Top-Seeded #1/2 Daemen Punches Ticket to ECC Title Game with 90-57 Win over No. 5 Staten Island

Recap courtesy of Max Sacco, Daemen University Sports Information AMHERST, NY – The top-seeded No. 1/2 Daemen University men's basketball team punched their ticket to the East Coast Conference Men's Basketball Championship for the fifth consecutive year as they downed the College of Staten Island, 90-57, in the semifinal round of the 2025 ECC Men's Basketball Championship Saturday evening in Lumsden Gymnasium.   With the win, the Wildcats improved to 26-0 while Staten Island ended their year with a 12-18 overall record.   IMPACT PLAYERS • Graduate student guard Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) dropped a team-high 14 points while knocking down four 3-pointers to lead the Wildcats offense. • Redshirt senior forward and ECC First Team honoree Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) tallied 12 points while adding in eight rebounds as well. • Redshirt sophomore forward and ECC Player of the Year tallied 11 points while Buffalo, N.Y., native and All-ECC Second Team selection Justin Glover dropped 10 scores of his own. • Sophomore guard Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) talled five-or-more assists for the second consecutive game as he notched six helpers of his own. • Aaron Goldstein ended the game with 20 points while Asa Kone hauled in a team-high six rebounds for CSI in the loss.   INSIDE THE BOX SCORE • Tied 30-30 late in the first half after multiple long scoring runs from both teams, the Wildcats ended the opening stanza on a high note as a Hemphill triple followed by a deep Glover step back sent the Wildcats into the locker room with a 36-30 advantage. • The Wildcats and Dolphins exchanged scores to begin the second half, but Daemen put the game away for good moments later as a Mason triple uncorked a season-best 28-4 run that the hosts ahead by 30, 71-41, with 7:54 to play   •  Daemen never let their lead dip below 20 the remainder of the way en route to their 90-57 semifinal win. • The Wildcats ended the day shooting .600 (33-of-55) overall and 13-of-22 (.591) from deep. Daemen also owned a 34-24 edge in rebounds as well. • As for Staten Island, they closed the afternoon shooting 20-of-53 (.377) overall and only .348 (8-of-23) from deep.   GAME NOTES • Daemen and Staten Island faced one another in the semifinal round of the ECC Tournament for the second consecutive year. • The Wildcats are now 6-0 all-time at home in the ECC Tournament. • Today marked the 10th overall meeting between the two schools and second in the postseason. Daemen is now 8-2 overall and 2-0 in the postseason against the Dolphins. • Daemen shot at .600-or-better in a game for the first time since they shot .600 (39-of-65) at Queens on Jan. 12 • With his four triples tonight, Mason set the program record for 3-pointers with 319. • The Wildcats recorded their second consecutive sellout game and third sellout this season overall. • Bill's streak of eight games with 10-or-more points is the longest scoring streak for any Daemen player this season. • Daemen's 54 second half points are the most in a half since they had 52 against Molloy at home on Valentines Day.
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