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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
Benjamin Bill dunk at Mercy
Max Sacco
80
Winner Daemen Daemen 21-0,12-0 ECC
60
Mercy Mercy 5-15,4-7 ECC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Daemen Daemen 39 41 80
Mercy Mercy 21 39 60

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | CONTACT: Max Sacco, Assistant Athletics Communications Director | msacco@daemen.edu

No. 2/3 Men's Basketball Tames Mercy in Road Win

Hemphill and Bill lead Wildcats scoring efforts

DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. – The No. 2/3 Daemen University men's basketball team scored 15 of the first 19 points over the first six minutes of the contest and never looked back as they picked up an 80-60 wire-to-wire victory over Mercy in East Coast Conference men's basketball action Sunday afternoon at Victory Gymnasium.
 
With the win, the Wildcats improved to 21-0 overall and 12-0 in ECC play while Mercy dropped to 5-15 and 4-7 in conference action.
 
IMPACT PLAYERS
• Redshirt senior forward Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) notched his second consecutive double-double and team-leading seventh of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
• Redshirt sophomore center Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y) dropped a game-high 20 points to aid in the Wildcats winning effort.
• Graduate student guard Andrew Mason (Wesbter, N.Y.) knocked down a team-best three 3-pointers as well.
• Fellow guard, junior Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.), provided a team-best four assists in the win.
• Nathan Robertson led Mercy in scoring with 18 points while his brother Ethan paced the Mavericks efforts on the glass with eight rebounds.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• The Wildcats attacked the Mavericks early as they commanded a 15-4 lead just over six minutes into the contest. Hemphill and Salzberg paced the 'Cats early scoring efforts with five points each.
• Daemen and Mercy traded scores over the next few minutes, but a triple from sophomore guard Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) sparked a 16-6 spurt that lasted for most of the remainder of the first half and pushed Daemen ahead by a then game-high 22 points, 39-17.
• Mercy nabbed two quick buckets to close the half, but the Wildcats entered the locker room with a 39-21 edge after 20 minutes of action.
• After both sides traded buckets to open the second stanza, the Mavericks began to chip away at the 'Cats lead as they used a 12-4 run, paced by five points from Nathan Robertson, to trim the Daemen lead to just 11, 52-41, with 10:26 remaining.
• That would be as close as Mercy got for the remainder of the contest as a layup from Bill kicked off a 10-2 run that put Daemen ahead nearly 20, 62-43, with 7:43 to play.
• The two sides traded buckets the remainder of the way with Daemen ending the contest on a high note by scoring 10 of the final 16 points of the afternoon to leave Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., with an 80-60 win.
•  Daemen ended the afternoon shooting 31-of-60 (.517) from the floor and held a 40-35 edge in rebounds. The 'Cats also dominated in bench points as they tallied 40 compared to 12 for Mercy.
• Mercy shot 25-of-66 (.379) for the game and nearly tied Daemen in 3-pointers with six compared to the Wildcats seven.
 
GAME NOTES
• Daemen entered the contest coming in at No. 2 in the most recent National Association of Basketball Coaches National Poll and No. 3 from the latest D2CSC National Poll.
• The Wildcats 10 road wins are the most since the 2017-18 campaign.
• Daemen is now 24-0 all-time against Mercy.
• Daemen scored 80-or-more points in a game for the first instance since Jan. 31 against Staten Island and for the 14th time this season overall.
• Hemphill is the only player to have back-to-back double-doubles on two separate occasions this season. He last accomplished the feat Jan. 18 through 25 with double-doubles against Gannon and Roberts Wesleyan.
• Bill finished with 20-or-more points for the seventh time this season. He also finished with 10-or-more points for the fourth time in five games.
• Daemen shot above .500 from the floor for the first time since Jan. 25 at Roberts Wesleyan.
• Mason is now two triples away from entering the top five all-time for 3-pointers made in ECC history.
 
UP NEXT
Daemen returns to Amherst, N.Y., to face Molloy on Feb. 14 at 7:30 p.m.
Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 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.

Follow the Daemen University men's basketball program on Twitter and Facebook at @DaemenMBB.
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