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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
Ben Bill yells in celebration in ECC semifinals
Geoff Schneider
59
D'Youville DYO 8-18,7-9 ECC
73
Winner Daemen Daemen 29-1,16-0 ECC
D'Youville DYO
8-18,7-9 ECC
59
Final
73
Daemen Daemen
29-1,16-0 ECC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
D'Youville DYO 31 28 59
Daemen Daemen 33 40 73

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | CONTACT: Mary Margaret Johnson, Director of Athletics Communications | mmjohnso@daemen.edu

Strong Second Half Lifts No. 4 Wildcats Over D'Youville In ECC Semifinals

AMHERST, N.Y. – Title game here we come!

The No. 4 Daemen University men's basketball team punched their ticket to the 2026 East Coast Conference Championship game with a 73-59 victory over fifth seeded D'Youville in the ECC semifinals on Saturday evening. After winning the regular season and hosting the tournament as the top seed for the second year in a row, will play No. 6 seed Roberts Wesleyan in the ECC Championship game on Sunday, March 8 at 3:30 PM.

Daemen improves to 29-1 overall, setting a new program record number of wins in the modern era (1986-present). Since the start of the 2024-25 season, the Wildcats have posted a 57-2 record. 

The Wildcats and Saints played a tight first half with Daemen up by just two, 33-31, going into the break. Daemen outscored the Saints 40 to 28 in the second half after shooting 56 percent from the field and 40 percent beyond the arc.

On a team where anyone can step up on any night, four Wildcats contributed double-digit points in the victory, led by the incredible second-half play of redshirt junior Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.) who scored 15 of his 17 points in the final 20 minutes of the game.

IMPACT PLAYERS
  • After an explosive second half, Bill finished with 17 points after shooting 54.5 percent from the field. The First Team All-ECC awardee added four rebounds, three steals, two blocks and three assists.
  • 2026 ECC Player of the Year Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) totaled 14 points, finishing with a team-high three triples and adding two rebounds, two steals, one block and one assist.
  • 2026 ECC Defensive Player of the Year Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) finished with 14 points after going 6-of-9 from the field along with a team-high eight rebounds, five assists and one block.
  • Senior Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) totaled 13 points off three field goals and six free throws. The Second Team All-ECC honoree added four rebounds and three steals to his stat line.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Daemen got off to a hot start, led by a triple and a layup from Glover, to take an 11-5 lead over the Saints. From there, D'Youville scored 10 unanswered points to jump out to a 15-11 advantage. Over the next four minutes of game play, Daemen would go 5-of-9 from the field to outscore the Saints 13-6, paced by seven points from Hemphill to give the Wildcats a 24-21 lead with 6:15 left to play.
  • After trading points down the stretch in the first half, Daemen capped the half off with a trio of layups from Bill, Hemphill and Philipkoski and took a 33-31 into the break. Hemphill led the Wildcats with 10 first-half points, while Glover contributed nine points in the first 20 minutes of play.
  • The Wildcats opened the second half with momentum. Daemen outscored the Saints 16-7 in the first seven minutes of game play with Bill stepping up with nine of Daemen's 16 points after scoring just two in the first half. After taking an 11-point lead, the Wildcats never relented, leading the Saints by as much as 15 with 11 minutes left in the game.
  • D'Youville mounted a bit of a comeback with nine minutes left after Maxence Massadila scored eight straight points to bring the game within seven, 58-51, but free throws from Daemen down the line contributed to a 12-4 run to give the Wildcats a 15-point lead. Philipkoski drilled a triple with 32 seconds left as the final nail in the coffin.
GAME NOTES
  • The Wildcats sit atop the third and final NCAA Division II East Region poll, released on Wednesday. The NCAA announces 10-team rankings for each of the eight regions across the country for three successive weeks leading up to the NCAA Championship selection announcement, which will be made on Sunday, March 8 at 11 PM.
  • Daemen is ranked No. 4 in the latest NABC coaches' poll, marking the 26th consecutive poll that Daemen has been ranked in the top-5. 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' stingy defense includes the best shot-blocking numbers in Division II, averaging 6.0 blocks per contest. They also own a +9.8 rebounding margin per game (sixth in Division II) and are holding opponents to just 39.5 percent field-goal shooting (eighth in Division II). 
  • Daemen's 29 wins are the most in the country. The Wildcats are one of just four Division II teams with one or fewer losses. 
  • Over 11 seasons of postseason play, Daemen is 12-9 all-time in the tournament. 
  • Today's victory marked the sixth straight season that the Wildcats won their ECC semifinal game. 
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