SPARKILL, N.Y. – Despite being down six at halftime, the No. 2/3 Daemen University men's basketball team was unfazed as they outscored St. Thomas Aquinas, 37-20, in the second half to comeback and win, 65-54, in East Coast Conference men's basketball action Friday night at Aquinas Hall Gymnasium.
With the win, the Wildcats improved to 20-0 and 11-0 in ECC play while the Spartans dropped to 15-8 and 7-3 in conference action. Also with the win, the Wildcats secured their seventh consecutive full season of at least 20 wins, the longest active streak of any Western New York collegiate men's basketball team.
IMPACT PLAYERS
• Sophomore guard
Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) led the Wildcats in scoring with 15 points and a game-high three 3-pointers.
• Redshirt senior forward
Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) secured his team-leading sixth double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
• Redshirt sophomore
Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.) aided the Wildcats offensive efforts with 10 points while graduate student guard
Matt Becker (Fairfield, Conn.) dished out a game-high five assists.
• Deshawne Crim led St. Thomas Aquinas in scoring with 11 points while Shaun Arnold nabbed a game-high five steals in the losing effort.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Down 20-9 halfway through the first half, the Wildcats began to chip away at the Spartans advantage as a Hemphill dunk ushered in a 12-4 run that brought Daemen to within three, 24-21, with 4:42 to play.
• The Spartans however wethered the Daemen attack and scored six of the final nine points of the frame to enter locker room ahead, 34-28.
• Out of the break, the hosts continued to push and extended their lead to 10, 40-30, with 15:51 to play.
• Daemen was unfazed however as a triple from sophomore guard
Ryan Heath (Rochester, N.Y.) ignited a 13-2 run that saw Daemen take their first lead of the evening, 43-42, with 12:35 left in the contest.
• The Spartans retook the lead moments later, 44-43, after a jumper from Crim with 11:43 to play, but it was the last time the Spartans were ahead for the remainder of the evening as Philipkoski knocked down a 3-pointer moments later to put the Blue and White in the lead for good, 46-44 with 11:09 to play.
• Daemen kept St. Thomas Aquinas at bay for the remainder of the contest and only allowed five makes from the hosts over the final 10 minutes to secure their 65-54 road victory.
• The Wildcats ended the evening shooting 24-of-49 (.490) and held a slim 32-30 edge on rebounds. Daemen also dominated in fast-break points with 18 compared to just three for the host Spartans.
• St. Thomas Aquinas went 22-of-55 (.400) overall in the losing effort.
GAME NOTES
• Daemen entered the contest coming in at No. 2 in the most recent National Association of Basketball Coaches National Poll and No. 3 from the latest D2CSC National Poll.
• The Wildcats were down at halftime for only the third time this season today. In both prior instances, Daemen was only down by one point.
• Daemen swept the regular season series against St. Thomas Aquinas for the first time since the 2013-14 season. It also marked the first time since Jan. 21, 2022, that Daemen won in Sparkill, N.Y.
• Hemphill has now finished with 10-or-more points in six of his last seven games.
• The 'Cats only allowed 20 points to the Spartans in the second half. It marked the second consecutive game that the 'Cats allowed 20-or-less points to an opponent in any half.
• Becker has now provided five-or-more assists for the second time in three games and fifth time this season.
UP NEXT
Daemen continues their downstate road trip with a game against Mercy on Sunday. Tip-off from Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., is set for 2 p.m. on Feb. 9.
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.
