2013 Knee Center of WNY Tipoff Classic
Friday, November 8
Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.
Roberts Wesleyan vs. Goldey-Beacom, 6 p.m.
Ohio Valley vs. Daemen, 8 p.m.
Saturday, November 9
Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.
Roberts Wesleyan vs. Ohio Valley, 2 p.m.
Goldey-Beacom vs. Daemen, 4 p.m.
THE TOURNAMENT: The Daemen College men's basketball team opens the 2013-14 season by hosting the Knee Center of WNY Tipoff Classic…the tournament will feature four NCAA Division II programs…it gets underway with Roberts Wesleyan College taking on Goldey-Beacom College Friday at 6 p.m., followed by Daemen vs. Ohio Valley University at 8 p.m…the tournament wraps up Saturday with RWC vs. OVU at 2 p.m., followed by Daemen vs. GBC at 4 p.m…general admission is $5 per day ($3 for senior citizens and visiting students with ID)…Daemen students, staff and faculty, along with children under 12 will be admitted free of charge.
LIVE STATS AND VIDEO: Live stats and live streaming video will be available for all Daemen home games this year…live stats can be accessed HERE, while live video can be accessed HERE.
THE COACHES: Don Silveri is entering his 25th season as head men's basketball coach at Daemen and has posted a 393-337 (.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)…Mike Snell is in his sixth season at Ohio Valley and his 10th season as a head coach…he has posted a 30-108 (.217) record over the past five seasons at OVU…he previously spent nine seasons as head coach at NCAA Division III Thiel and owns a career coaching record of 68-178 (.276)…Chuck Hammond is entering his 11th season as head coach at Goldey-Beacom…he inherited a program that had gone 7-46 in the two years prior to his arrival and quickly turned the Lightning into one of the top programs in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC)…the Lightning made three-straight appearances in the CACC Tournament championship game (2010, 11, 12) and claimed back-to-back CACC South Division titles (2011 and 2012)…he has posted a 134-136 (.479) record over the past 10 seasons at GBC…Rob McCoy is in his 13th season as head coach at Roberts Wesleyan and owns a career record of 137-186 (.424)…he has led the Redhawks to two (2006, 2011) semifinal appearances in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Tournament.
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 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 won their final seven regular-season games last year and advanced to the championship game of the USCAA Tournament following wins over sixth-seeded The Apprentice School (81-67) and second-seeded Ava Maria University (100-72)...Daemen saw its nine-game winning streak come to an end following a 70-67 loss to top-seeded Rochester College in the USCAA title game…the Wildcats went 6-3 against NCAA Division II opponents last year...Daemen averaged 90.0 points a game and allowed just 70.3 points per game (+19.7 scoring margin)...Daemen eclipsed the 100-point mark 11 times and shot 48-percent from the field...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...he also ranked second on the team in three-pointers (48) and assists (133)...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...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...Johnson started 23 games, shot a team-high .603 from the field and averaged 10.1 points and 6.9 rebounds...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...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.
HOME SWEET HOME: Daemen was undefeated at Lumsden Gym last year (12-0) and takes a 22-game home unbeaten streak into the 2013-14 season…the Wildcats have gone 23-1 at home over the past two seasons and have won 79-percent (79-21) of their home games over the past eight seasons.
THE FIGHTING SCOTS: Ohio Valley is located in Vienna, W. Va. and is a member of the newly formed NCAA Division II Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC)…OVU was voted eighth in the G-MAC preseason poll…the Fighting Scots were members of the now defunct West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC)…Daemen and OWU will be meeting for the first time ever Friday night…the Fighting Scots return 11 players and three starters from last year's team that finished 3-26 (2-20 WVIAC)…OVU must overcome the graduation of guard Ashton Brown who led the team and ranked sixth among the WVIAC scoring leaders (18.7 ppg)…juniors Osvaldas Gaizauskas and Jerry Macon, Jr. and sophomore David Sinickas top the list of returning players…the 6-for-7 Gaizauskas averaged 8.8 points with 36 three-pointers, while Macon, Jr. averaged 8.6 points as a part-time starter…Sinickas started 18 games as a freshman and averaged 8.2 points with a team-high 46 three-pointers…Povilas Dambrauskas returns after starting 24 games and averaging a team-high 5.4 rebounds as a freshman last winter.
THE LIGHTNING: Goldey-Beacom is located in Wilmington, Del. and is a member of the NCAA Division II Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC)…GBC was voted fifth in the CACC South preseason poll…Daemen and GBC will be meeting for just the second time ever Saturday…the Wildcats posted a 66-65 victory over the Lightning on Feb. 12, 2000 in the first-ever meeting…the Lightning return just three players and no starters from last year's team that finished 8-18 (4-13 CACC)…GBC must overcome the unexpected loss of all-conference guards Marcus Porter and A.J. Picard…Porter, who led the team in scoring (15.8 ppg) and rebounding (7.3 rpg) last year transferred to American International…Picard, who transferred to Division III Cabrini College, drilled a team-high 47 three-pointers and averaged 15.6 points…junior guard Kyle Steinbergin is the top returning scorer (6.2 ppg), while senior swingman Will Williams also returns after averaging 5.4 points and 3.2 rebounds off the bench.
THE REDHAWKS: Roberts Wesleyan is located in Rochester, N.Y. and is a member of the NCAA Division II East Coast Conference…RWC is in Candidacy Year Three of the NCAA Division II membership process…the Redhawks return nine players and four starters from last year's team that finished 8-22 (4-14 ECC) and advanced to the NCCAA Tournament…RWC was voted ninth in the ECC preseason poll…power forward Devin Grimes, who averaged a team-high 14.9 points and led the ECC in rebounding (11.4 rpg), was lost to graduation…sophomore swingman Tyrel Dixon and junior guard Mike Stone top the list of returning players…Dixon was named to the ECC All-Rookie team after averaging 12.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals…Stone drained a team-high 64 three-pointers and averaged 11.4 points…senior forward Patrick Downer (9.0 ppg, 6.5 rig) and sophomore guard William Bromirski (57 3-pters, 8.1 ppt) also return to the starting lineup…RWC's freshman class includes guard Jamaal Carter, who was a four-year standout at Buffalo's City Honors High School.
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 enters 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 enters his senior season with 1,057 career points…he ranks fourth in career assists (345) and seventh in career steals (139)…Gerald Beverly already ranks fourth in career blocks (109) among Daemen's all-time leaders.
WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen heads to the West coast for games against UC-San Diego and Cal State San Marcos next weekend…the Wildcats will face UCSD Friday (Nov. 15) at 7 p.m. and then tip off against CSUSM Saturday (Nov. 16) at 7:30 p.m…Daemen's next home game is set for Saturday, Nov. 23 when it hosts Mercyhurst College at 4 p.m.
FOLLOW THE WILDCATS: Follow Daemen College men's basketball on Twitter (@DaemenAthletics or @DaemenMBB) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/daemencollegeathletics or https://www.facebook.com/DaemenCollegeMensBasketball) to get live game updates and breaking news throughout the year.
