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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
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garvin mbb vs bridgeport 2018 50

Men's Basketball By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

Wildcats Climb To 6th In Latest D2SIDA Regional Poll

D2SIDA MEN'S BASKETBALL
EAST REGION MEDIA POLL
WEEK 11 - FEBRUARY 5, 2018
Rank School Pts. Record Previous
1. Bridgeport (5) 59 19-4 1
2. Le Moyne (1) 55 18-5 2
3. St. Thomas Aquinas 46 20-5 3
4. Bloomfield 42 18-4 6
5. St. Anselm 37 17-5 4
6. DAEMEN 27 16-7 9
7. St. Rose 26 16-6 5
8. Dominican 15 14-7 7
9. Merrimack 14 15-8 8
10. Jefferson 4 16-9 RV
( ) - denotes first-place votes
AMHERST, N.Y. - After picking up a pair of road wins this past weekend, the Daemen College men's basketball team has risen to No. 6 in the NCAA Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region media poll which was released this afternoon. It marks the fourth consecutive week that Daemen has been ranked, as well as the team's highest-ever ranking in the poll. 

Daemen (16-7, 10-3 ECC) has won 11 of their last 12 games, including East Coast Conference road victories over St. Thomas Aquinas College and the University of the District of Columbia last weekend. The Wildcats' 73-66 win Friday over STAC, the No. 3 ranked team in the poll, snapped a trio of Spartan winning streaks. STAC entered the game as winners of six straight games overall, as well as 19 straight home games and 20 straight ECC home games. It was the second double-digit home winning streak that Daemen has foiled this season, having previously snapped the College of St. Rose's 14-game streak on Dec. 31. The Wildcats followed up with a 78-65 victory Sunday over UDC, a game in which they led for more than 35 minutes. 

Veteran head coach Mike MacDonald, who picked up his 75th victory on the Daemen sidelines Sunday, has his team playing efficiently at both ends of the floor. Daemen has shot 47 percent or better in 17 of their 23 games this season, including both this past weekend, posting a 12-5 record in those contests. They've also held opponents below 43 percent shooting 14 times this season, including 11 of the last 13 games. Daemen currently leads the ECC in field goal percentage (48.5), field goal percentage defense (41.5) and points per game allowed (71.4).

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 15 consecutive games, and leads all ECC rookies in scoring at 14.5 points per game. Sischo has posted five double-doubles this season, all of which have come since Dec. 30, and he recently became the first Daemen freshman to surpass 300 points in a season since Devon Dawson in 2007-08. Sischo presently ranks among the ECC leaders in field goal percentage (57.1 - second), rebounds per game (7.6 - second), field goals made (145 - fourth), and points per game (ninth). 

Redshirt sophomore guard Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y.), who erupted for a career-high 24 points in Sunday's win over UDC, is producing 12.0 points per game. Sarkis has canned multiple three-pointers in 18 of 23 games this season, and his 51 total triples rank fifth in the league. He's also shooting 87.7 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: 88, third; Harris: 72, seventh; Garvin: 71, 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 13.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.4 steals since being inserted into the starting lineup 12 games ago. Garvin, who became the first Daemen player in three seasons to record a double-double with points and assists in the win over STAC (15 points, 10 assists), has produced double-figure scoring in 10 of the last 13 games, raising his season scoring from 6.7 to 10.2 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 hit five three-pointers in the win over STAC, the ninth game in his career with at least that many. Redband leads the team and ranks third in the ECC with 52 three-point field goals this season. Miljenovic totaled 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting Sunday against UDC. He's contributing 9.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game off the bench this season.

Daemen was ranked seventh in their first-ever appearance in the D2SIDA East Region media poll back on Jan. 12, 2015, but have never risen higher until today. The team was ranked for five weeks during the 2014-15 season, and again for three weeks during the 2015-16 campaign. The Wildcats made their return to the poll on Jan. 15, coming in a tie for 10th with Roberts Wesleyan College, before ascending to ninth in back-to-back weeks (Jan. 22 and Jan. 29).  

Daemen returns to action this Friday, February 9 with the first of three straight home games as longtime rival Roberts Wesleyan comes to town. The Wildcats have won 13 consecutive and 20 of the last 21 meetings with the Redhawks, including a 98-73 road victory last month. 

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

Darius Garvin

#12 Darius Garvin

G
6' 1"
Junior
Aleks Miljenovic

#23 Aleks Miljenovic

F
6' 6"
Redshirt Senior
Jeff Redband

#44 Jeff Redband

F
6' 7"
Redshirt Sophomore
Jay Sarkis

#5 Jay Sarkis

G
6' 1"
Redshirt Sophomore
Andrew Sischo

#22 Andrew Sischo

C
6' 9"
Redshirt Freshman

Players Mentioned

Darius Garvin

#12 Darius Garvin

6' 1"
Junior
G
Aleks Miljenovic

#23 Aleks Miljenovic

6' 6"
Redshirt Senior
F
Jeff Redband

#44 Jeff Redband

6' 7"
Redshirt Sophomore
F
Jay Sarkis

#5 Jay Sarkis

6' 1"
Redshirt Sophomore
G
Andrew Sischo

#22 Andrew Sischo

6' 9"
Redshirt Freshman
C