PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The outstanding 2025-26 men's basketball season ended for No. 4 Daemen in a heartbreaking 74-77 loss to #5 seed Lander in the 2026 NCAA Division II Elite Eight at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on Wednesday night. As the #4 seed in the tournament, Daemen closes the book on their record-breaking year with a program best 33-2 record.

After shooting 63 percent from the field in the first half, the Wildcats shot just 40.6 percent in the second to finish the game with a 50.8 field goal percentage. Of the three Wildcats to score in the double digits in the game, redshirt junior Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.) finished with a game-high 27 points.

It was the last game in a Daemen uniform for four Wildcat seniors tonight, Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.), Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.), Ayden Harrison (Clifton Park, N.Y.) and Josh Haskell (West Seneca, N.Y.).

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Bill totaled a season-high 27 points after going 12-of-16 from the field and added eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks.
• Consensus All-American Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) finished with 12 points, going 5-of-8 from the field and 2-of-4 beyond the arc. The junior guard added seven rebounds, five assists, one block and one steal.
• Glover totaled 11 points, scoring a team-high 3 triples along with another field goal, and added four rebounds, three steals and two assists.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• After Lander scored the first four points of the game, the Wildcat offense got rolling with six points off a pair of Philipkoski triples. Lander's 4-3 lead was the last time the Bearcats held an advantage over Daemen in the first half. Daemen led by as much as 10 points early, 20-10 at 11:07, after Glover banked a midrange jumper and a three.
• Daemen dominated the paint in the first half, going on a run of knocking down six layups on eight shots. The Bearcats would bring the game within four points with 3:47 left in the first half, 32-28, but Daemen remained on top, heading into the break with a 39-34 lead.
• The Wildcats shot 63 percent from the field (17-of-27) in the first half. Bill led Daemen with 11 points after shooting 83 percent from the field (5-of-6) while Philipkoski added 10 points, shooting 100 percent from the field (4-of-4, 2-of-2 beyond the arc).
• Daemen opened the second half with a bucket from Bill and a three from Hemphill to bring the Cats up by 10, 44-34, 47 seconds into the period. The Bearcats scored five of their next six shots to take the lead, 49-48, at 15:22.
• The Wildcats and Bearcats traded buckets and points from there on out. Lander took a four-point lead, 72-68, with four minutes left, and built up their lead to five, 76-71, with 26 seconds left in the game. The Wildcats got the ball and tossed it to Glover who drilled a massive three to bring the game within two, 76-74, with 18 seconds on the clock.
• Daemen got a huge turnover at 16 seconds to get the ball, and at 6 seconds Glover shot another big three to win the game, but it bounced off the rim. Despite a late foul on Lander that resulted in a free throw, the Wildcats couldn't send the ball down the court in enough time.