Men's Basketball Faces First Road Test At Slippery Rock

THE LEAD: The Daemen College men's basketball team hits the road for the first time this season, visiting Slippery Rock University on Tuesday night for a non-conference clash...for fans making the trip, general admission tickets can be purchased for $8 at the game.

Tuesday, December 1 (at Morrow Field House, Slippery Rock, Pa.)
Daemen vs. Slippery Rock, 7:00 p.m.
DC ROSTER / DC STATS / SRU ROSTER / SRU STATS
LIVE VIDEO / LIVE STATS

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.

DAEMEN SCOUTING REPORT (1-2, 0-0 ECC): 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 who is now playing professionally in Germany 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...Daemen was picked fourth in the ECC preseason poll released late last month...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 2014-15 season, averaging 8.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, before having his season cut short by an injury...the Wildcats opened their 2015-16 season by going 1-1 at the ECC-CACC Challenge hosted by Daemen at Lumsden Gymnasium...Daemen ran to a 109-87 win in the opener versus Wilmington (Del.), getting 29 points from Dyck, and 20 from Mehmetaj...sophomore guard Nick Petrucelli chipped in a career-high 17 points off the bench, helping Daemen lead by as many 30 points in the contest...the second day of the tournament saw Daemen lock up with Holy Family...HFU walked away with an 89-86 win in a great early season matchup as Hannah's game-tying three-point attempt was just off the mark at the buzzer...Mehmetaj notched career-highs of 24 points and 17 rebounds and was named to the all-tournament team, as was Dyck who netted 15 of his 23 points in the second half...Hannah added a career-high 23 points and newcomer Ryan Grandits recorded his first double-double (10 pts, 10 reb) of the season...Daemen is coming off a 75-69 loss to Mercyhurst at Lumsden Gymnasium last Tuesday...in a game that featured 18 lead changes, Mercyhurst overcame a seven-point deficit midway through the second half to pull out the win...Mehmetaj (12 points) paced a balanced Daemen offense, while Dyck netted 11 and freshman guard Jay Sarkis knocked down three three-pointers as part of his 11-point outing...Dyck leads Daemen in the early going, averaging 21 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 61-percent from the field..Mehmetaj is next, averaging 18.7 points and a team-best 8.7 boards per game...additional production is coming from Hannah (15.3 ppg, 3.7 apg) and Grandits (10.3 ppg, 6 rpg, 2.7 apg)...Daemen has come out of the gates shooting the ball well from three-point range, connecting on 42-percent of their attempts (28-for-66) thus far.

SLIPPERY ROCK SCOUTING REPORT (3-3, 1-2 PSAC): SRU is located in Slippery Rock, Pa. and The Rock are members of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division...head coach Kevin Reynolds, now in his eighth season at the helm, has led The Rock to five 20-win seasons and three NCAA Tournament berths during his tenure which has produced an overall record of 141-75 to date...SRU went 21-11 overall last season, including a 14-8 mark in conference play that placed them fourth in the final PSAC West standings...The Rock went on to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the second round of the Atlantic Regional where their season came to an end at the hands of eventual national runner-up Indiana (Pa.)...SRU returns eight players with prior experience in their program, but must replace their top three scorers from last season, including first-team All-PSAC West pick Antonio Butler who averaged a team-high 15.8 points per game...The Rock were picked fifth in the PSAC West Division preseason poll released in late October...four of SRU's returners started at least 10 games last season, and the group is led by 6-foot-9 redshirt-senior center Cornelius Brown who averaged 8.1 points and 6.5 boards per game last year...SRU has opened the season by splitting their first six contests, gathering wins over Virginia State, Mansfield and District of Columbia...The Rock's losses thus far have come against Saint Augustine's, Edinboro and Lock Haven...SRU is coming off a 78-74 overtime win in our nation's capital against ECC affiliate UDC last Tuesday...6-foot-1 senior guard Malcolm Richardson scored 18 of his game-high 26 points in the second half and overtime to pace The Rock, who also got a second-straight double-double (14 pts, 12 reb) from Brown...Richardson (17.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 4.0 apg), Brown (15.8 ppg, 11.2 rpg) and fellow returners Jamal Gatali (11.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and Chaquille Pratt (10.2 ppg, 7.7 rpg) are accounting for 79-percent of the team's scoring and 70-percent of the team's rebounding so far this season...all four are playing over 30 minutes per game with Gatali leading the way and ranked fourth in the PSAC (36.8 mpg)...additional production has come from senior guard Dontay Jackson (4.8 ppg, 4.2 apg) who is in his first season for The Rock after transferring from Division I Jacksonville State...SRU has been one of the better defensive teams in the PSAC thus far, ranking fourth in field goal percentage defense (.405 FG% allowed), fifth in scoring defense (69.8 ppg allowed) and first in rebounding (43.5 rpg)...SRU is grabbing 15.2 offensive rebounds per game, converting those into an average of 13.2 second-chance points.

THE SERIES: Tuesday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between Daemen and Slippery Rock.

TOUGH TESTS: Tuesday's game will mark Daemen's second-straight against an opponent that earned an NCAA Tournament berth last season...Slippery Rock earned an at-large bid to last season's Division II version of "The Big Dance", defeating Gannon 65-57 in the opening round of the Atlantic Regional, before falling, 73-65, to eventual national runner-up Indiana (Pa.)...Daemen's last outing, a 75-69 loss to Mercyhurst last Tuesday, came against a Laker team that was coming off its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth last season...the Wildcats have also faced two opponents (Mercyhurst and Holy Family) already this season who were picked to win their respective leagues via preseason polls...Daemen's three opponents this season have achieved a combined record of 12-6 thus far.

BEHIND ENEMY LINES: Tuesday's game at Slippery Rock marks Daemen's first road game of the 2015-16 season...the Wildcats will looking to buck a recent trend as Daemen is just 1-5 in true non-conference road games over the last two seasons...the Wildcats' 82-76 win at NAIA-affiliate Washington Adventist last January 5 snapped a five-game skid in such games...Daemen's last true non-conference road win against a Division II opponent came at Salem International, defeating the Tigers 78-68 on February 9, 2013...Daemen is 13-13 in all true road games over the last two seasons.

PSAC PESTS: Tuesday's game marks the second of three-straight for Daemen against opponents from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference...the Wildcats are just 2-5 against PSAC teams dating back to the 2008-09 season...wins in that stretch have come over Gannon (67-65 on November 25, 2011) and Mercyhurst (69-63 on November 23, 2013).

UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY: At 1-2 so far this season, Daemen is below the .500 mark for the first time since mid-December of 2013...a 78-69 loss at Molloy on December 20, 2013 dropped the Wildcats to 4-5 overall, before the team rebounded to win 16 of its final 17 regular season games, finishing the season at 21-7 overall and 17-3 in East Coast Conference play to capture the league's regular season crown in the Wildcats' first year as members of the Division II conference.

20/20: Daemen has reached the 20-win plateau in each of the last four seasons (and nine times over the past 13 seasons).

WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen returns home to closeout its three-game stretch of PSAC foes, hosting Edinboro on Saturday, December 12 for a 2 p.m. tip-off....for a full look at what lies ahead, check out the Wildcats' complete 2015-16 schedule.

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

#24 Nick Petrucelli: G; 6' 3"; Sophomore

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

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

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

#24 Nick Petrucelli
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: G

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

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