AMHERST, NY – Daemen hasn’t had much trouble with any opponent this year, winning all but two of it’s games by double-digits. But on Saturday, they faced some first half adversity as College of Staten Island was able to hit tough shots and keep Daemen out of rhythm for a majority of the first half.

Despite the strong gameplan, Daemen still held a 36-30 edge at the break thanks to a step back three from the right wing from junior guard Justin Glover. From there, it was Andrew Mason who got Daemen into it’s groove during the second half, and they never looked back.

“The end of the first half… with Justin Glover’s three, gave us a little space, a little breathing room,” MacDonald said. “It allowed us to relax going into halftime. Came out the second half and we scored right away, and then we kept going.”

Daemen shot nearly 67 percent in the second half and was 7-11 from three. They outscored CSI 54-27 over the final 20 minutes. Mason scored 14 points and went 4-6 from three. Three triples came in the second half.

“Mason hit a three, and everybody was kind of like ‘here we go,’” MacDonald said on his Graduate guard’s start to the second half. “You could feel it in the crowd… Andrew Mason hitting threes is kind of like a comfortable blanket that everybody loves, right? It’s nice and comfortable and you know, ‘alright, I’m good, we’re good, we’re going to be ok.”

Mason has scored 1,325 points in his five year career at Daemen and is a career 45.3 percent three point shooter. He has been one of the most consistent and dependable players since MacDonald has arrived at Daemen.

“This group is just so special,” Mason said. “It’s been so fun for me personally to be able to finish my career on this team and playing along these guys, they’re so unselfish, they’re so much fun to play with.”

Mason paced the Wildcats with 14 points, while redshirt-senior Justin Hemphill scored 12 and grabbed eight rebounds, and Glover added 10. ECC Player of the Year Benjamin Bill chipped in 11 points and 4 rebounds off the bench.

Daemen kept it’s undefeated season alive, improving to 26-0 on the season and setting up yet another ECC Final matchup with St. Thomas Aquinas, a team that has beaten Daemen in the finals five consecutive seasons, and a total of eight times since the Wildcats joined the ECC. Daemen swept STAC in the regular season, winning by an average margin of 20 points.

The two teams tip at 3:30 on Sunday afternoon.