the contest while knocking down four 3-pointers of their own to leave the Nutmeg State with a 78-59 win.
• Daemen ended the afternoon shooting a season-best 33-of-56 (.589) from the floor and 10-of-20 (.500) from deep. The 'Cats also ended the day with a 29-24 advantage on the glass as well. Daemen also forced 14 Post turnovers which turned into 19 points and outscored the Eagles in the post, 42-16.
• Post finished the game shooting 21-of-52 (.396) from the field and knocked down eight 3-pointers.
GAME NOTES
• Today marked the third all-time meeting between the two sides and the first ever game between the Eagles and Wildcats in the Nutmeg State. Daemen remains unbeaten against Post.
• The Wildcats entered today's contest ranked 20th by the National Association of Basketball Coaches poll and 13th in the most recent Division II College Sports Communicators national poll. The Blue and White were also ranked first in the East Region as well by D2CSC.
• Dating back to last season, Daemen is now 23-9 when playing on the weekend and specifically 11-1 when playing on Saturday.
• The Wildcats attempted five-or-less free-throws for the second time this season, only attempting four shots from the charity stripe all game.
• The Blue and White are now 2-0 against CACC opponents this season, having previous beaten Chestnut Hill, 65-66, to open the regular season back on Nov. 8.
• Bill has now finished in double-figures in all four games this season. He is the on
• Daemen has recorded more 3-pointers against every opponent they have faced this season. They ended the afternoon with 10 makes from deep compared to eight for the Eagles.
UP NEXT
Daemen closes out the month of November at home with a nationally ranked test against #4/#6 California (Pa.) on Nov. 26. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.
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 University men's basketball program on Twitter and Facebook at @DaemenMBB.
