Wildcats To Face D-1 Buffalo In Exhibition Action

By: Mike Miranto, Associate A.D. For Communications

Men's Basketball | 7/20/2017 11:10:00 AM

AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's basketball team will once again get the opportunity to showcase their talents against a Division I opponent, opening the 2017-18 season with an exhibition contest against the University at Buffalo on Friday, November 3. The game takes place just three miles from Daemen's Amherst campus at UB's 6,100-seat Alumni Arena with tip-off slated for 8 p.m. This will mark the fifth-straight season that the Wildcats have played an exhibition game against a Division I opponent, and the third-straight season that they'll be making the short trip to face UB.

"The chance to play a premier program like Buffalo is exciting for us," said veteran head coach Mike MacDonald who enters his fourth season on the Wildcats' bench in 2017-18, and his 21st overall as a collegiate bench boss. "In each of the last two years the size of the crowd and the energy level in the arena has made for a tremendous experience for our players. This game is starting to become a tradition that local basketball fans look forward to as a tip-off of the Western New York college basketball season. I want to thank [Buffalo head coach] Nate Oates and his staff, in addition to [Athletics Director] Allen Greene for continuing this tradition."

Daemen will be seeking its second upset of a Division I program under MacDonald's guidance. In his Daemen coaching debut on November 11, 2014, MacDonald led the Wildcats to an 83-81 overtime win just five miles down Main Street at the Koessler Athletic Center against Division I Canisius College. Just one player who played in that game - red-shirt junior Nick Petrucelli (Hicksville, N.Y./Thomasville Prep) - remains on the Daemen roster heading into the 2017-18 season. In regular season action, MacDonald has led the Wildcats to a 59-29 record over his first three seasons on the job.

Last year's meeting between the Wildcats and Bulls was a barn burner that felt more like late March as opposed to early November. The Bulls, then coming off their second consecutive Mid-American Conference championship, scored an 87-82 win in overtime, but not before the Division II Wildcats led for more than 12 minutes in the second half. Guard C.J. Massinburg (Dallas, Texas), wing Willie Connor (Chicago, Ill.) and forward Nick Perkins (Ypsilanti, Mich.) combined for 76 of the Bulls' 87 points. Forward Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia), playing in just his second collegiate game at the time, knocked down six three-pointers as part of his 22-point outing to pace the Wildcats. His trifecta with 26 seconds left in regulation knotted the score at 72-72 and forced the game to overtime following a defensive stand by the Wildcats in the waning seconds.

UB posted a 17-15 record last season, the program's eighth winning season in the last nine years. Their 11-7 record in league play placed them in a second-place tie in the MAC's East Division, but UB's quest for a third-straight MAC championship ended in the quarterfinal round of the MAC Tournament. Massinburg and Perkins both return as juniors this season after averaging 14.5 and 12.4 points per game, respectively, last season. Perkins was named the MAC Sixth Man of the Year, while MAC Defensive Player of the Year Dontay Caruthers (Rochester, N.Y.) also returns. Over his first two seasons as the Bulls' head coach, Nate Oates has led the team to a 37-30 record.

MacDonald's team returns three of its top five scorers from last season. After demonstrating his shooting prowess against UB, Redband went on to average 10.3 points per game as he canned 68 three-pointers which ranked third among all East Coast Conference players. He'll headline the Wildcats' returners along with red-shirt junior wing Deion Hamilton (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) who averaged 12.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Also back is junior guard Darius Garvin (Elmira, N.Y./Notre Dame) who has made 40 starts in his first two collegiate seasons.

The Wildcats are coming off a 19-9 season in 2016-17 - the program's sixth consecutive year with at least 19 wins. In the four seasons since Daemen joined the East Coast Conference and began playing a full Division II schedule, the Wildcats are 80-36 which ranks second among all Division II teams in the state of New York and all East Coast Conference teams for total wins.

For breaking news and continuing coverage of the Daemen men's basketball team, follow @DaemenAthletics and
@DaemenMBB on Twitter.

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Players Mentioned

#12 Darius Garvin: G; 6' 1"; Junior

#24 Nick Petrucelli: G; 6' 3"; Redshirt Junior

#44 Jeff Redband: F; 6' 7"; Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#12 Darius Garvin
: 6' 1"; Junior
: G

#24 Nick Petrucelli
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Junior
: G

#44 Jeff Redband
: 6' 7"; Redshirt Sophomore
: F

Players Mentioned

#12 Darius Garvin

#24 Nick Petrucelli

#44 Jeff Redband

Players Mentioned

#12 Darius Garvin

#24 Nick Petrucelli

#44 Jeff Redband