BUFFALO, N.Y. – In the team's final regular season home game, the D'Youville University men's basketball team took No. 1 Daemen University to the brink, falling in overtime by a score of 85-77.
 
The Saints (8-16, 6-9 ECC) had four scorers in double digits with Justin Moore (Oxford, Ala./Oxford) leading the way with 17. TI Scruggs (Huntsville, Ala./Hazel Green) and Noah Hutchins (Buffalo, N.Y./IMG Academy) each had 14 points with Elisha Warren (Woodhaven, Mich./Woodhaven) adding 10 points. The offense ran through Renard Fontes-Jules (Brockton, Mass./Olympus Sports Academy), dishing out eight assists.
 
DYU came out swinging first, going up 5-0 in the early stages. Moore knocked down a mid-range jumper while Warren cashed in a three-pointer for the early lead. The Wildcats came back, going on a 9-2 run to get their first lead of the game. Daemen kept the lead for the remainder of the half, but the D'Youville defense didn't surrender more than a two-possession lead. The Saints were able to cut the deficit to one point late in the half as Scruggs knocked down the three-pointer off the feed from Fontes-Jules. The Wildcats were able to get one last shot off before the buzzer to take a 34-31 lead into the break.
 
Coming out of the half, the Wildcats continued to work the paint and got their biggest lead of the game at nine points. In the blink of an eye, DYU battled back by going on their own 9-0 run to tie the game at 44-44 with 15:05 left in regulation. Hutchins was the biggest contributor on the run, scoring five points. The teams kept battling for the next five minutes with neither gaining much of an advantage. DYU got the lead back with under 10 minutes left in regulation with a made layup from Hutchins to make it 56-55.
 
For a second, the Wildcats looked to have put the game away in the second half, gaining a 69-62 lead with 2:37 left to play. The resilient Saint squad kept working and it paid off as Warren hit a corner three to send the game into overtime with the score tied at 71-71.
 
In the overtime period, Daemen scored the first basket and didn't look back, outscoring the Saints 14-6 to escape the Saints Center with their perfect record still intact.
 
D'Youville held the Wildcats under their season average in margin of victory (23.3), shooting percentage (52.1 percent), three-pointer field goal percentage (39.0 percent), and assists (19.5 per game) with causing more turnovers than their season average (12.6 turnovers per game).
 
DYU went 30-for-64 (46.9 percent) from the field while Daemen went 31-for-66 (47.0 percent) from the floor. The Wildcats did have the advantage on the glass, grabbing 54 rebounds to the Saints' 25 rebounds.
 
Prior to the game, the men's basketball team recognized their lone senior, Nelson St. Louis (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Port St. Lucie) for his hard work and dedication to the team over the past four seasons.
 
The Saints will close out the regular season next Wednesday, February 26th, as they travel to Roberts Wesleyan University. Tip is scheduled for 8 p.m.