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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
Justin Glover dribbles up the court
61
Saint Michael's SMC 5-5,1-1 NE10
73
Winner Daemen Daemen 14-0,4-0 ECC
Saint Michael's SMC
5-5,1-1 NE10
61
Final
73
Daemen Daemen
14-0,4-0 ECC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Saint Michael's SMC 25 36 61
Daemen Daemen 33 40 73

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Wildcats Stay Unbeaten With Gutty Win Over Saint Michael's

Daemen now winners of 45 straight regular season games

AMHERST, N.Y. – Death, taxes and the Daemen University men's basketball team finding a way to win. 

Daemen, the No. 2 ranked team in NCAA Division II, improved to 14-0 as the Wildcats scored a 73-61 win over Saint Michael's College in non-conference action at Lumsden Gymnasium today. Much like in their win Wednesday over No. 21 Assumption, it was a pivotal second half spurt that put the Wildcats in control. With the game knotted at 53-53, Daemen went on an 11-2 run in just over two minutes of action, establishing a 64-55 advantage that their guests from Vermont could not overcome. The Purple Knights never got closer than a five-point deficit for the remainder of the contest.

The loss sends Saint Michael's to 5-5 this season and snaps their three-game winning streak. The Purple Knights had won five of their last six games coming into today. 

Daemen had four players score in double figures and registered 10 blocked shots in a game that featured six ties and 12 lead changes. The Wildcats have now won 45 consecutive regular season contests, a streak that dates back to the 2023-24 season. 
 
IMPACT PLAYERS
  • Senior guard Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) scored 13 of his game-high (and season-high) 19 points in the second half, including a three-pointer at the 3:45 mark that put Daemen ahead 62-55. Glover shot 3-for-5 from three-point range and a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line, while adding three assists and a career-high seven rebounds. 
  • Junior Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) added 18 points, six rebounds and three steals. 
  • Junior guard Ryan Heath (Rochester, N.Y.) and redshirt senior forward Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) tossed in 10 points apiece. Hemphill added a game-high six assists and a career-best seven blocks. 
  • Redshirt junior forward Phil Nwugwo (Rochester, N.Y.) made his third straight start, and responded with eight points and eight boards. 
  • Zocko Littleton (11 points) and Greg Kenney (10 points) paced the Purple Knights.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Daemen opened the game on an 11-3 spurt, thanks to a couple of early three-pointers by Glover. Saint Michael's battled back and trailed 26-20 when Daemen got a Philipkoski three-pointer and a layup by Heath to extend to an 11-point lead with 3:10 remaining in the period. The teams traded baskets until Littleton knocked down a trifecta, cutting the Daemen lead to 33-25 at halftime. 
  • Saint Michael's came out strong to start the second stanza, scoring 10 straight points to take their first lead at 35-33 on a jumper by Littleton. It stayed a one-possession game for the next 12 minutes. setting the stage for Daemen's game-defining spurt. Glover converted a pair of free throws to break the 53-all tie, and following an SMC turnover, Nwugwo scored a putback inside. A pair of Littleton free throws couldn't stem the tide as Nwugwo scored again, this time off a feed from Hemphill. Another SMC possession went empty, thanks to a block by Philipkoski, and Glover drilled a three-pointer at the other end. A short time later, a jumper by Heath capped the Daemen run at the 2:56 mark. 
  • Quintin Floyd's short jumper pulled SMC within 64-59 at the 1:51 mark, but Daemen shot 9-for-13 from the charity stripe down the stretch to quell any thoughts of a Purple Knights comeback. 
  • Saint Michael's, which was shooting 44 percent from the field across their three-game winning streak, was held to a season-low 32.8 percent shooting (20-for-61).
  • Daemen shot a season-low 40.4 percent from the field (23-for-57), but managed to drill 9-of-21 three-point attempts (42.9 percent), including 5-of-12 in the second half. 

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.
  • Daemen has won by at least 10 points in 12 of 14 games this season.
  • Today's game marked the seventh all-time meeting between Daemen and Saint Michael's, all of which happening since 2016. Daemen owns a 5-2 edge and has won four of the last five meetings. Today's game was the teams' first meeting at Lumsden Gymnasium since 2018. 
  • Daemen has now won 31 of their last 32 home games. The Wildcats are 130-20 at home during the program's NCAA Division II era (2015-present). 
  • 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. 
  • Glover is closing in on a pair of milestones, now just three games shy of 100 and 94 points shy of 1,000 for his career. 

UP NEXT
Daemen will take some time off for the NCAA-mandated holiday break, returning to host Adelphi for a 2 p.m. tip-off on New Year's Day. 

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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