AMHERST, N.Y. – The top-seeded No. 1/2 Daemen University men's basketball team punched their ticket to the East Coast Conference Men's Basketball Championship for the fifth consecutive year as they downed the College of Staten Island, 90-57, in the semifinal round of the 2025 ECC Men's Basketball Championship Saturday evening in Lumsden Gymnasium.
With the win, the Wildcats improved to 26-0 while Staten Island ended their year with a 12-18 overall record.
IMPACT PLAYERS
• Graduate student guard
Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) dropped a team-high 14 points while knocking down four 3-pointers to lead the Wildcats offense.
• Redshirt senior forward and ECC First Team honoree
Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) tallied 12 points while adding in eight rebounds as well.
• Redshirt sophomore forward and ECC Player of the Year tallied 11 points while Buffalo, N.Y., native and All-ECC Second Team selection
Justin Glover dropped 10 scores of his own.
• Sophomore guard
Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) talled five-or-more assists for the second consecutive game as he notched six helpers of his own.
• Aaron Goldstein ended the game with 20 points while Asa Kone hauled in a team-high six rebounds for CSI in the loss.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Tied 30-30 late in the first half after multiple long scoring runs from both teams, the Wildcats ended the opening stanza on a high note as a Hemphill triple followed by a deep Glover step back sent the Wildcats into the locker room with a 36-30 advantage.
• The Wildcats and Dolphins exchanged scores to begin the second half, but Daemen put the game away for good moments later as a Mason triple uncorked a season-best 28-4 run that the hosts ahead by 30, 71-41, with 7:54 to play
• Daemen never let their lead dip below 20 the remainder of the way en route to their 90-57 semifinal win.
• The Wildcats ended the day shooting .600 (33-of-55) overall and 13-of-22 (.591) from deep. Daemen also owned a 34-24 edge in rebounds as well.
• As for Staten Island, they closed the afternoon shooting 20-of-53 (.377) overall and only .348 (8-of-23) from deep.
GAME NOTES
• Daemen and Staten Island faced one another in the semifinal round of the ECC Tournament for the second consecutive year.
• The Wildcats are now 6-0 all-time at home in the ECC Tournament.
• Today marked the 10
th overall meeting between the two schools and second in the postseason. Daemen is now 8-2 overall and 2-0 in the postseason against the Dolphins.
• Daemen shot at .600-or-better in a game for the first time since they shot .600 (39-of-65) at Queens on Jan. 12
• With his four triples tonight, Mason set the program record for 3-pointers with 319.
• The Wildcats recorded their second consecutive sellout game and third sellout this season overall.
• Bill's streak of eight games with 10-or-more points is the longest scoring streak for any Daemen player this season.
• Daemen's 54 second half points are the most in a half since they had 52 against Molloy at home on Valentines Day.
POSTGAME COMMENTS
UP NEXT
Daemen is back in action tomorrow either against Queens or St. Thomas Aquinas in the 2025 ECC Men's Basketball Championship. Tip-off from Lumsden Gymnasium is set for 3:30 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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