BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Daemen University men's basketball team defeated St. John Fisher University 74-66 in an exhibition game hosted at the KeyBank Center in downtown Buffalo on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats shot 41.7 percent from the floor (25-of-60) and 21.7 percent (5-of-23) beyond the arc while out-rebounding the Cardinals 47 to 38.
Trevor Barrett (Cary, N.C.) opened the Wildcats' scoring with a 3-pointer, and Daemen pushed ahead 11-7 on a layup from
Phil Nwugwo (Rochester, N.Y.) before St. John Fisher tied it at 11 and again at 13. From there, the Wildcats scored 10 straight points from 10:09 to 8:11, with Barrett starting the run at the line,
Charlie Croff (Lockport, N.Y.) and Nwugwo scoring inside and
Nakyhi Harris (Buffalo, N.Y.) making a 3-pointer for a 23-13 lead. The Cardinals cut into the margin, bringing the score to 25-23, but the Wildcats went back ahead 33-25 on a Harris layup, a jumper and a triple from Barrett jumper, but St. John Fisher scored the final six points, including a buzzer-beater jumper, to make it 33-31 at halftime.
SJF tied it at 33 and later moved ahead 45-40 on consecutive layups to open the second half, but Daemen came back with baskets by Barrett on back-to-back scoring trips and a layup from Nwugwo for a 46-45 lead, then Harris hit a 3-pointer at 11:33.
Jaymeir Goosby (Buffalo, N.T.) and Nwugwo added baskets to push the Wildcats to 53-47, and after St. John Fisher pulled within three (59-56), Nwugwo's fast-break layup and
Brady Olsen's (Niskayuna, N.Y.) steal, layup and free throw helped make it 65-56 with 2:44 left. The Cardinals got back to 67-62, but Nwugwo scored twice in the final two minutes and Goosby made two late free throws as the Wildcats closed out a 74-66 win.
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Nwugwo put on a clinic in the exhibition, scoring 32 points and pulling down 13 rebounds while adding three blocks in the win. The redshirt senior shot 12-of-18 (61.5%) from the field and contributed seven of Daemen's 13 offensive boards.
- Making his Daemen debut as a transfer from Charleston (W.Va.), Barrett totaled 21 points while shooting 54.5% (6-of-11) from the field and 42.9% (3-of-7) beyond the arc. The redshirt sophomore added three rebounds, two assists and one block.
- Harris finished with 10 rebounds -- all defensive -- along with a team-high six assists and eight points.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats open up the 2026-27 campaign on the road at Saint Anselm in Manchester, New Hampshire in a rematch of the 2026 East Region Championship game on Nov. 9.
