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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
J_Hemphill_2023-24vsQC
68
Queens (NY) Queens 12-15,6-9 ECC
76
Winner Daemen Daemen 23-7,12-4 ECC
Queens (NY) Queens
12-15,6-9 ECC
68
Final
76
Daemen Daemen
23-7,12-4 ECC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Queens (NY) Queens 29 39 68
Daemen Daemen 42 34 76

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

Wildcats Earn Trip To ECC Championship Semifinals With 76-68 Win Over Queens

AMHERST, N.Y. – Senior Dylan Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.) scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead third-seeded Daemen University to a 76-68 victory over sixth-seeded Queens College this evening in first round action of the 2024 East Coast Conference Men's Basketball Championship at Lumsden Gymnasium on the Daemen campus.

Daemen, which entered the game ranked fourth in the NCAA regional committee East Region poll released today, ran its winning streak to seven games and improved to 23-7 overall. The Knights closed out the year with a 12-16 record.

The Wildcats advance to the tournament semifinals where they will face second-seeded College of Staten Island. Top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas College will take on fourth-seeded Roberts Wesleyan University in the other semifinal game. Both semifinal games will be played Saturday (March. 9) and the championship game will take place Sunday (March 10). STAC will host the tournament semifinals and championship.

IMPACT PLAYERS
  • Fasoyiro played 36 minutes and went 7-of-17 from the field. It marked the 11th time this season he has scored 20 or more points in a game. He also contributed two steals and a block. He scored his 400thpoint of the season during the game and is averaging a team-high 17 points a game.
  • Graduate student Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.), who played in his 100th career game tonight, connected on 7-of-12 shots and totaled 16 points, six rebounds and three steals.
  • Senior Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) chipped in 10 points, seven boards, two blocks and a steal.
  • Senior Sunnie Diamond paced the Knights with four three-pointers and 26 points.

GAME NOTES
  • Daemen is making its ninth consecutive ECC tournament appearance and seeking its first championship. The Wildcats have advanced to the semifinal round in all nine of their ECC tournament berths. Daemen has played in the tournament's final round on four occasions, falling in 2016, 2021, 2022 and 2023 to St. Thomas Aquinas.
  • The Wildcats went 14-1 at home this season and have won 23 of their last 24 home games dating back to last season. They are 106-19 (.847) at home during Daemen's NCAA Division II era (2015-present).
  • Daemen has prevailed in 14 of the last 16 meetings with Queens and owns a 19-4 advantage in the series.
  • Daemen has reached 20 wins for the sixth-straight season. The streak does not include the 2020-21 season, as Daemen only played 16 games during that COVID-10 shortened 2020-21 season.
  • Daemen's seven-game winning streak ranks as the longest winning streak for the Wildcats this season.
  • Queens jumped out to an early 10-2 lead and the Knights held a 12-6 lead six minutes into the first half when the Wildcats embarked on an 18-9 run. A conventional three-point play by Fasoyiro with 7:35 left in the half capped the run and gave Daemen a 22-21 lead.
  • The Daemen lead was 28-27 when a layup by Atkins sparked the Wildcats on a half-ending 14-2 run that gave the hosts a 42-29 halftime lead.
  • The Daemen lead was 12 points, 55-43, with just over 12 minutes to play when the Knights posted a 13-4 run. Back-to-back three-pointers by Diamond capped the run and cut the Daemen lead to three points, 59-56, with seven minutes left.
  • Two free throws by Diamond with 4:02 left made it a one-point game, 61-60, but Fasoyiro answered with another conventional three-point play on Daemen's next possession to make it 64-60. Neither team scored again until the 2:55 mark when fifth year senior Nick MacDonald putback a missed shot to give the hosts a 66-60 lead.
  • Queens cut it to five after junior Jayden Serephin made one of two free throws with 2:34 left, and Fasoyiro scored at 2:09 to give Daemen a seven point lead, 68-61.
  • Diamond made things interesting when he hit his fourth three-pointer of the game with 1:39 to play, but Queens would get no closer than four points down the stretch.
  • Daemen shot 47-percent (15-32) from the field in the first half and finished 26-of-61 (43%) from the field overall. The Wildcats went just 4-of-15 from downtown and canned 20-of-27 free throws.
  • Queens shot 42-percent (27-of-65) from the field overall and made 6-of-21 from downtown. The visitors connected on 8-of-15 from the charity stripe.
NEXT JUMP BALL
Third-seeded Daemen takes on second-seeded College of Staten Island in the semifinals of the ECC Championship tournament Saturday (Mar. 9) at Aquinas Hall on the campus of St. Thomas Aquinas.
 

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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