AMHERST, N.Y. – The Daemen College men's basketball team will head up the New York State Thruway to take on long-time rival Roberts Wesleyan College Tuesday night. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Voller Athletic Center on the RWC campus. Admission to the game is $3.
 
The rivalry is set to enter a new era, as the two former NAIA members are both progressing through the NCAA Division II membership process while also joining the East Coast Conference.

Daemen is ranked fourth in the USCAA Division I poll released Dec. 7.
 
Daemen has won three of its last four games and has averaged 97.5 points over those four games. The Wildcats split a pair of games against Division II schools this past weekend at the Joe Manchin Classic hosted by Salem International University. Daemen ran past the host Tigers, 86-66, Friday night, before dropping a thrilling 97-95 setback to Newberry College. Daemen is now 3-3 against NCAA Division II teams this season, with two of the losses being by a total of three points.
 
Five players are averaging in double figures for Daemen, which stands at 11-4 overall and is averaging 88.1 points per game.
 
Junior guard Casey Sheehan (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) was named MVP of the Joe Manchin Classic after shooting 56-percent (19-for-34) from the field and totaling 52 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals over the two games. He poured in a career-high 27 points in the loss to Newberry. For the season Sheehan ranks second on the team in scoring (14.1 ppg), three-pointers (17), assists (3.7 apg) and steals (27).
 
Sophomore Jordan Greene (Fort Edward, N.Y./South Glens Falls) was named to the all-tournament team this past weekend. He connected on 5-of-12 three-pointers and scored a career-high 28 points in the loss to Newberry. The 6-foot-5 forward has provided instant offense off the bench for the Wildcats in recent games. He has shot 56-percent (19-34) from behind the arc and has averaged 15.6 points over the past six games. Overall, he leads the team in three-pointers (30) and is averaging 10.9 points.
 
Sophomore big man Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) has been a dominant force inside all season. He totaled a career-high 28 points in an 80-79 loss to Molloy and has recorded seven double-doubles on the year. He leads the team in scoring (15.3 ppg), rebounding (7.8 rpg) and blocks (24).
 
Forwards Kadeem Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger) and Jim Regan (Williamsville, N.Y./Nichols) have also produced. Johnson has scored in double figures nine times and equaled his career-high for points (18) in the win over Salem International. He is shooting a team-high 63-percent (66-104) from the field and is averaging 10.4 points and 6.8 rebounds. Regan has scored in double figures in four of the last six games and is averaging 11.0 points and 6.1 rebounds. He stands just 11 points shy of 1,000 for his career and recorded his 100th career block this past weekend—making him just the fourth player in program history to reach 100 or more blocks.
 
Junior point guard Mark Coppola (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) has dished out seven or more assists six times this season and is averaging 6.2 assists. He currently ranks third in career assists (359) among the program's all-time leaders.

Tuesday's game will mark the 35th all-time meeting between the two rivals. Daemen has prevailed in the last three and owns a 23-11 advantage in the series. The Wildcats swept the two regular-season meetings last year and also posted a 65-45 victory over the Redhawks in the semifinals of the American Mideast Conference Tournament at Daemen's Lumsden Gymnasium.
 
The Redhawks (4-4) were 84-79 winners over Mercy College in their ECC opener Saturday. Sophomore guard Mike Stone connected on all six of his three-point attempts and totaled 25 points for RWC. Senior big man Devin Grimes has led the balanced RWC attack all season. The 6-foot-6 forward has recorded a double-double in seven of RWC's eight games and is averaging 16.0 points and 13.4 rebounds. Additional production has come from freshman forward Tyrel Dixon (11.5 ppg), Stone (11.4 ppg, 17 3pt fgs) and junior forward Patrick Downer (10.8 ppg). The Redhawks are averaging 67.9 ponts per game.

Live stats and live streaming video are available for the game.