RINDGE, N.H. – The No. 3/6 Daemen University men's basketball team rang in the new year with an 87-70 win over Franklin Pierce Friday afternoon at the Franklin Pierce Fieldhouse.
With the win, the Wildcats remained undefeated and improved to 12-0 while the Ravens dropped to 1-11.
IMPACT PLAYERS
• Redshirt sophomore center
Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.) notched his team-leading third double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
• Redshirt senior forward
Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) tied Bill for the team-high in scoring with 15 tallies of his own to finish with 10-or-more points for the fourth consecutive contest.
• Guard
Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) and
Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) scored 12 and 11 points respectively to help pace the Wildcats offensive efforts.
• Redshirt sophomore forward
Phil Nwugwo (Rochester, N.Y.) tallied a season-high nine points and notched a block as well.
• Graduate student
Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.) tied his season-high in assists with four and added in a game-high three steals.
• Donte Pope led Franklin Pierce in scoring with 20 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds while his teammate Saeer Miller notched 10 points of his own in the losing effort.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Down 8-6 early, a 3-pointer from Mason kicked-off a quick 9-0 swing that put Daemen ahead, 15-8 and forced a Franklin Pierce timeout with 13:27 left in the half.
• Out of the stoppage, the Wildcats continued to attack the Ravens throughout the half and a layup from
Phil Nwugwo at the 2:26 mark expanded their lead to a half-best 20, 45-25.
• The Wildcats entered the locker room with a 47-30 advantage.
• Daemen and Franklin Pierce exchanged scores to open the second half, but an 8-2 run, paced by six points from Bill, extended the Daemen lead to 24, 65-41, with 12:07 to play.
• The visitors continued to keep the Ravens at bay for most of the half and a dunk from graduate student forward
Matt Becker (Fairfield, Conn.) with 3:58 to play pushed the 'Cats lead to a game-high 27, 85-58, with 3:27 to play. The 'Cats never relinquished their double-digit edge and left the Granite State with an 87-70 victory.
• Daemen ended the afternoon shooting above .500 from the floor as they went 30-of-59 (.508). The 'Cats held a 41-27 edge on the glass and a 22-12 advantage on points off turnovers.
• Franklin Pierce shot 26-of-60 (.433) from the floor and went 6-of-21 (.286) from beyond the arc in the losing effort.
GAME NOTES
• Daemen is now 3-1 all-time against Franklin Pierce and 2-0 on the road versus the Ravens.
• Entering today, Daemen was tabbed No. 3 in the most recent National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) National Poll, as announced earlier this week on Tuesday
• Daemen held an opponent to 70-or-less points for the tenth time this season.
• Glover scored the first points of the 2025 calendar year for Daemen with his layup less than a minute into the game. He also scored 10-or-more points for the 30th time in his collegiate career as well with his 12 points.
• The Wildcats have won their first game of the new year the past four seasons dating back to the 2021-22 campaign.
• Daemen is now 4-0 this year against NE10 schools.
• As a team, the Wildcats knocked down a season-best 19 free-throws and took a season-high 26 trips to the charity stripe as well. Bill led the Wildcats efforts from the line with five makes.
UP NEXT
The 'Cats will wrap up their season-long five game road swing with a trip downstate, starting with a conference tilt on Long Island against Molloy. Tip-off from Rockville Centre, N.Y., is scheduled for 7 P.M. on Jan. 10.
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.
