Arif Mehmetaj returns to the lineup for Daemen after his 2014-15 season was cut short by injury

Men's Basketball 10/29/2015 12:00:00 PM

Men's Basketball Tips Off 2015-16 Season With Exhibition Vs. Brock

THE LEAD: The Daemen College men's basketball team gets its 2015-16 season underway by hosting Brock University in an exhibition game before the home crowd here Friday night.

Friday, October 30 (at Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.)
Daemen vs. Brock (exhibition), 7:00 p.m.
DC ROSTER / BU ROSTER / LIVE STATS / GAME PROGRAM

DIVISION II DEBUT: Daemen successfully completed a three-year membership process and was approved for active membership status at the NCAA Division II level by the NCAA Membership Committee his past summer…Daemen was accepted as a member of the East Coast Conference (ECC) in July of 2012 and began playing full regular-season conference schedules in the fall of 2013…the 2015-16 academic year will mark the first year Daemen will be eligible for ECC and NCAA post-season play.

MAC IS BACK: Local hoops fixture Mike MacDonald returns to the bench for his second season as Daemen's head coach, and his 19th season overall as a collegiate head coach...in his first season at the helm, MacDonald led Daemen to a 21-10 campaign which concluded with the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Division I national championship last March...by winning 20 games in his Daemen debut, MacDonald became one of the only active coaches in the country to achieve a 20-win season at the NCAA Division I, II and III levels of competition...prior to beginning his stint at Daemen, MacDonald transformed the Division III program at Medaille into a perennial power, averaging 18 wins a season and advancing to the postseason six times in his eight years as head coach...MacDonald made his head coaching debut at the Division I level, leading the program at Canisius from 1997-2006...while there, MacDonald's teams racked up 108 wins making him the third all-time winningest coach in the program's history...MacDonald enters the 2015-16 season with a career record of 277-236.

THE WILDCATS (0-0): Daemen returns nine players from last year's team that posted a 21-10 overall record and a 13-7 mark in the East Coast Conference, while capturing the USCAA Division I national championship in the team's final year of non-eligibility for ECC and/or NCAA Division II postseason play...in addition to the returners, head coach Mike MacDonald welcomes nine fresh faces to his 18-man roster...the big question heading into this season will be how the Wildcats can replace the consistent production of 6-foot-7 forward Gerald Beverly who was lost to graduation...the two-time ECC Defensive Player of the Year is arguably the most accomplished player in team history, and replacing the 20 points, 12 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game he produced will be a tall order early on...MacDonald does welcome back a pair of starters in senior guard Supreme Hannah and senior guard/forward Torrence Dyck...Hannah was perhaps the most improved player in the ECC last season, averaging 10.5 points and a team-best 3.9 assists per game as he transitioned into the team's starting point guard...after playing just 494 total minutes in his first two seasons, Hannah racked up 936 minutes in his junior campaign to rank seventh in the ECC in minutes per game (33.4)...Dyck, a 6-foot-5 slasher, made an immediate impact in his first season for the Wildcats, averaging 19.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game en route to first-team All-ECC honors, before having his season cut short in early February due to an injury...also back is 6-foot-7 forward Arif Mehmetaj...an inside-outside threat, Mehmetaj started the first three games of the 2014 season, averaging 8.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, before having his season cut short by an injury...among the newcomers expected to make an impact early this season are guard Jaleo Wilkes and Jay Sarkis, wing player Deion Hamilton and forward Ryan Grandits...Wilkes, a native of Niagara Falls, comes to Daemen after a two-year stint at Polk State College in Florida...Sarkis and Hamilton are both products of Rochester-area powerhouse Greece Athena High School, the same school that produced former Wildcat great Casey Sheehan...Grandits is a 6-foot-5 forward who competed for the last three years at Medaille where he made 80 appearances, including 41 starts, and averaged 8.7 points and 3. rebounds per game.

THE BADGERS (11-2): Brock is located in Saint Catherines, Ont. and the Badgers compete as members of Canadian Interuniversity Sport, the top division for collegiate athletics in Canada, and within Ontario University Athletics, a leading conference in the CIS...the Badgers are led by head coach Charles Kissi who is in his third year at the helm...since taking the reins of the program, Kissi has the led the Badgers to a 35-44 record...this season, the Badgers are off to their best start in Kissi's tenure with an 11-2 overall record...BU's early season wins included a three-game international trip to Sweden in late August...BU's two losses have come in their only meetings against American teams, falling to Saginaw Valley State (104-98) and Mercyhurst (79-75)...the Badgers are no strangers to offensive production this season as they enter Friday's game averaging 90.6 points per outing...Dani Elgadi, a 6-foot-7 junior forward, has led the Badgers thus far, averaging 19 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game...Johneil Simpson, a 6-foot-5 sophomore guard, has added 17.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game while shooting 47-percent from three-point range (20-for-43)...additional production has come from 6-foot-6 forward Matt Marshall (14.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg) and 6-foot-4 guard Ryan Bennett (14.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg).

THE HISTORY VS. BROCK: Daemen and Brock have met once before with Daemen pulling out a 74-61 victory on October 24, 2003...Darnell Jackson came off the bench to hit 7-of-10 shots from the field en route to a team-high 16 points to lead a quintet of double-figure scorers for Daemen...Kharmen Wingard and Therreon Blackwell tossed in 14 points apiece as Daemen went on to a 24-10 campaign that season, advancing all the way to the Elite Eight of the NAIA Division II National Championships.

OUR BROTHERS TO THE NORTH: Daemen has a long history against Canadian teams as it was the norm during Daemen's days in the NAIA to compete against various schools from up north...Friday's contest marks Daemen's first game against a Canadian opponent since February 3, 2013, a 97-79 victory over Niagara College...in fact, Daemen is 38-4 all-time against Canadian teams.

WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen makes the short crosstown trek to face University at Buffalo at Alumni Arena in another exhibition contest on Friday, November 6 (9 p.m.)...the Division I UB Bulls are the defending Mid-American Conference champions...Daemen's 2015-16 regular season tips off on Nov. 13-14 with the ECC-CACC Challenge presented by Western New York Knee and Orthopedic Surgery PC.

FOLLOW THE WILDCATS: Follow Daemen College men's basketball on Twitter (@DaemenAthletics /@DaemenMBB) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/daemencollegeathletics / www.facebook.com/DaemenCollegeMensBasketball) to get live game updates and breaking news throughout the year.

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Players Mentioned

#55 Gerald Beverly: F; 6' 7"; Senior

#4 Torrence Dyck: G/F; 6' 5"; Senior

#3 Supreme Hannah: G; 6' 0"; Senior

#21 Arif Mehmetaj: F; 6' 7"; Junior

#25 Deion Hamilton: G/F; 6' 4"; Redshirt Freshman

#44 Ryan Grandits: F; 6' 5"; Graduate Student

#5 Jay Sarkis: G; 6' 1"; Freshman

#10 Jaleo Wilkes: G; 5' 10"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#55 Gerald Beverly
: 6' 7"; Senior
: F

#4 Torrence Dyck
: 6' 5"; Senior
: G/F

#3 Supreme Hannah
: 6' 0"; Senior
: G

#21 Arif Mehmetaj
: 6' 7"; Junior
: F

#25 Deion Hamilton
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Freshman
: G/F

#44 Ryan Grandits
: 6' 5"; Graduate Student
: F

#5 Jay Sarkis
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: G

#10 Jaleo Wilkes
: 5' 10"; Junior
: G