AMHERST, N.Y. – The Daemen University Men’s Basketball team punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, as the Wildcats (30-1) defeated sixth-seeded Roberts Wesleyan (10-17) 86-66 in the title game of the 2026 East Coast Conference (ECC) Men’s Basketball tournament.

The Wildcats, playing as the top-seed and hosts, will find out their opponent later Sunday night during the selection show. Daemen, ranked fourth nationally, is ranked first in the region and is expected to host the East Regional later this week.

Benjamin Bill led all scorers with 23 points and was named as the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Zach Philipkoski had 16 points while Phil Nwugwo added in 13. The Wildcats shot 32-for-63 (50.8 percent) from the field in the game. Ryan Heath also scored 12 points in the win.

Roberts Wesleyan, who made the conference final as a sixth seed, got 22 points from Collin Woods and 18 points from Mohamed Soumahoro. Jordan Brown had 14 points   

Daemen took the early lead in the contest, going up 9-4 with 16:33 left on a three-pointer by Philipkoski. Leading 9-6, the Wildcats went on a 14-6 run over a span of 5:57 capped by a layup from Nwugwo to go up 21-10 with 9:34 left in the first half.

The lead got as high as 20 points in the first half at 41-21 on a three-pointer by Harris with 2:52 to go.

Leading 45-28 at intermission, Daemen’s lead only went down to 11 at 56-45 with 11:32 left in the second half as Roberts got a foul shot from Jordan Brown.

The Wildcats, who won the title for the second straight season, had a 44-22 edge on the glass with Philipkoski and Hemphill each grabbing eight rebounds. Philipkoski also had six assists on the night.
 
Philipkoski and Hemphill joined Woods and Brown on the All-Tournament team. D'Youville's Elisha Warren and St. Thomas Aquinas' Starrell Hearns were also named to the All-Tournament team.