Breon Harris is the first Daemen player with at least 50 steals in a season since Casey Sheehan & Mark Coppola both did so in 2012-13

Men's Basketball 2/12/2018 2:25:00 PM By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

Wildcats Move Up To #5 In D2SIDA Regional Poll

D2SIDA MEN'S BASKETBALL EAST REGION MEDIA POLL WEEK 12 - FEBRUARY 12, 2018
Rank	School	Pts.	Record	Previous
1.	Bridgeport (5)	59	21-4	1
2.	Le Moyne (1)	55	19-5	2
3.	Bloomfield	48	20-4	4
4.	St. Thomas Aquinas	41	21-6	3
5.	DAEMEN	32	17-7	6
6.	St. Anselm	31	18-6	5
7.	St. Rose	26	18-7	7
8.	Dominican	19	16-7	8
9.	Merrimack	11	16-9	9
10.	Stonehill	8	15-9	RV
( ) - denotes first-place votes

AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's basketball team has risen to No. 5 in the NCAA Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region media poll which was released this afternoon. It marks the fifth consecutive week that Daemen has been ranked, as well as the team's highest-ever ranking in the poll.

Daemen (17-7, 11-3 ECC) has won 12 of their last 13 games, and the Wildcats have already clinched their third straight East Coast Conference Tournament berth. Daemen can finish no worse than fourth in the ECC standings, and they presently sit in third place, just half a game behind second-place St. Thomas Aquinas College (21-6, 12-3 ECC).

The Wildcats are coming off a 77-70 victory over Roberts Wesleyan College last Friday evening (Feb. 9). It was the Wildcats' 14 consecutive victory in the series with their longtime rivals from Rochester. Daemen has won 21 of the last 22 meetings between the two dating back to the 2007-08 season.

Veteran head coach Mike MacDonald, who has guided Daemen to 76 victories since taking over in 2014-15 (third-most wins among N.Y. State Division II programs in that span), has his team playing efficiently at both ends of the floor. Daemen has shot 47 percent or better in 18 of their 24 games this season, posting a 13-5 record in those contests. They've also held opponents below 43 percent shooting 15 times this season, including 12 of the last 14 games. Daemen currently leads the ECC in field goal percentage (48.6), field goal percentage defense (41.5) and points per game allowed (71.3).

The Wildcats' roster features six players who are averaging at least 8.5 points per game, and four players who have scored 24 points or more in a game this season. That group is headlined by redshirt freshman center Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) who has developed into the team's go-to guy in recent weeks. He's produced double-figure scoring in 16 consecutive games, and leads all ECC rookies in scoring at 14.6 points per game. Sischo has posted six double-doubles this season, all of which have come since Dec. 30, and his 351 total points are the most for a Daemen freshman since Brian Montanaro (Liverpool, N.Y.) scored 420 during the 2002-03 season. Sischo presently ranks among the ECC leaders in field goal percentage (57.3 - third), rebounds per game (7.9 - second), field goals made (150 - fourth), and points per game (ninth).

Redshirt sophomore guard Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y.), who erupted for a career-high 24 points in a recent win over University of the District of Columbia, is producing 12.2 points per game. Sarkis has canned multiple three-pointers in 19 of 24 games this season, and his 53 total triples rank fourth in the league. He's also shooting 86.9 percent from the free throw line, second-best among ECC players with at least two free throws per game. Sarkis has teamed with sophomore Breon Harris (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) and junior Darius Garvin (Elmira, N.Y.) to form one of the most dynamic backcourts in the league. All three players rank in the top eight among the ECC's assists leaders (Sarkis: 91, third; Harris & Garvin: 74 each, tied for eighth). Harris, who scored a career-high 28 points in a loss to the region's top-ranked team, University of Bridgeport, on Jan. 28, is producing 13.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.5 steals since being inserted into the starting lineup 13 games ago. Garvin, who became the first Daemen player in three seasons to record a double-double with points and assists a recent win over St. Thomas Aquinas (15 points, 10 assists), has produced double-figure scoring in 10 of the last 14 games, raising his season scoring from 6.7 to 10.1 points per game in that span. Garvin is playing 33.3 minutes per game, seventh-best in the ECC this season, and he's the only player on Daemen's roster to have games of 10+ points, 10+ rebounds and 5+ assists.

Additional production is coming from redshirt sophomore forward Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y.) and redshirt senior Aleks Miljenovic (Belgrade, Serbia). Redband shares the team lead with 53 three-point field goals this season, and is contributing 11.1 points per game. He's the first Daemen player with consecutive seasons of 50 or more three-pointers since Jordan Green (Fort Edward, N.Y.) posted three straight from 2012-15. Miljenovic, who began his career at Roberts Wesleyan, tortured his old mates by scoring a season-high 19 points in the win last Friday, his 12th double-figure scoring game of the season. Appearing in all 24 contests, Miljenovic is contributing 9.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while shooting 52.2 percent from the field.

After being ranked five times during the 2014-15 season, and three times during the 2015-16 season, MacDonald's team made its return to the poll on Jan. 15, coming in a tie for 10th with Roberts Wesleyan, before ascending to ninth in back-to-back weeks (Jan. 22 and Jan. 29). The Wildcats were ranked sixth in last week's poll. The ascent in the regional rankings this season has come despite losing veterans Deion Hamilton (Rochester, N.Y.), Nick Petrucelli (Hicksville, N.Y.) and Xavier Long (Brooklyn, N.Y.) for the season. Hamilton was leading the team in scoring at 15.1 points per game, but hasn't played since Dec. 17.

Daemen returns to action this weekend with the final regular season home games of the season. Molloy College visits for a Friday night (Feb. 16) affair, followed by Queens College who comes in for a Sunday (Feb. 18) matinee. Daemen will be going for the season sweep against both opponents, and will be doing so at the friendly confines of Lumsden Gymnasium where they are 9-3 this season, and 79-13 since the start of the 2011-12 season (.859 winning percentage).

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. Today's poll marks the final D2SIDA regional poll of the season. The official NCAA regional rankings that are used to determine each region's NCAA Tournament bids begin this week. The first NCAA regional poll is scheduled to be released Wednesday, Feb. 14.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#15 Xavier Long: F; 6' 2"; Redshirt Senior

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

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

#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

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

#15 Xavier Long
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Senior
: F

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

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

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

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

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