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sarkis ecc rook of week 1.4.16
Jay Sarkis has made the most starts by a Daemen freshman since Gerald Beverly in 2011-12

Men's Basketball

Sarkis Named ECC Rookie Of The Week For Second Time

Freshman Guard Helped Daemen To A 2-0 Record Last Week

AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen College men's basketball player Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) has been named the East Coast Conference Rookie of the Week for games played December 28 through January 3.  The official announcement came via the ECC's weekly men's basketball report released from conference headquarters this afternoon in Central Islip, N.Y.

Sarkis, a 6-foot-1 freshman guard, helped Daemen to a sweep of their two games last week, both of which occurred at the 10th Annual James Clancy Memorial Tournament hosted by Dominican College in Orangeburg, N.Y.  On Saturday, January 2, the Wildcats took out the host DC Chargers, 69-60, and followed that with a 94-71 blowout of Felician University the next day.  The pair of wins evened Daemen's overall record at 5-5 this season.

Sarkis, who has now made seven-straight starts, played an integral role in both victories.  For the week, he averaged 10.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game while shooting 40-percent from the field (6-for-15) and 33-percent from three-point range (3-for-9).

In Saturday's defeat of the tournament hosts, Sarkis scored nine of his career-high 15 points in the last 3:39 of the ballgame, helping the Wildcats preserve a wire-to-wire victory.  After jumping out to a 15-2 lead early in the game, Daemen remained firmly in control until the Chargers mounted a late rally.  With Daemen leading by four (60-56), Sarkis netted five-straight points to give the Wildcats some breathing room.  He went on to add four free throws in the final minute, and also totaled a career-high six rebounds in the win.  The 15-point outing was Sarkis' third double-figure scoring game of the season.

Against Felician, Sarkis quarterbacked a Daemen offense that posted 52-percent shooting both from the field (32-for-62) and from three-point range (14-for-27), while eclipsing the 90-point mark for the third time this season.  He totaled five points, two boards and a career-high six assists.

For the season, Sarkis is averaging 19.0 minutes, 7.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game, while shooting 51-percent from the field (24-for-47), 46-percent from three-point range (13-for-28) and 92-percent from the charity stripe (12-for-13).  His 13 three-point baskets are second to only Arif Mehmetaj's (Jamaica, N.Y./SUNY Delhi) 22 which leads the team.  He ranks third among all ECC players in three-point field-goal percentage, and his seven starts already this season are the most for a Daemen freshman since Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) made six during his rookie campaign in 2011-12.

Today's annoucement marked Sarkis' second ECC Rookie of the Week selection.  He previously earned the honor for games played November 23-29.  That selection made Sarkis the first men's basketball player from Daemen to garner ECC Rookie of the Week honors since the Wildcats joined the league in 2013-14.

Sarkis and the Wildcats return to ECC play this Thursday, January 7 when they play host to Saint Thomas Aquinas College at Lumsden Gymnasium.
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Players Mentioned

Gerald Beverly

#55 Gerald Beverly

F
6' 7"
Senior
Arif Mehmetaj

#21 Arif Mehmetaj

F
6' 7"
Junior
Jay Sarkis

#5 Jay Sarkis

G
6' 1"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Gerald Beverly

#55 Gerald Beverly

6' 7"
Senior
F
Arif Mehmetaj

#21 Arif Mehmetaj

6' 7"
Junior
F
Jay Sarkis

#5 Jay Sarkis

6' 1"
Freshman
G