Men's Basketball Climbs To 9th In Latest Regional Poll

By: By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

Men's Basketball | 1/22/2018 1:17:00 PM

D2SIDA MEN'S BASKETBALL EAST REGION MEDIA POLL WEEK 9 - JANUARY 22, 2018
Rank	School	Pts.	Record	Previous
1.	Bridgeport (5)	59	15-4	1
2.	Le Moyne (1)	52	14-5	3
3.	St. Thomas Aquinas	51	16-4	2
4.	Bloomfield	41	15-3	4
5.	St. Rose	36	15-4	9
6.	St. Anselm	31	14-4	5
T-7.	Dominican	17	13-5	7
T-7.	Merrimack	17	12-6	8
9.	DAEMEN	14	13-6	T-10
10.	Southern New Hampshire	9	11-6	6
( ) - denotes first-place votes

AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's basketball team has risen to ninth in the latest NCAA Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region media poll which was released this afternoon.

Coach Mike MacDonald's Wildcats have won eight straight contests - the longest active streak in the region - to stand at 13-6 overall and 7-2 in East Coast Conference play. The Wildcats swept a pair of road games this past weekend, defeating ECC foes Molloy College (82-74 on Jan. 19) and Queens College (81-70 on Jan. 21).

Efficiency at both ends of the floor has highlighted the Wildcats' winning streak. Daemen has shot 47 percent or better in all but one game during the streak, topping 50 percent in four games. They've also held opponents below 43 percent shooting in seven of the last eight games. Daemen currently leads the ECC in field goal percentage (48.9), field goal percentage defense (41.9) and points per game allowed (72.3).

Balanced scoring has also been key for MacDonald's squad of late. The Wildcats have had at least four players reach double figures in seven straight games. That balance was on full display this past weekend as Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) averaged 18.0 points, Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y.) and Darius Garvin (Elmira, N.Y.) each averaged 17.0 points and Breon Harris (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) averaged 10.0 points in the pair of Wildcat victories.

Sischo, a 6-foot-9 redshirt freshman center, continues to lead all ECC rookies in scoring at 14.2 points per game. He's reached double figure scoring in 11 straight games, producing 17.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while shooting 60.2 percent from the field (85-for-141) in that span. Sischo scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the win over Molloy, and followed up with his fourth double-double (17 points, 12 rebounds) of the season in the win over Queens.

Redband broke out of a mini shooting slump and posted 17 points in each of the victories last week. The 6-foot-7 redshirt sophomore forward shot 13-for-23 from the field and 8-for-17 from three-point range. For the season, he's producing 11.3 points per game and shooting 41.4 percent from downtown.

Garvin also posted back-to-back 17-point outings last week, giving him eight double-figure performances in the last nine games. In that span, Garvin is shooting 47.6 percent from three-point range (20-for-42) and his points-per-game average has risen from 6.7 to 10.3.

Harris, a 5-foot-9 sophomore guard whose insertion into the starting lineup coincides with the team's winning streak, is contributing 12.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.8 steals during the last eight games.

Additional production is coming from redshirt sophomore guard Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y.) and redshirt senior forward Aleks Miljenovic (Belgrade, Serbia). Sarkis, who has made at least one three-pointer in 24 consecutive games, is contributing 12.1 points and 4.2 assists per game. His career-high 11 assists in the win over Queens marked the first time a Daemen player had 10 or more in a game since Supreme Hannah had 10 against St. Thomas University (Fla.) on Dec. 17, 2014. Miljenovic has reached double figures in five of the last seven games, and is contributing 9.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game off the bench.

Daemen's lone ECC losses this season have come against the University of Bridgeport (84-72 on Dec. 17) and St. Thomas Aquinas College (83-73 on Dec. 8) who are ranked first and third, respectively, in this week's East Region poll. The Wildcats own a victory over Northeast-10 Conference affiliate College of St. Rose which is ranked fifth in this week's poll. That win, a 68-60 triumph on Dec. 31, kick-started the team's eight-game winning streak.

Daemen returns to action this Friday, Jan. 26 when Mercy College visits Lumsden Gymnasium. Top-ranked Bridgeport comes to town two days later (Sunday, Jan. 28).

The East Region of NCAA Division II is comprised of teams from the East Coast Conference, the Northeast-10 Conference and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, and the East Region media poll is voted on by sports information professionals from around the region.

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Players Mentioned

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

#23 Aleks Miljenovic: F; 6' 6"; Redshirt Senior

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

#5 Jay Sarkis: G; 6' 1"; Redshirt Sophomore

#22 Andrew Sischo: C; 6' 9"; Redshirt Freshman

Players Mentioned

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

#23 Aleks Miljenovic
: 6' 6"; Redshirt Senior
: F

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

#5 Jay Sarkis
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

#22 Andrew Sischo
: 6' 9"; Redshirt Freshman
: C