Mercyhurst (1-2, 1-0 PSAC) vs. Daemen (2-2, 0-0 ECC)
Saturday, Nov. 23, 2013
Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.
THE MATCHUP: The Daemen College men's basketball team hosts Mercyhurst University in a non-conference game Saturday (Nov. 23) at 4 p.m…live stats are available HERE…live streaming video is available HERE.
AMHERST YOUTH BASKETBALL DAY: Saturday has been designated "Amherst Youth Basketball Day" at Lumsden Gymnasium…children wearing their Amherst Youth Basketball jersey will receive free admission to Saturday's basketball doubleheader…in addition, AYB teams will play a short exhibition game at halftime of both games.
THE COACHES: Don Silveri is entering his 25th season as head men's basketball coach at Daemen and has posted a 395-339 (.538) 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)…Gary Manchel is in his 11th season as head coach at Mercyhurst…he has guided the Lakers to eight-straight winning seasons and a record of 164-115 (.588) over the past 10 seasons…he previously spent nine season (1992-2001) as head coach at UMass-Lowell and entered the 2013-14 season with an overall coaching record of 295-240 (.551).
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: Saturday's game will mark the 15th all-time meeting between Daemen and Mercyhurst, and the first since the 1996-97 season…the Lakers have prevailed in each of the previous 14 meetings…only four of the previous 14 meetings have come after Daemen gained membership in the NAIA (1986-87)…the teams met twice during the 1996-97 season and Mercyhurst prevailed in both match ups (98-65, 86-54).
THE WILDCATS: 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 8–4 against NCAA Division II opponents since the start of 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 two weeks ago…Daemen ventured to California last weekend and suffered losses to UC San Diego (66-56) and Cal State San Marcos (88-74)…it marked the first time the Wildcats have dropped two straight games since December of 2011…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 registered 23 points and five assists in the loss to CSUSM…he is averaging 18.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists…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…he is shooting 61-percent (24-39) from the field and is averaging 15.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.75 blocks…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 has not played in the last three games…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 and is averaging 11.8 points…senior forward Uchechi Ogbonna (Hicksville, N.Y./Erie CC) has started the first four games 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 over the two games…he is averaging 12.0 points and a team-high 12.4 rebounds…sophomore Supreme Hannah (Rochester, N.Y./Eastridge) made his first career start and played all 40 minutes in the win over GBC…he has started the last three games and is averaging 5.8 points and 4.0 assists…6-foot-7 junior college transfer Steve Carder (Champlain, N.Y./North Country CC) has made 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 totaled 12 points in the season-opening win over Ohio Valley and is averaging 13.5 minutes and 6.0 points off the bench…Daemen is shooting 43-percent (107-250) from the field overall, 30-percent (21-69) from three-point land and 61-percent (65-107) from the charity stripe…the Wildcats are scoring 75.0 points and allowing 75.0 points per game…Daemen has out rebounded three of its four opponents and owns a +8.0 rebounding margin (43.5 / 35.5).
HOME SWEET HOME: Daemen was undefeated at Lumsden Gym last year (12-0) and takes a 24-game home winning streak into Saturday's game against Mercyhurst…the Wildcats have gone 25-1 at home since the start of the 2011-12 season and have won 79-percent (81-21) of their home games over the past eight seasons.
THE LAKERS: Mercyhurst is a member of the NCAA Division II Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC)…MU was voted sixth in the PSAC Western Division preseason poll…MU returns 12 players and four starters from last year's team that finished 16-13 (12-10 PSAC)…the Lakers must overcome the graduation of All-American forward Luis Leao who averaged a team-high 18.6 points and 6.7 rebounds last year…like Daemen, the Lakers squared off against Canisius in a preseason exhibition game and suffered a 64-49 loss…the Lakers opened the season with losses to Shepherd (72-62) and Alderson-Broaddus (68-67 OT) during the Shippensburg University Classic last weekend..MU opened PSAC play with a 79-74 victory over Seton Hill this past Wednesday…junior Callon Dailey and senior Jonathan Ouegnin return in the backcourt…Dailey was the second leading scorer (8.5 ppg) last year, while Ouehnin ranked third in points (7.7 ppg) and led the team in assists (4.0 apg) and steals (55)…Ouegnin had 18 points and five assists in the loss to Shepherd and is averaging 13.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists…Dailey netted 17 in the loss to Alderson-Broaddus and is averaging 8.3 points…Paul Bilbo, a 6-foot-9, 235-pound center, also returns after averaging 7.1 points and 3.2 rebounds last year…sophomore guard Jean Onana, who totaled 59 points all of last season, erupted for 29 points (4-5 3pt fgs) in the win over Seton Hill and is averaging 11.0 points…transfers Anthony Lytle, Greg Williams and James Ewing have made immediate contributions…Lytle, who played at PSAC rival California (Pa.) last year, scored 17 points in the win over Seton Hill and is averaging 9.3 points and 5.0 rebounds…Williams, who played two seasons at Monroe CC, drilled three three-pointers and totaled 17 points and eight boards in the season-opener and is averaging 8.7 points…Ewing, a graduate of Cardinal O'Hara who played two seasons at Division I Toledo, is averaging 6.0 points…Mercyhurst is shooting 44-percent (74-169) from the field overall, 38-percent (13-24) from three-point land and 64-percent (47-73) from the charity stripe…the Lakers are scoring 69.3 points and allowing 71.3 points per game…MU owns a +0.6 rebounding margin (32.3 / 31.7).
DID YOU KNOW?: Gerald Beverly has recorded at least one block in nine-straight games (and 18 of the last 19 games) dating back to the end of last season…Beverly has totaled 11 blocks over Daemen's first four games and has moved into third place in career blocks (120) among Daemon's all-time leaders…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).
WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen returns to action Tuesday (Nov. 26) when it travels to rival Roberts Wesleyan College for an 8 p.m. game…it will mark Daemen's first-ever East Coast Conference game…Daemen's next home game is not until Jan. 12 when it hosts the University of the District of Columbia in an ECC game at 3 p.m.
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.
