AMHERST, N.Y. – The No. 3 Daemen University men's basketball team improved to 9-0 with a 76-51 victory over Queens on Friday in its first East Coast Conference game of the year. The Wildcats boosted their home record to 5-0 inside Lumsden Gymnasium. Daemen has won 40 consecutive regular season contests, dating back to February 2024. It was a perfect 25-0 in regular season play last year.
 
Three Wildcats tallied double-digit points and combined for 56 of Daemen's 76 total points. The Wildcats shot 49% (29-of-59) from the field while knocking down 6-of-16 three-pointers (37.5%). They outscored the Knights 42-20 in the paint and led for 37:22 compared to Queens' 28 seconds.
 
IMPACT PLAYERS

• Redshirt junior Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y), an All-American and the ECC Player of the Year last season, recorded a game-high 24 points, the second-most a Daemen player has tallied in a contest this year behind his own 25-point performance against Charleston on Nov. 22, while going 9-of-13 from the floor. Bill also grabbed nine rebounds and added three blocks. The ECC Preseason Player of the Year has scored in double figures in 20 consecutive games dating back to last season.
• Guard Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) followed with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and notched four of Daemen's six triples. He has made 41% of his threes this season, the best mark on the team among players who have at least five attempts. The junior also posted three blocks. Philipkoski had just four total blocks through his first eight contests of the year.
• Redshirt senior Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) only managed two points, but contributed a game-best 10 rebounds and tied for the team lead with eight assists. Hemphill's eight helpers were a season-high and his 10 boards marked the redshirt senior's second-best effort of the year. Hemphill has recorded at least seven assists three times this season despite only having done so three times in his career prior to this year, all of which came in the 2024-25 campaign.
• Junior guard Ryan Heath (Rochester, N.Y.) scored 12 points, the fifth time this year he has been in double figures. Heath went 4-of-8 from the floor, marking the sixth time this season that he has shot over 50% on field goals out of his nine appearances. The junior also secured career-highs in assists with eight, which matched Hemphill for the team lead, and rebounds with six.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Daemen stormed ahead early. The Wildcats held a 17-8 lead through the first nine minutes after starting 7-of-13 from the field and 3-of-7 from three. Philipksoki was responsible for 11 of Daemen's 17 early points, including each of its three-pointers.
• The final 11 minutes of the first half saw Daemen extend its lead. The Wildcats put together 6-0 and 7-0 runs and grew their advantage to as much as 16 points (34-18) with 2:39 remaining in the period. Daemen went into halftime with a 15-point lead (38-23) while shooting 50% from the field (16-of-32) and 4-of-11 from distance. Philipkoski paced all scorers with 13 points in the opening frame.
• The Wildcats picked up right where they left off in the second half. Daemen began the period with a 12-4 run over the first seven minutes, extending its lead to 50-27. Five of the Wildcats' 12 points were scored by Bill. The following two minutes belonged to the Knights. Queens tallied the next nine points, cutting its deficit from 23 to 14 (50-36). Daemen then re-established itself with a 5-0 spurt, ballooning its advantage to 55-36 with just under nine minutes remaining.
• Queens pulled back to within 14 by notching seven of the next nine points (57-43) with 5:30 remaining. The Knights did not get any closer than that. Daemen controlled the rest of the game, aided by a 12-2 run between the four-minute mark of the second half and the one-minute mark, when the Wildcats claimed a 26-point advantage (74-48), their largest of the night. Daemen closed out what ultimately ended up being a 25-point win, 76-51.

GAME NOTES

• Daemen remained No. 3 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.
• Today marked the 26th all-time meeting between Daemen and Queens. The Wildcats improved to 22-4 in the series and have won each of the last five contests between the two programs.
• At 25 points, Daemen earned its second-largest margin of victory of the season. The Wildcats downed Alaska Anchorage by 34 (96-62) on Nov. 2.
• The Wildcats dished out 19 assists as a team, their third-best tally of the year, compared to seven by the Knights. Daemen has had more assists than its opponent in all but one game this season. 
• Daemen kept Queens to 51 points, the fewest the Wildcats have allowed this year and the first time they have held an adversary below 60. It was Daemen's best defensive showing since it gave up just 50 points to Molloy last January. Opponents have managed to crack the 70-point plateau only twice this season.
• Daemen outrebounded Queens 45-34. The Wildcats have won the rebounding battle in eight of nine contests and in each of their last eight.

UP NEXT
Daemen returns to action and continues ECC play on Dec. 7 when it hosts Molloy at 1:00 p.m. at Lumsden Gymnasium. The Wildcats are 16-8 all-time against the Lions and have won four straight matchups. 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.