Skip To Main Content

Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
Zach Philipkoski splits between defenders on his way to the hoop
78
Winner Daemen Daemen 16-0,4-0 ECC
72
Franklin Pierce FPU 4-10,0-4 NE10
Winner
Daemen Daemen
16-0,4-0 ECC
78
Final
72
Franklin Pierce FPU
4-10,0-4 NE10
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Daemen Daemen 41 37 78
Franklin Pierce FPU 37 35 72

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Wildcats Overcome Slow Start To Win 16th Straight Game

5 players reach double figures as Wildcats down Ravens

RINDGE, N.H. – Despite falling behind 14-4 just over four minutes into the game, No. 2 Daemen rallied for a 78-72 win over Franklin Pierce in non-conference men's basketball action at the FPU Fieldhouse today. Five Daemen players reached double figures, led by Zach Philipkoski's (New Hartford, N.Y.) 20 points and the double-double effort (17 points, 12 rebounds) of Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.). 

The host Ravens led 19-10 when Daemen embarked on a 19-5 spurt to seize control. A three-pointer from Daemen's Nakyhi Harris (Buffalo, N.Y.) gave the Wildcats their first lead at 27-24, and although FPU would even things up at 35-35 a short time later, the hosts never led again in the game.

The win moves Daemen to 16-0 this season, including a 5-0 mark against Northeast-10 Conference affiliates. It also extended the Wildcats' regular season winning streak to 47 straight games dating back to the end of the 2023-24 campaign. Franklin Pierce dropped its second game in as many days, falling to 4-10 on the season. 
 
IMPACT PLAYERS
  • Philipkoski shot 6-for-10 from the field, 3-for-5 from three-point range and 5-for-6 from the charity stripe to reach the 20-point plateau for the sixth time this season. He added a game-high five assists. 
  • Hemphill, who earlier in the day was named the ECC Player of the Week, recorded his third double-double of the season, finishing 8-for-14 from the field. 
  • Ryan Heath (Rochester, N.Y.) shot an efficient 6-for-7 from the field and finished with 12 points, four boards and four assists. He has now scored 10+ points in five straight games. 
  • Phil Nwugwo (Rochester, N.Y.) and Harris chipped in with 11 points apiece. Nwugwo, who was in the starting lineup for a fifth straight game, has now reached double figures in six of the last seven contests. Harris drilled a season-high three three-pointers, and finished just one point shy of his season-best effort (12 points vs. Molloy on Dec. 7).
  • Anthony Parker nailed six three-pointers and scored a game-high 24 points to pace the Ravens. Raymond Baka added 13 points and eight rebounds, while Western New York native Jalen Duff tossed in seven points in 22 minutes of action off the FPU bench. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • After FPU evened the score at 35-35, Daemen scored 18 of the next 26 points in a run spanning both halves. All five starters recorded field goals in the spurt, including Heath's layup at the 15:41 mark which gave the Wildcats their first double digit lead (53-43). 
  • The Ravens pulled within three points on two ocassions, but both were met with Daemen buckets on the other end. The Daemen lead was 68-64 when back-to-back-to-back buckets from Philipkoski, Hemphill and Heath reestablished a 10-point Wildcat edge (74-64) with 2:41 to play. The Ravens never got the deficit under two possessions from there. 
  • Daemen finished the game shooting an even 50 percent from the field (30-for-60), including a blistering 57.1 percent in the second half (16-for-28). 
  • FPU shot 30-for-64 overall (46.9%), but after going 6-for-11 from three-point range in the first half, were just 2-for-11 from downtown in the second.

GAME NOTES
  • Daemen is ranked No. 2 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.
  • The win was just Daemen's fourth by single digits this season. It also marked FPU's fourth loss by six points or less this season. 
  • The Wildcats were once again without All-American center Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.) who suffered an injury just five minutes into their 83-65 win at Mercy on Dec. 12. Bill is expected to return this season. 
  • Daemen has won nine straight games against NE10 opponents, dating back to last season. 
  • Daemen is now 4-1 all-time against the Ravens, with wins in four straight meetings. The teams have now met in five straight seasons.

UP NEXT
Daemen returns to the friendly confines of Lumsden Gymnasium to resume their East Coast Conference schedule, welcoming the District of Columbia Firebirds to town for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off Friday, Jan. 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.
Print Friendly Version