Friday, Nov. 15, 2013
RIMAC Arena, La Jolla, Calf.

Daemen vs. #12 CSU San Marcos
Saturday, Nov. 16, 2013
MiraCosta College Gymnasium, Oceanside, Calf.

THE MATCHUPS: The Daemen College men's basketball team travels to The Golden State this weekend for games against the University of California at San Diego and Cal State University San Marcos…it will mark Daemen's first visit to California since taking part in the Surf City Classic in Huntington Beach in 2006…the Wildcats will face UCSD Friday (Nov. 15) at 7 p.m (PST)…live stats are available HERE…live streaming video is available HERE…Daemen will close the trip against CSUSM Saturday (Nov. 16) at 7:30 p.m (PST)…live stats are available HERE…live streaming video is available HERE.

THE COACHES: Don Silveri is entering his 25th season as head men's basketball coach at Daemen and has posted a 395-337 (.540) record during his time with the Wildcats...his Daemen record boasts eight 20-win seasons, including four consecutive from 2002-2006 and seven in the last 11 years...he has guided the Wildcats to four conference championships (1999-2000, 2003-04, 2005-06, 2011-12), four appearances at the NAIA Division II National Tournament and one appearance at the USCAA National Tournament...2012-13 was a season for the record books as Silveri guided the Wildcats to a team-record 27 wins and a runner-up finish at the USCAA Tournament...he also spent time as head coach at Villa Maria College (1976-80) and Erie Community College (1982-86)…Eric Olen is in his first season as head coach at UC San Diego after serving as an assistant coach for the Tritons the past nine seasons…Jim Saia was hired as the first-ever head men's basketball coach at CSU San Marcos in May of 2010 and has quickly built the Cougars into one of the top NAIA Division I programs in the country…he led the Cougars to a 19-12 record in their first-ever season in 2011-12 and last year guided CSUSM to a 23-7 record and its first-ever appearance in the NAIA Division I Tournament…prior to taking over at CSUSM he spent three seasons as head coach at Fresno Pacific University…he posted a 70-29 record in his three seasons at FPU and led the Sunbirds to two appearances in the NAIA Division I Tournament…he was also the interim head coach at USC in 2004-05 and spent seven seasons (1997-2003) as an assistant coach at UCLA…Saia began his collegiate coaching career at the junior college level as head coach at Columbia (Calf.) College (1994-96).

NCAA DIVISION II: Daemen is in Candidacy Year Two of the NCAA Division II membership process...Daemen has been accepted as a member of the East Coast Conference (ECC) and will play full regular-season conference schedules beginning this fall...the College will also maintain its affiliation with the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) for postseason opportunities, as it will not be eligible for the ECC or NCAA postseason during Candidacy Year Two.

THE SERIES VS. UCSD: Friday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between Daemen and UC San Diego.

THE SERIES VS. CSUSM: Saturday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between Daemen and Cal State San Marcos.

THE WILDCATS (2-0): Daemen returns four starters from last year's team that set a program-record for wins (27-6) in a season and advanced to the championship game of the USCAA Tournament…the Wildcats were voted seventh in the ECC preseason poll…the Wildcats are 8–3 against NCAA Division II opponents since the start of last year...Daemen averaged 90.0 points a game and eclipsed the 100-point mark 11 times last year…the Wildcats opened the season with wins over Ohio Valley (111-90) and Goldey-Beacom (59-56) during the Knee Center of WNY Tipoff Classic at Daemen last weekend…the two wins extended Daemen's home winning streak to 24-straight games…senior guard Casey Sheehan (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) and junior forward Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) top the list of returning players...Sheehan averaged a team-best 16.0 points per game and collected first-team USCAA All-America honors last year...he also ranked second on the team in three-pointers (48) and assists (133)…Sheehan totaled 26 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in the season-opening win over Ohio Valley and sat out the GBC game with an injury…Beverly is coming off a breakout sophomore season in which he shot .597 from the field, averaged 14.3 points and led the team in rebounding (8.0 rpg) and blocks (59)...he was named second-team USCAA All-America…Beverly was named ECC Co-Player of the Week and Tournament MVP after shooting 61-percent (14-23) from the field and totaling 38 points, 29 rebounds and nine blocks during the Knee Center of WNY Tipoff Classic…senior point guard Mark Coppola (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) and senior forward Kadeem Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger) also return to the starting lineup...Coppola started all 32 games and averaged 6.3 assists per game last year…he suffered an injury during the season-opening win over OVU and did not play against GBC…Johnson started 23 games, shot a team-high .603 from the field and averaged 10.1 points and 6.9 rebounds last year…he is currently recovering from a pre-season injury….junior sharpshooter Jordan Greene (Fort Edward, N.Y./South Glens Falls) also returns after averaging 11.3 points with a team-high 69 three-pointers last year…he totaled 18 points in the win over GBC Saturday…senior forward Uchechi Ogbonna (Hicksville, N.Y./Erie CC) made his first two career starts this past weekend and was named to the Knee Center of WNY Tipoff Classic All-Tournament team after averaging 13.5 points and a team-high 16.0 rebounds…he totaled 10 points and 18 rebounds in the win over GBC…sophomore Supreme Hannah (Rochester, N.Y./Eastridge) made his first career start and played all 40 minutes in the 56-53 win over GBC…he totaled 15 points and 13 rebounds over the two games this past weekend…6-foot-7 junior college transfer Steve Carder (Champlain, N.Y./North Country CC) is expected to make immediate contributions up front...Carder averaged 23.5 points and 12.5 rebounds last year and was named NJCAA Region III Player of the Year and NJCAA Division III All-America…he played 16 minutes off the bench and totaled 12 points in the season-opening win over Ohio Valley.

THE TRITONS (0-0): UC San Diego is a member of the NCAA Division II California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA)…UCSD was voted 11th in the CCAA preseason poll…the Tritons open their season Friday against Daemen…UCSD faired well in a pair of exhibition losses to Division I Pitt (72-59) and Grand Canyon (71-63)…UCSD returns seven players and two starters from last year's team that finished 11-15 (10-12 CCAA)…UCSD must overcome the graduation of All-CCAA guard Tyler McGrath who averaged a team-high 14.7 points and drained a team-high 52 three-pointers last year…senior guard James McCann and sophomore forward Drew Dyer return to the starting lineup…McCann, a second-team All-CCAA selection, averaged 13.6 points and a team-high 4.8 assists last year…Dyer, who played football at Air Force before transferring to UCSD last year, started 23 games as a freshman and averaged 9.3 points and 5.2 rebounds…senior guard MacKenzie McCullough, who averaged just 3.1 points off the bench last year, scored 22 points in the exhibition loss to GCU and netted 13 points in the loss to Pitt…freshman guard Adam Klie was named the Gatorade Alaska Basketball Player of the Year last year after averaging 19.5 points, 10.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists at Service High School in Anchorage.

THE COUGARS (3-0): Cal State San Marcos is a NAIA Division I Independent and also a member of the Association of Independent Institutions (AII)…CSUSM established its men's basketball program just three years ago and the Cougars have quickly made a name for themselves…CSUSM went 42-19 over its first two seasons and is ranked 12th in the 2013-14 NAIA Division I preseason poll…the Cougars return just three players from last year's team that finished 23-7 and made the program's first-ever appearance in the NAIA Division I Tournament…the Cougars opened the season with wins over Warner Pacific (87-75) and #17 Rocky Mountain (77-70) at the Las Vegas Tipoff Classic last weekend and improved to 3-0 following a 74-65 win at Biola this past Tuesday…CSUSM's 15-player roster features nine players that have NCAA Division I experience, including senior guard Malcolm Lemmons who played three seasons at Niagara…senior forwards Quincy Lawson and Adam Eakles return to the starting lineup…Lawson, who spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at Loyola Marymount, averaged 11.1 points and 5.3 rebounds last year and led the team in blocks (50)…he has seen limited action so far this season…Eakles averaged 7.0 points and 5.0 rebounds last year and is averaging 6.0 points and 4.7 rebounds so far this year…he contributed 12 points, six rebounds and three steals in the win over Rocky Mountain…Lemmons and fellow newcomers De'End Parker, Jason Johnson and Zack Zaragoza have all made immediate contributions…Lemmons (13.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg) totaled 18 points and eight rebounds in the season-opening win over Warner Pacific…Parker (16.7 ppg, 4.3 apg), who started 29 games at Division I San Francisco last year, scored a team-high 21 points in the win over Rocky Mountain…Johnson (10.0 ppg) started 27 games for Division I Utah Valley a year ago and had 15 points against Rocky Mountain…Zaragoza (12.7 ppg, 9 3 pt fgs), who spent the last two seasons at Biola and also played at Division I Northern Arizona, scored a team-high 19 points in the season-opener…senior guard Bobby Macias (8.3 ppg) played 28 minutes off the bench in the win over Biola and totaled a team-high 16 points and five assists.

DID YOU KNOW?: Daemen averaged 90.0 points per game last year, which would have ranked second among NCAA Division II schools (Daemen was not eligible to be ranked among the Division II statistical leaders)...West Liberty averaged a Division II-best 102.8 points last year...Mark Coppola posted a 2.74 (203/74) assist-to-turnover ratio last winter, which would have ranked him first in the East Region and seventh overall among NCAA Division II players...Coppola would have also ranked second in the region and sixth overall in assists per game (6.3)…Coppola entered his senior season ranked second in career assists (469) and 10th in career steals (132) among Daemen's all-time leaders…Rob Robinson owns the school-record for most career assists (503)…Casey Sheehan entered his senior season ranked fourth in career assists (345) and seventh in career steals (139)…Gerald Beverly totaled nine blocks over Daemen's first two games and is currently tied with Jim Regan for third in career blocks (118).

WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen returns home next Saturday (Nov. 23) for a non-league game against Mercyhurst College…game time is 4 p.m. at Lumsden Gymnasium.

FOLLOW THE WILDCATS: Follow Daemen College men's basketball on Twitter (@DaemenAthletics or @DaemenMBB) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/daemencollegeathletics) or (www.facebook.com/DaemenCollegeMensBasketball) to get live game updates and breaking news throughout the year.