AMHERST, N.Y. – Host Daemen outscored The College of Saint Rose 13-5 throughout a five-minute span that overlapped the two halves to hand the Golden Knights their first setback of the season, 83-71, this afternoon.
The defending NCAA Tournament East Region Champions Wildcats (3-3) shot 56.3 percent (18-for-32) from the floor and held the Golden Knights (1-4) to 32.4 percent shooting (12-for-37) throughout the final 20 minutes to earn the victory in their 2021-22 home opener.
Freshman forward
Shane O'Dell led Saint Rose with his second consecutive "double-double" behind 24 points and 11 rebounds, while fifth-year guard
Adam Anderson tossed in 12 of his season-high 16 points after halftime. Fifth-year forward
Kevin Lynch added 12 points and seven rebounds.
Fifth-year All-American forward Andrew Sischo scored 37 points, behind 15-for-21 shooting, and hauled in 14 rebounds, while fifth-year guard Sean Fasoyiro recorded 23 points, 11 boards, and nine assists for Daemen.
The game was close throughout the opening 18 minutes. O'Dell knocked down a jumper to tie the game 32-32 with 1:36 left in the first half, but junior guard Nick McDonald drained a 3-pointer and junior swing Joey Atkins went 1-for-2 from the line to make a 36-32 ballgame. Anderson countered with a trey for Saint Rose, but Sischo converted a traditional three-point play to make it 39-35 Daemen at the break.
The Wildcats then scored six of the initial eight points to open the second half and it subsequently remained a two or three possession game the rest of the way. Daemen eventually extended its advantage to double-digits throughout the final five minutes.
Looking ahead, the Golden Knights return to Northeast-10 Conference action Wednesday with a 7:30 pm meeting at Pace University in Pleasantville for the second half of a league twin-bill. The women's game gets underway at 5:30 pm. Meanwhile, the Wildcats have a 7:30 pm East Coast Conference date at Staten Island on Tuesday.
Notes: Saint Rose leads the NE10 with a 50.0 field goal percentage (170-for-340) and a 90.8 scoring average…O'Dell stands third among the NE10 leaders with 22.6 points per game, while freshman guard
Tray Alexander is tied for third behind a 5.8 assists average.
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