Friday, Dec. 20, 2013 - 7:30 p.m.
Quealy Gymnasium, Rockville Center, N.Y.
Live Stats / Live Video

Daemen vs. Queens
Sunday, Dec. 22, 2013 - 1 p.m.
Fitzgerald Gymnasium, Flushing, N.Y.
Live Stats / Live Video

THE MATCHUPS: The Daemen College men's basketball team travels to the New York City area for the second-straight weekend for two ECC games…the Wildcats will tipoff against Molloy Friday (Dec. 20) at 7:30 p.m. and complete the trip with a Sunday (Dec. 22) afternoon contest at Queens…Sunday's game starts at 1 p.m.

THE COACHES: Don Silveri is entering his 25th season as head men's basketball coach at Daemen and has posted a 397-341 (.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)…Charles Marquardt is in his 20th season as head men's basketball coach at Molloy…the 2012-13 ECC Coach of the Year, he has posted a 195-238 (.373) record over his previous 19 season at Molloy…Darryl Jacobs is in his first season as head men's basketball coach at Queens…he previously served as head coach at Virginia State (2011-13), Clark Atlanta (2007-11), Felician (2000-05), Lehman (1998-2000) and Montclair state (1997-98) and entered the 2013-14 season with a career coaching record of 199-197 (.503).

THE SERIES vs. MOLLOY: Friday's game will mark the second all-time meeting between Daemen and Molloy…the teams met for the first time last year during the Molloy Tipoff Tournament and the Lions posted an 80-79 victory…the loss snapped Daemen's season-opening six-game winning streak…the Lions got a steal and layup by Matt McLeod with 1.5 seconds left to secure the win…neither team led by more than eight points in the tightly contested game…Gerald Beverly totaled a career-high 28 points and also registered 10 rebounds to pace the Wildcats…McLeod (19 pts) and Jimmy Nolan (21 pts) led the Lions.

THE SERIES vs. QUEENS: Sunday's game will mark the second all-time meeting between Daemen and Queens…the teams met for the first time last year during the Molloy Tipoff Tournament and Daemen posted a 76-64 victory…four players scored in double figures for Daemen, led by Gerald Beverly (15 pts, 14 rebs, 4 blks) and Uchechi Ogbonna (15 points)…Patrick Parker led the Knights with 17 points.

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.

DAEMEN vs. NCAA DIVISION II OPPONENTS: The Wildcats went 6-3 against NCAA Division II opponents last season and are 10-6 against Division II teams since the start of the 2012-13 season.

THE WILDCATS (4-4, 1-2 ECC): 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 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…Daemen then ventured to California 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…the Wildcats rebounded with wins over Mercyhurst (69-63) and Roberts Wesleyan (77-72), but suffered losses at league-leading LIU Post (93-85) and New York Tech (84-79) last weekend…the win over RWC marked the first-ever ECC win for the Wildcats…senior guard Casey Sheehan and junior forward Gerald Beverly 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…Sheehan totaled 19 points in the win over Mercyhurst and is averaging 15.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.9 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 has scored in double figures in all eight games this season and has recorded three double-doubles…he equaled his career-high for points (28) and grabbed nine rebounds in the loss to LIU Post and is averaging 16.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks…senior forward Uchechi Ogbonna is off to a solid start this season…he has started all eight games and is averaging 12.9 points and a team-high 9.9 rebounds…he has recorded three double-doubles and totaled 17 points and 12 rebounds in the loss to NYIT…senior point guard Mark Coppola and senior forward Kadeem Johnson also return to the starting lineup...Coppola started all 32 games and averaged 6.3 assists per game last year…he has returned to the starting lineup after being sidelined with an injury earlier this season…he totaled seven points and seven assists in the loss to NYIT and ranks second on the team in assists per game (4.8)…Johnson started 23 games, shot a team-high .603 from the field and averaged 10.1 points and 6.9 rebounds last year…he saw his first action of the year against Mercyhurst after suffering a preseason injury and has scored 10 points in each of the last three games…he is averaging 8.5 points and 5.0 rebounds….junior sharpshooter Jordan Greene also returns after averaging 11.3 points with a team-high 69 three-pointers last year…he is shooting 45-percent (10-for-22) from downtown over the past three games and is averaging 12.5 points with a team-high 18 three-pointers overall…he canned 5-of-8 from three-point land and netted 17 points in the loss to LIU Post…sophomore guard Supreme Hannah made his first career start and played all 40 minutes in the win over GBC…he has started five games and is averaging 3.1 points and 2.4 assists…junior Aaron Davis is averaging 17 minutes off the bench and equaled his season-high for points (8) in the loss to LIU Post…Daemen is shooting 44-percent from the field overall, 29-percent from three-point land and 61-percent from the charity stripe…the Wildcats are scoring 76.3 points and allowing 76.5 points per game…Daemen owns a +1.6 rebounding margin (40.6 / 39.0).

ROAD WARRIORS: Friday's game will mark the fourth of eight-straight road games for Daemen, which does not play at home again until Jan. 12…the Wildcats are 1-4 in road games this season, but have prevailed nine of their last 14 road/neutral site games dating back to the end of last season.

THE LIONS (2-7, 1-2 ECC): Molloy returns eight players and four starters from last year's team that finished 18-10 (13-5 ECC) and advanced to the semifinals of the ECC Tournament…Molloy was voted third in the ECC preseason poll…senior John Petrucelli tops the list of returning players…the 6-foot-4 forward collected first-team All-ECC honors last year and was named ECC Preseason Player of the Year this season…he led the team in scoring (14.8 ppg), rebounding (7.6 rpg), assists (3.6 apg) and steals (101) last year…the Lions split their first two games during the season-opening Bridgeport Classic, but have dropped six of their last seven games…they dropped a pair of league games to Bridgeport (86-76) and Dowling (74-73) last week…MC's league win came against Queens (69-50)…Petrucelli has lived up to his preseason billing and is averaging a league-high 23.9 points…he had 32 points and 13 rebounds in a 79-66 loss to Holy Family and followed up with 39 points and 13 boards in the loss to Bridgeport…he also leads the team in rebounding (8.3 rpg) and steals (32)…junior guard Matt McLeod had 29 points and 12 rebounds in a 90-81 victory over Felician and is averaging 16.1 points and 7.7 rebounds…additional production has come from senior center Tyler Hammett (4.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 10 blks) and sophomore guard Brandon Williams (5.1 ppg, 3.3 apg)…Molloy is shooting 39-percent from the field overall, 28-percent from three-point land and 75-percent from the charity stripe…the Lions are scoring 73.2 points and allowing 77.6 points per game…Molloy owns a +2.3 rebounding margin (39.2 / 36.9).

THE KNIGHTS (0-8, 0-3 ECC):  Queens returns six players and four starters from last year's team that finished 11-16 (11-7 ECC)…Queens was voted sixth in the ECC preseason poll…All-ECC guards Patrick Parker and George Holmes top the list of returning players…Parker averaged a team-high 16.5 points last year, while the Holmes ranked second in scoring (15.5 ppg) and led the team in rebounding (6.6 rpg)…the Knights opened the year with five non-league losses before opening ECC play with losses to Molloy (69-50), Dowling (60-50) and Bridgeport (82-70)…they host Roberts Wesleyan Friday before taking on Daemen Sunday…Holmes started the first five games, but has been out of the lineup the past three contests…he scored 24 points in a 78-65 loss to Stonehill and is averaging 13.6 points, 5.6 rounds and 3.4 assists…Parker totaled 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists in the loss to Bridgeport and is averaging 12.6 points5.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists…senior forward Amir Tarif, a transfer from LIU Post, totaled 21 points and seven boards in the loss to Bridgeport and is averaging 11.5 points and a team-high 7.9 rebounds…additional production has come from junior forward Patrick Modzelewski (8.7 ppg)…Queens is shooting 40-percent from the field overall, 28-percent from three-point land and 69-percent from the charity stripe…the Knights are scoring 63.8 points and allowing 76.9 points per game…Queens owns a +0.7 rebounding margin (35.1 / 34.4).

LEAGUE RANKINGS: Daemen ranks fourth in the ECC in points per game (76.2), while Molloy ranks fifth (73.1) and Queens ranks last (63.8)…Daemen leads the league in assists per game (15.9)…Molloy ranks third in steals per game (8.0), while Daemen ranks sixth (7.4)…Molloy ranks third in blocks per game (4.4), while Daemen is tied for fifth (3.9)…Molloy ranks third in rebound margin (+3.1), while Daemen ranks fourth (+1.6) and Queens ranks fifth (+0.8)…Daemen ranks second in free throws attempted per game (26.0) and sixth in free throws made per game (15.9)…Molloy leads the league in free throw percentage (.751)…Molloy's John Petrucelli is the league leader in points per game (23.9), minutes per game (37.3), free throw percentage (86.8), free throws made (66), free throws attempted (76), and steals per game (3.6)…he also ranks seventh in rebounds per game (8.3)…Casey Sheehan ranks sixth in points per game (15.0), is tied for first in assists per game (5.9) and ranks third in steals per game (2.3)…Gerald Beverly ranks ninth in scoring (16.2), third in field goal percentage (56.2) and blocks (2.2) and fourth in rebounding (9.8)…Uchechi Ogbonna leads the league in field goal percentage (62.0) and ranks third in rebounding (9.9)…Matt McLeod of Molloy ranks second in free throw percentage (86.2) and free throws made (56)…Patrick Parker of Queens ranks fifth in assists per game (4.2), while his teammate George Holmes ranks fifth in field goal percentage (53.7).

DID YOU KNOW?: Gerald Beverly has recorded at least one block in 13-straight games (and 22 of the last 23 games) dating back to the end of last season…Beverly has totaled 18 blocks over Daemen's first eight games and has moved into third place in career blocks (127) among Daemen'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) behind Rob Robinson, who totaled 503 assists from 1988-92…Coppola enters this weekend's action 16 assists shy of moving into first place in career assists…Casey Sheehan entered his senior season ranked fourth in career assists (345) and seventh in career steals (139).

WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen is idle until after the New Year when it makes its third trip to the Greater New York City area…the Wildcats play at St. Thomas Aquinas College on Jan. 4, Mercy College on Jan. 6 and Dominican College on Jan. 7.

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.