AMHERST, N.Y. – The No. 4 Daemen University men's basketball team improved to 4-0 with an 80-63 victory over Saint Anselm on Saturday. The Wildcats made it a perfect weekend as the hosts of the East Region Challenge Presented by WNY Knee & Orthopedic Surgery PC, pairing their win over the Hawks with a triumph against Felician on Friday. Daemen has won 35 consecutive regular season contests, dating back to February 2024. It was a perfect 25-0 in regular season play last year.
 
Five Wildcats tallied double-digit points in the victory and combined for 72 of Daemen's 80 total points. The Wildcats shot 49% (29-of-59) from the field and knocked down 8-of-22 triples while notching 11 more assists and grabbing 12 more rebounds than the Hawks.
 
IMPACT PLAYERS

• Guard Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) tallied a game-high 23 points, the junior's largest total of the season and second largest of his career, trailing a 34-point performance against Mercy in January 2024, when Philipkoski was a freshman. Twenty-three points is also the most a Wildcat has scored in a game this year. Philipkoski was 8-of-12 from the field, 3-of-6 from three and added six rebounds. The guard earned East Region Challenge MVP and all-tournament team honors, scoring 43 points on 15-of-22 shooting combined between the two games.
• Redshirt junior Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y), an All-American and the ECC Player of the Year last season, recorded 13 points, going 4-of-7 from the floor while grabbing five rebounds and recording a game-best and season-high three blocks. Bill, the ECC Preseason Player of the Year, has scored in double figures in 15 consecutive games dating back to last season. Like Philipkoski, Bill was named to the all-tournament team, posting a combined 33 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks.
• Redshirt senior Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) tied Bill for second on the team with 13 points. The forward notched a game-high six assists and a season-best two blocks. Hemphill came into the contest with two total blocks in his first three games of the year. The redshirt senior has scored in double figures in three of four games in this young campaign.
• Junior guard Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) scored a season-high 12 points, including three made three-pointers.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Daemen led for 18:43 of the first half. The Wildcats dominated early, opening up a 19-7 lead after 6:30 of game time, paced by six points from Philipkoski and five from Hemphill. Daemen made seven of its nine field goal attempts.
• The Hawks pulled to within five (36-31) with 4:34 remaining in the first half after a 24-17 stretch across the previous nine minutes. The Wildcats responded with a 10-0 run to grow their lead to 15, but Saint Anselm crawled back over the final 1:34 of the half with an 8-3 spurt to cut Daemen's lead to 10 (49-39) entering halftime. The Wildcats have scored at least 49 points in three consecutive first halves.
• Saint Anselm got the better of Daemen over the first eight minutes of the second frame. A Bill free throw gave the Wildcats a 50-39 lead, but the Hawks scored 11 of the next 13 points to cut their deficit to two (52-50). However, Daemen answered with a 7-0 run and ballooned its lead to nine midway through the second half.
• The Hawks reduced the Wildcats' lead to six with 8:26 remaining (59-53). Daemen then went on its second 10-0 run of the game over the ensuing three minutes and grew its lead to 69-53, its largest of the contest to that point. Daemen boosted its advantage to as high as 22 at 79-57 before it finished off a 17-point victory.

GAME NOTES

• Daemen is ranked 4th in the NABC coaches' poll and is one of two programs to receive a first place vote, along with defending national champion Nova Southeastern. The Wildcats returned 13 players from last year's 28-1 squad.
• The Wildcats were picked to finish first in the East Coast Conference preseason poll for the third time in the last four years.
• Today marked the sixth all-time meeting between the Wildcats and Hawks. Daemen improved to 5-1 in the series and has won four straight.
• Despite Saint Anselm being within single digits in the latter stages of the second half, Daemen led for 38:43 compared to the Hawks' 1:01. Saint Anselm did not lead after the 18:43 mark of the first frame.
• The Wildcats were 8-of-22 from beyond the arc today with Glover and Philipkoski leading the way with three triples apiece.
• Daemen shot 49% from the field. The Wildcats had converted on 52% of their field goals through their first three games, the same mark they posted last year on their way to a 28-1 record.
• The Wildcats out-rebounded the Hawks 46-34. Their +12 rebounding margin was their second-best of the season, trailing their +16 mark against Alaska Anchorage on Nov. 2. Daemen has won the rebounding battle in three of four games this year.

East Region Challenge All-Tournament Team:
Tavian Pullock - Felician
Jeremiah Anderson - Felician
Will Davies - Saint Anselm
Josh Morisette - Saint Anselm
Benjamin Bill - Daemen
Zach Philipkoski - Daemen (MVP)

UP NEXT
The Wildcats return to action on Tuesday when they host No. 5 Fairmont State at 5:30 p.m. at the Charles L. and Gloria B. Lumsden Gymnasium. 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.