AMHERST, N.Y. – One of the best seasons in program history came to an end on Sunday night as the top-seeded No. 1/2 Daemen University men's basketball team fell to #5 St. Thomas Aquinas, 79-74, in the second round of the 2025 NCAA East Regional at Lumsden Gymnasium on the campus of Daemen University.
Daemen ends their year with a 28-1 overall record. Their one loss is a "Modern Era" record for the least number of losses in a season. St. Thomas Aquinas improved to 25-9 and will advance to the Sweet Sixteen to face Assumption (NE-10) in the East Regional final on Tuesday.
IMPACT PLAYERS
• Redshirt sophomore center
Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.) led all Daemen scorers with 22 points and 12 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the year. Bill also notched five blocks as well.
• Guard
Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) and
Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) tallied 15 points each with Glover knocked down a game-high four 3-pointers as well.
• In his final collegiate game, graduate student guard
Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.) went out on his terms as he totaled 11 points and notched double-digits in scoring for the 29
th time in his career.
• Redshirt senior forward
Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) provided a team-high six assists as well.
• Hartnel Haye notched 12 points and a team-best nine rebounds to help lead St. Thomas Aquinas to the East Regional final.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• The Wildcats and Spartans traded scored throughout most of the first half as Daemen found itself ahead by one, 25-24, with 6:53 to play. The Blue and White gained some breathing room as a Glover triple uncorked a 13-2 run for the 'Cats that put them ahead, 38-26, with 4:35 left in the first half.
• STAC responded with a 12-5 run of their own to close the first half, but Daemen kept their lead as they entered the locker room with a 43-38 lead.
• Out of the halftime break, the Spartans scored 10 of the first 12 points of the new stanza to jump ahead, 48-45, with 18:00 minutes to play.
• Daemen had another reply to the Spartans as they rattled off a 11-0 spurt, led by seven points from Bill, to jump back ahead 56-48 with 13:29 remaining.
• The Spartans took the lead for good moments later as an Arnold 3-pointer started a 192- run for STAC that put them ahead by nine, 67-58, with 7:39 to play.
• Daemen attempted one final comeback as they cut the Spartans lead down to just two, 75-73, after a Salzberg triple with 33 seconds left. Still, the Wildcats record breaking season came to an end as the visitors sealed the upset win with four late free-throw makes.
• The Wildcats closed the contest shooting 26-of-64 (.406) overall and held a slim 42-40 edge on the glass. The two sides were tied in assists with 15 each.
• As for St. Thomas Aquinas, they ended the evening going 29-of-66 (.439) overall and 16-of-20 (.800) from the free-throw line.
GAME NOTES
• Today marked the 37
th all-time meeting and fourth this season between Daemen and St. Thomas Aquinas. It also marks the first time since the 2020-21 campaign that the two sides played each other four times.
• Daemen played in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in consecutive years for the first time in program history
• The Wildcats are the first ECC to host the East Regional since Bridgeport in 2020. That regional was never played due to COVID-19.
• Mason ends his career with 324 3-pointers which is a program record and ranks third all-time in the ECC.
• Bill ends the year with 10 games of 20-or-more points. He also notched five blocks in a game for the fourth time this year and second game in a row.
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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