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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
Phil Nwugwo dribbles past an Assumption defender
67
Assumption ASM 7-2,2-0 NE10
77
Winner Daemen Daemen 13-0,4-0 ECC
Assumption ASM
7-2,2-0 NE10
67
Final
77
Daemen Daemen
13-0,4-0 ECC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Assumption ASM 30 37 67
Daemen Daemen 38 39 77

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

#2 Daemen Hangs On For Key Regional Win Over #21 Assumption

AMHERST, N.Y. – In a rare midweek matinee that featured two of the top 25 teams in NCAA Division II men's basketball, it was No. 2 Daemen that emerged victorious from what what felt like a 40-minute slugfest, winning 77-67 over No. 21 and defending East Region champion Assumption at Lumsden Gymnasium today. After Assumption erased an 11-point second half deficit, Daemen closed on a 25-12 spurt covering the final 5:26 of the contest. 

With the win, Daemen improved to 13-0 this season, extending their regular season winning streak to 44 consecutive games. Assumption, which was playing on the Lumsden Gymnasium hardwood for the first time since winning the regional title here last March, was held to season-low 67 points and fell to 7-2 this season. It also marked Daemen's third win against a nationally ranked opponent this season. 
 
The Wildcats were once again without All-American center Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.) who suffered an injury just five minutes into their 83-65 win last Friday night at Mercy. And, things got even thinner in the frontcourt when redshirt senior forward Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) fouled out with 9:19 left. But, Daemen got double figure scoring from the other four starters and out-rebounded the Greyhounds by a 47-33 margin. 
 
IMPACT PLAYERS
  • Junior Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) led all scorers with 20 points and added a career-high 16 rebounds for his third double-double of the season (and second straight). It's the sixth double-double of his career, and he flirted with a triple-double by finishing with a game-high (and career-high) eight assists as well. He shot a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe.
  • Junior guard Ryan Heath (Rochester, N.Y.) also had a career day, finishing with 17 points (career-high), five rebounds and three assists. 
  • Redshirt junior forward Phil Nwugwo (Rochester, N.Y.) made his second straight start, and responded with 16 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 8-of-10 shooting from the free throw line. He added eight rebounds and a season-high three blocks. 
  • Senior guard Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half, including a barrage of three-pointers that helped Daemen pull away.
  • Tayeshawn Cunningham-Pemberton netted 17 points and Zee McCown chipped in with 12 to pace the Greyhounds. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • A tightly contested first half saw no more than seven points of separation between the two teams, until an offensive rebound and putback by Daemen freshman Nakyhi Harris (Buffalo, N.Y.) gave the Wildcats a 38-30 edge just before the halftime buzzer. 
  • The Wildcats extended the lead to 11 (43-32) on two Nwugwo free throws early in the second half, but the Greyhounds chipped away and eventually tied the score at 49-49 on a jumper by McCown with 9:46 to play. Hemphill fouled out going for an offensive rebound on the ensuing Daemen possession, and the momentum swung heavily in Assumption's favor. 
  • The Greyhounds took their first lead since the game's opening minutes when Lenny Tangishaka converted two free throws at the 6:49 mark, making the score 51-50. The lead changed hands three times over the next few moments, including when Glover nailed a three-pointer at the 5:26 mark to put Daemen back ahead 55-53. Tangishaka answered quickly with a jumper to even the score, but Glover struck again at the other end, drilling another trifecta with 4:42 to go. The Wildcats would not trail for the remainder of the contest as the second Glover trey-ball sparked an 11-2 spurt by the home team. Philipkoski and Heath had layups, Glover would add another three-pointer and an Nwugwo free throw at the 2:12 mark put Daemen ahead 66-57. The Greyhounds got no closer than five points from there as Daemen shot 5-of-6 from the charity stripe in ther last two minutes to seal the deal. 
  • Assumption, which came into the game averaging 90.6 points per game, were held to a season-low 35.7 percent shooting from the field (25-for-70), including a paltry 4-for-29 from three-point range (13.8 percent). 
  • Daemen managed to shoot 44.6 percent from the field (25-for-56) and made good on 22-of-29 free throws (75.9 percent), but were plagued by their 22 turnovers which turned into 25 points for the Greyhounds. 

GAME NOTES
  • Daemen is ranked No. 2 in the latest NABC coaches' poll. The Wildcats returned 13 players from last year's 28-1 squad and have been in the top four in every poll this season.
  • The Wildcats were picked to finish first in the East Coast Conference preseason poll for the third time in the last four years. Assumption, which returned 11 players and four starters from their regional championship team, was picked to finish second in the Northeast-10 Conference. 
  • The 10-point loss was Assumption's worst since an 85-64 setback against Bentley last January. Bentley owns the only other win against Assumption this season, a 79-77 final late last month. 
  • Daemen has won by at least 10 points in 11 of 13 games this season.
  • Today's game marked just the third all-time meeting between Daemen and Assumption. Daemen owns a 2-1 edge and has won two straight meetings. Assumption's only win in the series came in the teams' first ever meeting back in December of 2002. 
  • Daemen has now won 30 of their last 31 home games. The Wildcats are 129-20 at home during the program's NCAA Division II era (2015-present). 
  • Prior wins against nationally ranked opponents for Daemen this season came Nov. 1 vs. No. 19 Lenoir-Rhyne (75-69) and Nov. 18 vs. No. 5 Fairmont State (75-63). 

UP NEXT
No. 2 Daemen concludes the pre-Christmas portion of their 2025-26 schedule this Saturday, Dec. 20 when they host the St. Michael's Purple Knights for another noon tip-off. 

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.
 
 
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