AMEHRST, N.Y.  – BACK TO BACK! The No. 4 Daemen University men's basketball team repeated as East Coast Conference champions with an 86-66 victory over #6 seed Roberts Wesleyan in the 2026 ECC Championship game on Sunday afternoon. It marks the second straight ECC Tournament title for the Wildcats after Daemen cut down the nets for the first time in program history last season with an 88-80 win over #2 seed St. Thomas Aquinas in 2025.

The Wildcats add to their incredible 2025-26 record, setting a new program record for single season wins with their 30-1 record and punch their ticket to the 2026 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament with the ECC's automatic bid. Daemen will find out seeding and who they will play in the East Region tournament in tonight's selection show hosted on NCAA.com at 11 PM.

Daemen's outstanding redshirt junior Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.) was named the Most Outstanding Player of the ECC Tournament after averaging 20 points per game over the two-game tournament. 2026 ECC Player of the Year Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) and 2026 ECC Defensive Player of the Year Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) were both named to the All-Tournament Team.

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Bill finished with a game-high 23 points after shooting 69 percent from the field, banking 9-of-13 this afternoon. The First Team All-ECC honoree added seven rebounds, two assists and one block.
• 2026 ECC Player of the Year Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) scored his 1,000th career point with his first bucket of the second half tonight, finishing with 16 points after shooting 54.5 percent from the field while pulling down a team-high eight rebounds, six assists and three steals.
• 2026 ECC Defensive Player of the Year Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) totaled nine points along with a team-high eight rebounds including three offensive boards, four assists and one block.
• Redshirt junior Phil Nwugwo (Rochester, N.Y.) finished with 13 points after shooting 80 percent from the field (4-of-5) along with a team-high eight rebounds – six offensive boards – and one assist.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Wildcats wasted no time, jumping out to a 17-6 advantage early after accumulating buckets from Hemphill, Philipkoski, Heath and Jaiden Harrison (Buffalo, N.Y.). Daemen extended their lead to as much as 20 points in the first half as Bill went on an eight-point tear and the Wildcat defense held Roberts to just two field goals over seven minutes of gameplay.
• Roberts Wesleyan closed out the final 3:30 minutes of the half scoring a pair of triples and a layup to close the gap, but the Wildcats held onto a solid 45-28 lead going into the half. Daemen shot 48.6 percent from the field in the first half and were paced by 10 points from Hemphill in the first 20 minutes of the game.
• As they have throughout the ECC playoffs, the Redhawks mounted a second-half comeback, outscoring the Wildcats 17-14 in the first 10 minutes of the second, though the Wildcats remained ahead with a healthy lead, 60-45. From there, Daemen scored 13 of the next 17 points to extend their lead to over 20, 73-50, making the gym explode with a dunk from Bill at 5:30.
• The Wildcats cruised to finish off the game with a 86-66 victory over the Redhawks.

GAME NOTES

• Daemen shot 50.8 percent from the field, going 32-of-63 on the night. It marked the 14th game this season that the Wildcats shot 50 percent or better.
• 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 30 wins are the most in the country, and a program record. The Wildcats are one of just four Division II teams with one or fewer losses. 
• Over 11 seasons of postseason play, Daemen is 13-9 all-time in the tournament.