WASHINGTON, D.C. - Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) recorded his 10th consecutive double-double and Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.) posted season-highs in points, rebounds and assists to lead the Daemen Wildcats to a 74-64 victory over the District of Columbia Firebirds in East Coast Conference men's basketball action this evening at the UDC Athletic Complex.
Daemen, which was coming off a non-conference loss Saturday to Franklin Pierce at KeyBank Center, evened its overall record at 6-6 while improving to 4-0 in conference play for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign. The Wildcats never trailed today and have now won 11 of their last 13 conference games dating back to the start of last season. Daemen also extended its winning streak to nine straight against UDC, improving to 14-2 all-time against the Firebirds. UDC saw its season records drop to 3-10 overall and 2-2 in the conference.Â
With an early dose of Sischo and Salzberg, Daemen stormed out of the gates and scored the game's first 10 points. They built an 18-6 lead in just over eight minutes before UDC started chipping away. The Firebirds pulled within 29-25 at the 2:58 mark on a dunk by David Buriss, but Daemen scored seven of the half's final 11 points (five coming from Sischo and Salzberg) to take a seven-point advantage (36-29) into the break.
The first eight minutes of the second half proved pivotal and were once again in Daemen's favor. The Wildcats outscored UDC 21-12 in that span. A Salzberg three-pointer at the 16:40 mark sparked the Wildcats on a game-defining 13-3 spurt. A three-pointer from Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) with 12:17 to play gave the Wildcats their largest lead of the game at 57-41.Â
UDC cut the deficit to single digits three times in the final eight minutes, but Salzberg made plays to answer each challenge. The junior guard nailed a three-pointer after a UDC spurt brought them within 59-52. He scored a layup to spark a 6-0 run after UDC pulled within 62-54. And late in the game, after UDC got it to a two possession deficit, Salzberg broke the Firebirds' press and lobbed a feed to Sischo who converted in the paint to put the Wildcats ahead 72-64 with under a minute to play. Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) calmly canned two free throws with 36 seconds remaining to put the game out of reach.Â
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Sischo shot 10-for-18 from the field and finished with 23 points, 16 rebounds and a career-high seven assists. He's now scored at least 20 points in 28 of his last 33 games. His 11 double-doubles this season leads NCAA Division II and tonight's was the 71st of his career.
- Salzberg finished 7-for-12 from the field and 3-for-6 from three-point range and matched his career-high with 17 points. He added a career-high eight rebounds and matched his season-high with four assists.Â
- Kyle Harris (Buffalo, N.Y.) chipped in 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists while Mason contributed eight points and six boards.
- Jahmir Marable-Williams (19 points, eight rebounds, four assists) and Kenyon Stone (16 points) paced UDC in a losing effort. Stone was limited to just 5-of-13 shooting after shooting 63% and averaging 21.0 points over the previous four games.
GAME NOTES
- Daemen returns 11 players, including all five starters, from their 2020-21 team that won the NCAA Division II East Region Championship and advanced to the Elite Eight.
- Daemen shot a season-high 50.8% from the field, canning 31-of-61 shots. It marks the Wildcats' most efficient performance since shooting 55.6% against West Texas A&M in last season's Elite Eight. Daemen also dished a season-high 21 assists tonight.
- UDC was held to just 38.7% shooting (24-for-62). Daemen, which leads the ECC in field goal percentage defense, is 5-1 this season when allowing less than 40% shooting.Â
- Daemen amassed a 40-24 advantage in points in the paint, including a 24-12 edge in the second half. It's the fourth game this season that the Wildcats have scored at least 40 points in the paint.
- UDC had just seven available players for today's game.Â
- Sischo has scored in double figures in 77Â of his last 78Â games. A two-time consensus All-American and three-time ECC Player of the Year, Sischo is NCAA Division II's active leader in career points (2,490), rebounds (1,267) and double-doubles (71). He is the all-time leading scorer in Daemen and ECC history and now ranks tied for 34th in scoring 14th in rebounding all-time in Division II. He stands 14 rebounds shy of becoming the ECC's all-time leader.Â
- After averaging 3.2 points over the first six games of the season, Harris is averaging 10.0 in the last six. He's now scored in double figures twice in the last three games.Â
- Daemen guard Sean Fasoyiro (Houston, Texas) was limited to just nine minutes by an apparent injury. Fasoyiro has started all 28 games since transferring from Franklin Pierce prior to last season.Â
NEXT JUMP BALL
Daemen returns to action Thursday, December 30 when hosting regionally ranked Stonehill for a non-conference contest. Tip-off is set for noon at Lumsden Gymnasium.Â
Daemen College features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 18 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.
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