Men's Basketball Courtesy of Daemen University Sports Information

No. 4 Daemen Outlasts No. 5 Jefferson, 74-66, To Earn NCAA Tournament Opening-Round Win

COLCHESTER, Vt. – Senior Dylan Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.) scored 16 of his 22 points in the first half to lead fourth-seeded Daemen University to a 74-66 victory over fifth-seeded Jefferson University this evening in the East Region quarterfinal of the 2024 NCAA Division II Championship. The game was played at Ross Athletic Center on the campus of Saint Michael's College.

Daemen improves to 25-8 on the year and advances to take on top-seeded Saint Michael's in the regional semifinals tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. The 25 wins are a NCAA Division II-era (2015-present) record for the Wildcats. Jefferson, which won the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference tournament title last weekend and entered the regional riding a region-best 11-game winning streak, finishes the season with a 23-9 record.

In other quarterfinal round action, third-seeded Southern New Hampshire defeated sixth-seeded Bloomfield (75-70), seventh-seeded Post defeated second-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas (80-72) and top-seeded Saint Michael's defeated eighth-seeded Southern Connecticut State (68-62).

IMPACT PLAYERS
  • Fasoyiro has now scored 20 or more points in each of the last five games. He drilled four three pointers in the first half and finished 8-of-12 from the field overall and 4-of-7 from downtown. He also collected a team-high seven rebounds.
  • Senior Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) turned in a solid effort off the bench, as he connected on 8-of-11 shots and totaled 19 points in 19 minutes.
  • Freshman Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) came up big in his first career NCAA Tournament game, as he went 5-of-6 from the field overall, drilled two three-pointers and contributed 14 points, four rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes off the bench.
  • Graduate student Joey Atkins (Watervliet, N.Y.) added 10 points, six rebounds and two assists.
  • Senior center Antonin Kemkeng, a 6-foot-9 native of France, went 12-of-14 from the field and paced the Rams with a game-high 29 points. Two-time CACC Player of the Year Erik Timko was limited to just one three-pointer and a season-low seven points. He entered the game with 89 triples and averaging 20.0 points a game. It was just the second time all season he failed to score in double figures.

GAME NOTES
  • Daemen is making its fourth overall appearance in the NCAA Division II Championship and its first since the 2021 season. Daemen earned three consecutive NCAA Division II Tournament berths from 2019 to 2021. Daemen posted 20 wins in 2021-22 and 2022-23, but was denied an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament each year.
  • Daemen has reached 20 wins for the sixth-straight season. The streak does not include the 2020-21 season, as Daemen only played 16 games during that COVID-10 shortened 2020-21 season.
  • The teams traded buckets early on and the game was tied at 12-12 when the Rams got a conventional three-point play by junior guard Ahmed Barba-Bey and layup from junior guard Ashton Miller to take what would be their largest lead of the game, 17-12.
  • Daemen responded with a 15-3 run to take a 27-20 lead. Fasoyiro scored eight points during the run and his triple with 3:26 left before halftime capped it.
  • Daemen would take a 35-26 lead into halftime after a buzzer-beating putback by Atkins.
  • Daemen opened the second half with back-to-back baskets by sophomore Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) and fifth-year senior Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) to take a 13-point lead, 39-26, but the Rams rallied behind a 16-5 run that cut the lead to two points, 44-42.
  • The game was tied at 48-48 when Daemen rattled of seven unanswered points for a 55-48 lead midway through the second half. The Daemen lead was still eight points, 67-59, with just under four minutes left when Jefferson cut the lead in half with back-to-back baskets.
  • Neither team scored for two minutes and it was still a four point game, 67-63, when Hemphill made two free throws with 42 seconds left. Timko was off the mark on Jefferson's next possession and Philipkoski came up with the rebound and made two free throws with 33 second left to give Daemen a 71-63 lead. Jefferson did not score again until Timko hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to close out the scoring.
  • Daemen shot 60-percent (15-25) from the field in the second half and finished 28-of-55 (51%) from the field overall. Daemen is now 11-0 this year when it shoots 50-percent from the field. The Wildcats made 7-of-16 from downtown and canned 11-of-13 from the charity stripe.
  • Jefferson entered the game shooting a region-best 51-percent from the field for the year. The Rams shot 57-percent (16-28) in the second half and finished 27-of-52 (52%) from the field overall. Jefferson made 4-of-14 from downtown and connected on 8-of-11 free throws.
  • Daemen posted a 33-21 edge in total rebounds and a 33-9 advantage in bench points.
NEXT JUMP BALL
The Wildcats will square off against top-seeded Saint Michael's tomorrow night in the regional semifinals. The winner advances to the regional championship game, which is set for Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Ross Athletic Center.