The two Westernmost members of the region met in Buffalo to kick off a busy weekend of huge games. Here’s how it went down:
DAEMEN 77 ROBERTS WESLEYAN 70
Aleks Miljenovic haunted his former team with a season-high 19 points (8-10 FG) off the bench, while Andrew Sischo racked up 18 points and personal-best 14 rebounds to lead Daemen past Thruway rival Roberts Wesleyan at Lumsden Gym, solidifying third place in the ECC as a result. Jay Sarkis added 14 points for the Wildcats, who have now won 14 straight in the series and 21 out of 22 dating back to their NAIA days. The hosts led 49-37 nearly three minutes into the second half when the Redhawks began chipping away, using a 22-9 run to grab their only advantage of the second half – 59-58 – on Manny Joseph’s steal and slam with 7:16 to play. The lead lasted just 23 seconds, however, as Breon Harris (nine points) converted a floater in the lane to spark a 7-0 spurt and put Daemen back on top, 65-59 with 4:32 left. Roberts crept within three points on three occasions during crunch time; the last occasion at 69-66 after a jumper by Malik Dare (11 points, nine rebounds in reserve duty) with 1:41 remaining. However, Sischo then came through with a clutch “And-1” to double the lead with 1:18 to go. Joseph was a one-man wrecking crew for the Redhawks, producing a career-high 25 points along with seven rebounds and eight assists while playing all 40 minutes. The Wildcats outshot their guests (52%-41%), made more trips to the line (14-20 to 5-7) and scored all 13 of the game’s fast-break points to help fortify their win. Roberts Wesleyan – which is a game-and-a-half behind idle LIU Post for the fourth-place bye – won the glass (36-33) and made more threes (9-27 to 5-19) to stay close. Both sides finished with identical 15/13 assist-turnover lines.