Sparkill, N.Y. – Junior Dylan Fasoyiro (Houston, Tex.) totaled 30 points, six rebounds and three steals 18 to lead second-seeded Daemen University team to a 73-61 victory over sixth-seeded Roberts Wesleyan University this afternoon in semifinal round action of the 2023 East Coast Conference Men's Basketball Championship tournament. The game was played at Alumni Hall on the campus of St. Thomas Aquinas College.
Daemen, which has won eight straight and 17 of its last 19 games, moved to 20-7 on the year and will face top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas in tomorrow's championship game. STAC (25-4) advanced with a 96-78 win over fourth-seeded University of the District of Columbia. The ECC Tournament championship earns and automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Division II Tournament.
It will mark the third-straight year that STAC and Daemen have met in the championship game of the ECC Tournament. The Spartans posted a 59-48 win at Alumni Hall last year and also prevailed 83-67 at Alumni Hall in 2021.
Roberts Wesleyan, which was looking to advance to the ECC Tournament title game for the first time in program history, closed out the year with a 10-16 record.
The Wildcats entered the game ranked eighth in the third and final NCAA East Region poll released earlier this week.
IMPACT PLAYERS
- Fasoyiro scored 18 of his 30 points in the first half and finished 9-of-14 from the field and 10-of-12 from the charity stripe. It marked the second time this season he has netted 30 or more points in a game, as he scored a career-high 31 points in a 79-75 win at Staten Island on Jan. 6.
- Junior Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.), the reigning ECC Defensive Player of the Week, connected on 5-of-7 shots and totaled 12 points in just 19 minutes off the bench.
- Senior Nick MacDonald (Amherst, N.Y.) added 11 points and four rebounds, while junior Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.) finished with 10 points and five boards.
- Graduate student Rian Carter totaled 13 points and five rebounds for RWU.
GAME NOTES
- Daemen has now prevailed in 27 of the last 28 meetings between the two longtime rivals and the Wildcats now own a 49-12 advantage in the all-time series.
- Daemen has reached the 20-win plateau for the fifth time in the past six years.
- Daemen leads the ECC in both team defense (65.1 papg) and field goal percentage defense (.401). The Wildcats have held 17 of their 27 opponents to less than 70 points and are 15-2 overall this season when they hold their opponent under 70 points.
- Daemen trailed 8-6 five minutes into the game when a three-pointer by Fasoyiro sparked the Wildcats on a 12-1 run. Fasoyiro accounted of 10 points during the spurt and his jumper with 11:50 left in the first half capped it and gave Daemen a 18-9 lead.
- RWU cut the lead to four points, 20-16, after sophomore Anastasios Zetos drained a three-pointer with 9:32 left before halftime, but the Redhawks would come no closer the rest of the half and Daemen took a 33-25 lead into the break after a last second layup from MacDonald.
- RWU scored the first five points of the second half to make it a three-point game (33-30), but Daemen countered with a 16-3 run over the next seven minutes. Mason drilled two three-pointers during the run and a jumper by Hemphill with 11:57 left capped it and gave Daemen a 47-31 lead.
- The teams traded baskets for the next six minutes and Daemen held a 59-44 lead when the Redhawks put together one last push and cut the lead to eight, 65-57, after Malik Brooks hit a three-pointer with 2:34 left.
- Daemen then went 6-fot-6 from the charity stripe and a dunk by Hemphill gave the Wildcats a 73-59 lead with less than 30 seconds left.
- Mason entered the game ranked first among all NCAA Division II players in three-point field goal percentage and is now shooting 50-percent (76-for-153) from behind the arc on the year.
- Daemen shot 44-percent (23-for-52) from the field overall and made just 5-of-18 from three-point land. The Wildcats attempted a season-high 34 free throws and made 22.
- RWU shot 43-percent (24-of-56) from the field overall and was just 5-for-21 from three-point land. The Redhawks made 8-of-11 free throws.
- Daemen finished with a 38-30 edge in total rebounds and the Wildcats also held a 38-34 advantage in points in the paint.
NEXT JUMP BALL
The ECC Tournament champion earns an automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Division II Tournament. The entire 64-team field will be announced Sunday at 11 p.m.
Provided by the Daemen Sports Information Department.
