AMHERST, N.Y. – The No. 2/3 Daemen University men's basketball team kept their undefeated streak alive as they tamed the College of Staten Island, 85-61, in East Coast Conference men's basketball action Friday evening at Lumsden Gymnasium.
The Wildcats improved to 18-0 and 9-0 in ECC play while the Dolphins dropped to 8-13 and 4-5 in conference action.
IMPACT PLAYERS
• Graduate student guard
Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.) had one of the best games of his career with a career-high 22 points and six 3-pointers to pair with a game-high three steals.
• Fellow graduate student guard
Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y) tallied 12 points with all 12 scores coming from beyond the arc. His four triples are one shy of his season-high which he set on Dec. 15 against Mercy.
• Junior guard
Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) provided 14 points while fellow guard and Rochester, N.Y., native
Ryan Heath tallied 10 points of his own.
• Redshirt senior forward
Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) grabbed 11 rebounds while graduate student guard
Matt Becker (Fairfield, Conn.) dished out a game-high seven assists.
• Redshirt sophomore center
Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.) helped supplement the 'Cats defense with a game-high four blocks.
• Senior forward Messiah Mallory led Staten Island in scoring with 25 points while junior forward Asa Kone hauled in a team-high nine rebounds for the Dolphins.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Daemen came out of the gate on fire, scoring 14 of the first 16 points of the evening with four makes from deep. Salzberg paced the 'Cats early success from deep with a pair of triples.
• The Dolphins and Wildcats exchanged buckets throughout the middle of the frame with the visitors trimming the Daemen lead to as low as eight, 25-17, with 8:14 remaining. Still, the host Wildcats came back with their own 13-4 spurt, kick-started by a Salzberg triple, to extend their advantage back to double-digits, 38-21, with 2:33 to play.
• Daemen added a pair of buckets from Mason and Salzberg before the end of the half to enter the locker room ahead by 20, 43-23.
• The 'Cats continued to attack the Dolphins to begin the second half as a Glover triple ignited a 20-5 run for Daemen that saw their lead expand past 30, 71-36, with 10:07 left in the game.
• Daemen never slowed down to close the contest and kept the Dolphins at bay to secure their 24 point victory.
• Daemen ended the evening shooting 33-of-72 (.458) from the floor and knocked down a season-best 16 shots from deep. Daemen also tallied 12 fast-break points compared to just two for Staten Island. The 'Cats only attempted four free-throws all game compared to 14 for the Dolphins.
• Staten Island shot 23-of-70 (.329) as a team and went 6-of-27 (.222) from beyond the arc and held a slim 45-44 advantage in rebounds.
GAME NOTES
• Daemen entered tonight's contest coming in at No. 2 in the most recent National Association of Basketball Coaches National Poll and No. 3 from the newest D2CSC National Poll.
• The Wildcats are now 7-2 all-time against Staten Island and has won the last three meetings.
• Daemen attempted less than five free-throws for the first time since Nov. 23 at Post.
• The 'Cats knocked down 15-or-more 3-pointers for the first instance since Feb. 16, 2024 at St. Thomas Aquinas
• Salzberg became the first player since Mason last season against Franklin Pierce (Dec. 19, 2023) to tally six 3-pointers in a game.
• Becker tallied five-or-more assists for the first time since Jan. 18 against then No. 21/7 Gannon.
• Daemen has scored 40-or-more points in the first half of every game dating back to Jan. 3 at Franklin Pierce
• With his appearance tonight, Mason moved into fourth all-time for games played with 121. He is eight away from passing Therron Blackwell for third all-time.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats close their short two game homestand with a contest against the University of the District of Columbia. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. on Feb. 2.
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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