AMHERST, N.Y. – The Daemen University men's basketball team knocked down 14 3-pointers to clip Saint Anselm College, 96-55, in the final game of the
East Region Challenge presented by Western New York Knee and Orthopedic Surgery PC Saturday afternoon at Lumsden Gymnasium.
With the win, the Wildcats improved to 2-0 on the young season while the Hawks dropped to 1-1. Daemen also entered the contest ranked fourth in the Division II College Sports Communicators Preseason Poll while Saint Anselm only received votes to enter the top-ten.
Three members of the Wildcats also made the 2024
East Region Challenge presented by Western New York Knee and Orthopedic Surgery PC All-Tournament team as well. Graduate student guard
Matt Becker (Fairfield, Conn.), sophomore guard
Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) and redshirt sophomore center
Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.) represented the Wildcats with Bill also being named Tournament MVP.
IMPACT PLAYERS
• Becker, who joined Daemen this year after transferring from Saint Anselm led all Daemen scorers with 18 points, 12 of which came from deep. Becker also led the Blue and White on the glass with eight rebounds in the win.
• Philipkoski helped pace the Daemen offense with 13 points on an efficient five-of-seven afternoon from the floor while adding in a career-high five assists.
• Bill, the Tournament MVP, junior guard
Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y) and graduate student guard
Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.) each chipped in ten points each.
• Helped Becker on the glass were redshirt sophomore
Phil Nwugwo (Rochester, N.Y.) and
Josh Haskell (West Seneca, N.Y.) who each tallied six boards.
• For Saint Anselm, Josh Morissette led the way with 15 points while Zac Taylor hauled in a team-best seven rebounds in the loss.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• After trading scores to begin the contests a jumper by Bill at the 14:15 mark sparked a 12-2 run for the Wildcats that saw them extend their lead to double-digits for the first time all afternoon at 19-9 with 10:38 left in the half.
• Despite a late push from the Hawks, the Wildcats ended the stanza with an 11-2 run, bookended by scores from Becker to carry a 43-24 lead into the second half.
• The Wildcats opened the second half with back-to-back scores from redshirt senior
Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Becker before later taking a 31 point lead after a fast-break 3-pointer from Philipkoski.
• The Daemen lead continued to grow and eclipsed the 40 point mark after a free-throw by Nwugwo made it 77-37 with 9:56 to play. The Wildcats took their largest lead of the game after a layup from sophomore guard
Ryan Heath (Rochester, N.Y.) made it a 87-40 game with 7:04 to play. The two sides traded scores to the final buzzer as Daemen finished the contest with their first 40-or-more point win of the campaign.
GAME NOTES
• Daemen improved to 16-1 in the
East Region Challenge presented by Western New York Knee and Orthopedic Surgery PC while Saint Anselm moved to 2-2.
• Today marked the fifth all-time meeting between the programs. The Blue and White now lead the all-time series, 4-1.
• Daemen only attempted four free-throws all contest compared to 18 for Saint Anselm. The Wildcats sunk all four attempts while the Hawks made 14 shots from the charity stripe. Today also marked the first time Daemen attempted five-or-less free-throws in a regular season or postseason game since Feb. 2, 2017, when they only took four shots from the charity stripe against Slippery Rock.
• Bill finished in double-figures for scoring in consecutive games for the first time in his Daemen career.
• The Wildcats earned their first win by 40-or-more points since they defeated Mercy, 123-75, back on Feb, 18, 2024.
• The Blue and White shot 55 percent or better from the field since they shot 32-of-54 (.593) from the floor against Chestnut Hill on Nov. 10, 2023. Daemen also eclipsed 90 points in a game this season and first instance since Feb. 25, 2024 against D'Youville.
• Junior guard
Ronnie Williams (Tampa, Fla.) recorded his first points in a Daemen uniform with a 3-pointer at the 7:42 mark of the second half.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats are back in action on Nov. 16 when they welcome nationally ranked Charleston to Amherst, N.Y. Tip-off is set for 12 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.
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