AMHERST, N.Y. – The No. 2 Daemen University men's basketball team improved to 17-0 overall and 5-0 in East Coast Conference play with a 85-47 victory over District of Columbia at Lumsden Gymnasium on Friday. The Wildcats have won 48 consecutive regular season contests, dating back to February 2024, and were 25-0 in regular season play last year.
 
Five Daemen players reached double figures and 10 total Wildcats scored. They shot 46% (30-of-65) from the field as a team while knocking down 13-of-28 three-pointers (46%). Daemen outscored UDC 32-18 in the paint and 30-9 in terms of points off turnovers, including 16-0 in the first half.
 
IMPACT PLAYERS

• Redshirt junior Phil Nwugwo (Rochester, N.Y.) led all scorers with 16 points and posted a career-high five blocks while adding seven rebounds. Nwugwo tied his second best scoring mark of the year and has recorded at least 10 points in seven of his last eight games. He has notched at least six rebounds in seven consecutive appearances.
• Redshirt freshman Santana Sinvilcin (Port Chester, N.Y.) enjoyed a career night, scoring a career-best 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting (3-of-4 from three) in just nine minutes, all of which came in the second half. Sinvilcin entered this game with just five points and two made field goals at the collegiate level. The guard's three three-pointers were the first of his career.
• Junior Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) contributed 10 points and extended his double-figure scoring streak to 15 straight. The guard also contributed six rebounds along with three blocks, which tied for his largest total of the season
• Redshirt senior Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) filled the stat sheet with 10 points plus a game-high 12 rebounds and a contest-best six assists. It was Hemphill's fourth double-double of the year and second consecutive, after posting 17 points and 12 boards against Franklin Pierce on Jan. 5. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• In a sign of things to come, Daemen's defense began strong. The Wildcats held the Firebirds scoreless for the first five minutes while forcing four turnovers. UDC went 0-of-5 from the field in that stretch. Meanwhile, Daemen opened up an 8-0 lead on five points from Hemphill and three from Philipkoski. The Firebirds found more rhythm offensively, scoring eight points in the following five minutes, but the Wildcats managed nine and grew their advantage to 17-8 at the midway point of the opening frame.
• Daemen built a 15 point lead (28-13) with four minutes left in the half after a 6-0 run and while keeping UDC to just two made field goals over the preceding seven minutes. The Wildcats closed the period on with a 7-2 stretch, claiming their largest advantage of the contest to that point and going into the break ahead 37-17. Philipkoski paced Daemen with 10 points, while Hemphill added nine tallies and a game-best eight rebounds. The Wildcats held the Firebirds to 6-of-28 from the field through 20 minutes.
• Daemen's offense exploded to begin the second half. The Wildcats tallied 14 points in the first three minutes of the frame, extending their lead to 28 (51-23). Eight of those points came courtesy of Nwuguwo. Daemen's lead reached 30 for the first time with 13:02 remaining when a Ryan Heath (Rochester, N.Y.) layup made it 58-27. That advantage ballooned to 33 before UDC cut it to 27 (62-35) at the 10-minute mark of the second half following a 7-0 burst by the Firebirds.
• Daemen quickly regained control and maintained it for the rest of the contest. The Wildcats' largest lead was 40 (85-45) before closing out a 38-point victory, 85-47. Daemen shot 58% from the field in the second half after managing just a 35% mark in the first half. UDC was held under 35% in both frames.

GAME NOTES

• Daemen remained 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. Daemen sits atop the ECC standings with a 5-0 record in league play.
• Today was the 24th all-time meeting between Daemen and UDC. The Wildcats lead the series 22-2 and have won 17 in a row, dating back to 2017.
• Daemen's 38-point margin of victory was its largest of the year and its third of at least 30 points. The Wildcats' 85 tallies were the fourth most that they have managed in a game this season and marked the eighth time they have eclipsed 80 out of 17 total contests.
• Daemen kept UDC to 47 points, the fewest by a Wildcats' opponent since Dec. 6, 2024 when Staten Island also posted just 47. Daemen has allowed 65 points or fewer 11 times this season. Foes have managed to crack the 70-point plateau only three times and have not reached 80.
• The Wildcats held the advantage for 39:12 while never trailing. Hemphill gave Daemen the lead with a layup 48 seconds into the game, which it never relinquished.
• Daemen notched 23 assists, the third-most the Wildcats have procured this year, while UDC managed just six, tied for the fewest that Daemen has surrendered.  

UP NEXT
Daemen continues ECC play at Lumsden Gymnasium on Jan. 11 at 2:30 p.m. when it hosts Staten Island. The Wildcats have won eight of 10 all-time matchups against the Dolphins, including each of the last four. 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.