AMHERST, N.Y. – For the third consecutive season, the No. 4 ranked Daemen University men's basketball team advances to the NCAA Division II East Region Semifinals! Hosting the regional for the second year in a row, the top-seeded Wildcats cruised to a 111-78 victory over #8 seed Goldey-Beacom in the quarterfinals on Saturday evening. Daemen's 33 point victory marked the largest NCAA Tournament win for the Wildcats in program history. 

An impressive six Daemen players finished with double-digit points, paced by D2CCA Second Team All-Region honoree Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.) who totaled 22 points after going 9-of-10 from the field. The Wildcats shot a season-high 64.2 percent from the field, including knocking down 70 points in the paint.

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Bill scored 20+ points for the sixth time this season, finishing with a team-high 22 points while shooting 90 percent from the field and going 4-of-4 from the free throw line. The redshirt-junior center added seven rebounds -- three offensive boards -- and three assists along with one block.
• 2026 East Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) totaled 16 points with an .875 field goal percentage. The redshirt senior pulled a team-high three steals, five rebounds , five assists and two blocks.
• Junior Ryan Heath (Rochester, N.Y.) finished with 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and one steal.
• Sophomore Jaiden Harrison (Buffalo, N.Y.) totaled 13 points after going 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, adding one assist and one steal.
• 2026 ECC Player of the Year Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) finished with 12 points, a team-high nine rebounds, five assists and one block.
• Redshirt junior Phil Nwugwo (Rochester, N.Y.) totaled 10 points after shooting 83 percent from the field, adding four rebounds, two blocks and one assist. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Both teams scored early, but after Goldey-Beacom tied it up at four, Daemen went on a 14-2 run off five points apiece from Hemphill and Heath to jump to an 18-6 advantage. Daemen, the best statistical defense in the East Region, held Goldey-Beacom, the highest-scoring offense in the regional, to under 10 points for the first nine minutes of the game. The Lightning's bucket to go over double digits at 11:07 brought the game within seven (18-11), and that was the closest the game was from there on out.
• The Wildcats' defense was effective, forcing Goldey-Beacom into seven turnovers, while Daemen capitalized with five steals, including one by Hemphill at 17:45. Heath contributed significantly to the Wildcats' scoring, hitting a 3-pointer with 17:31 remaining, and later assisting on a fast-break layup by Nwugwo at 1:26. Bill's performance was crucial, as he added another layup and a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to help the Wildcats finish the half with a commanding 50-28 lead. Ben and Hemphill led the Wildcats with 14 and 12 points at the half, respectively.
• Daemen came out of the break with the same intensity and another strong performance in the second half. Bill opened the scoring for Daemen with a layup assisted by Hemphill, setting the tone early. Hemphill played a pivotal role throughout, contributing multiple assists, while Heath added to the lead with consecutive fast-break layups at the 16:13 and 15:57 marks.
• The final 12 minutes of the game included every member of Daemen's bench seeing playing time, with the Wildcat bench finishing the game with 42 points. 
• Goldey-Beacom's efforts included a 3-pointer by Elisha Brown and a series of baskets by Justin Allen, but the Wildcats maintained control, closing the half with a 61-50 run to seal the win.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats will play in the East Region semifinals against the winner of #4 seed Bentley/#5 seed Saint Michael's on Sunday at 7:30 PM.