AMHERST, N.Y. – The No. 1/2 Daemen University men's basketball team capped their undefeated regular season with an 85-64 victory over regional rival Roberts Wesleyan in the final East Coast Conference game of the season for both teams Saturday afternoon at Lumsden Gymnasium.
 
With the win, the Wildcats (25-0, 16-0 ECC) join C.W. Post (1989-90 & 2008-09), Adelphi (2000-01) and Philadelphia U. (1992-93 & 1993-94) as the only four schools to finish the regular season undefeated. As for Roberts Wesleyan, they dropped to 10-16 overall and 7-9 in conference action.
 
IMPACT PLAYERS
• Redshirt sophomore center Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.) notched a 25 point, 11 rebound double-double for his seventh of the year. He finished the game without missing a shot and went a perfect 12-of-12 from the floor. Bill contributed on the defense as well with a game-high five blocks and three steals
• Graduate student Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) tallied 15 points and knocked-down a career-high five triples as well.
• Fellow graduate student Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.) chipped in 12 points while sophomore guard Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) tallied a career-high seven assists in the win.
• Malik Brooks paced the Roberts Wesleyan offense with 16 points and 11 rebounds in the losing effort.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• The Wildcats defense and offense clicked on all cylinders to start the game as they allowed no Roberts Wesleyan baskets while they poured in 19 points of their own off multiple long scoring runs to command a 19-1 lead with 12:28 to play.
• After Roberts Wesleyan notched their first basket of the contest at the 10:31 mark, an ensuing layup from redshirt sophomore forward Phil Nwugwo (Rochester, N.Y.) kicked off a short 9-4 spurt for the 'Cats that put them ahead by 21, 30-9, with 7:08 left.
• The two sides traded buckets to the halftime buzzer with Daemen entering the locker room ahead, 37-16.
• Out of the halftime break, the Wildcats continued to roll as they scored 11 of the first 15 points of the frame, with two triples from Salzberg highlighting the scoring run, to put Daemen ahead by nearly 30, 48-20, with 16:52.
• Despite multiple long scoring runs from the visitors in the second half, the Wildcats never relinquished their double-digit advantage en route to their 85-64 win.
• Daemen ended the day shooting 35-of-59 (.593) overall and 11-of-27 (.407) from deep. Daemen also held a 48-38 edge in points in the paint as well.
• Roberts Wesleyan ended the afternoon shooting 24-of-64 (.375) from the floor and only 4-of-20 (.200) from deep. The Redhawks also held a slim 38-36 edge on the glass as well.
 
GAME NOTES
• Today marked the 75^th all-time meeting between the two regional rivals. Daemen is now 53-12 all-time against Roberts Wesleyan
• Prior to the game, the Wildcats honors their graduating members with Mason, Salzberg and graduate student guard Matt Becker (Fairfield, Conn.).
• Bill made the first start of his collegiate career this afternoon.
• Mason is now two 3-pointers away from setting the program record for career 3-pointers with 317.
• Daemen limited an opponent to less than 20 points in a half for the first time since Feb. 2 against UDC when they held the Firebirds to 19 first half points. 
 
UP NEXT
Daemen is idle until March 8 when they will play the No. 4 seed Roberts Wesleyan or No. 5 seed Staten Island in the 2025 ECC Men's Basketball Championship. Tip-off from Lumsden Gymnasium is set for 5 p.m. 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.

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