Friday, Jan. 17, 2014 - 7 p.m.
Dowling Gymnasium, Oakdale, N.Y.
Live Stats

Daemen vs. Bridgeport
Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014 - 4 p.m.
Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium, Bridgeport, Conn.
Live Stats / Live Video

THE MATCHUPS: The Daemen College men's basketball team hits the road once again this weekend for ECC games at Dowling College (Jan. 17) and the University of Bridgeport (Jan. 18)…it will mark the next to last regular-season road trip for the Wildcats this season.

THE COACHES: Don Silveri is in his 25th season as head men's basketball coach at Daemen and has posted a 401-343 (.539) record during his time with the Wildcats...his Daemen record boasts eight 20-win seasons, including four consecutive from 2002-06 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)…Steve Hayn is in his eighth season as head men's basketball coach at Dowling…he has guided the Golden Lions to a 71-127 (.359) record over the past seven seasons…he previously served as head coach at Stevens Institute of Technology (2001-06) and Fredonia State (1999-01) and entered the 2013-14 season with a career coaching record of 151-233 (.393)…Mike Ruane is in his 14th year as head men's basketball coach at Bridgeport…the 2011 ECC Coach of the Year, he has posted a record of 251-140 (.642) over the past 13 seasons and has led to Purple Knights to nine 20-win seasons and seven appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament.

SILVERI NOTCHES 400TH WIN: Daemen head coach Don Silveri recorded his 400th victory as Daemen head coach following DC's 99-92 win at Mercy on Jan 6.

THE SERIES vs. DOWLING: Friday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between Daemen and Dowling.

THE SERIES vs. BRIDGEPORT: Saturday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between Daemen and Bridgeport.

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 14-8 against Division II teams since the start of the 2012-13 season.

THE WILDCATS (8-6, 5-3 ECC): Daemen returns 11 players and four starters from last year's team that set a program-record for wins in a season (27) and advanced to the championship game of the USCAA Tournament…the Wildcats won four of their first six games this season, before suffering three-straight losses to LIU Post (93-85), New York Tech (84-79) and Molloy (78-69)…Daemen snapped the skid with a 90-77 win over Queens on Dec. 22 and is 4-1 over its last five games…the Wildcats have averaged 91.6 points over their last five games…ECC wins have come over Roberts Wesleyan (77-72 OT), Queens (90-77), STAC (79-75), Mercy (99-92) and District of Columbia (97-42)…junior forward Gerald Beverly and senior guard Casey Sheehan have paced an offense that is averaging 81.2 points a game…Beverly has scored in double figures in all 14 games and has recorded six double-doubles…he was named ECC Player of the Week after totaling 25 points and eight blocks in the win over STAC and totaled 18 points, seven rebounds and 11 blocks in the win over Mercy…he is averaging 18.0 points and leads the ECC in rebounding (9.8 rpg) and blocks (3.5 bpg)…Sheehan scored a season-high 28 points and also dished out seven assists in a 98-93 OT loss to Dominican…he is averaging 15.8 points and 4.8 rebounds and leads the team in assists (70) and steals (27)…senior forward Uchechi Ogbonna has started all 14 games and is averaging 13.1 points and 9.6 rebounds…he has recorded five double-doubles and equaled his career-high for points (20) and grabbed 10 rebounds in the win over Queens…senior point guard Mark Coppola totaled a season-high 15 points in the win over Mercy and registered 10 assists and no turnovers in the win over UDC…he leads the team and ranks second among the ECC leaders in assists per game (5.6)…senior forward Kadeem Johnson scored a season-high 15 points in the win over Mercy and is averaging 9.7 points and 3.9 rebounds….junior sharpshooter Jordan Greene also returns after averaging 11.3 points with a team-high 69 three-pointers last year…he is averaging 10.9 points with a team-high 26 three-pointers this season…he canned 5-of-8 from three-point land and netted 17 points in the loss to LIU Post…sophomore guard Supreme Hannah equaled his career-high for points (13) in the win over UDC and contributed eight points and three assists in just nine minutes of action against Mercy…junior Aaron Davis is averaging 14 minutes off the bench and scored a season-high 12 points in the win over UDC…Daemen is shooting 45-percent from the field overall, 29-percent from three-point land and 68-percent from the charity stripe…the Wildcats are scoring 81.2 points and allowing 76.7 points per game…Daemen owns a +2.3 rebounding margin (41.2 / 38.9).

COPPOLA SETS CAREER ASSIST RECORD: Senior point guard Mark Coppola has established a new school-record for most career assists…he entered this season ranked second in career assists behind Rob Robinson, who totaled 503 assists from 1988-92…Coppola broke the record during the win over Mercy on Jan. 6 and enters this weekend's action with 525 assists in 96 career games (5.5 per game)…he tied the school-record for assists in a season (203) last year.

ROAD WARRIORS: Daemen has played 10 of its first 14 games on the road…after this weekend's action the Wildcats will play nine of their final 10 games in the friendly confines of Lumsden Gymnasium—where they own a 26-game unbeaten streak.

THE GOLDEN LIONS (13-2, 7-0 ECC): Dowling returns nine players and four starters from last year's team that finished 13-16 (8-10 ECC) and advanced to the ECC Tournament championship game…DC was voted fourth in the ECC preseason poll…the Golden Lions had a seven-game winning streak snapped following a 66-59 loss to New Haven on Jan. 4…DC rebounded with a 76-72 win over Merrimack on Jan. 5 and is coming off ECC wins over NYIT (67-64) and LIU Post (65-61)…additional ECC wins have come over Bridgeport (77-75), Queens (60-50), Molloy (74-73), Mercy (77-63), and STAC (76-65)…the Golden Lions are 8-0 in games decided by five points or less…junior guard Darien Davis has scored 30 or more points three times this season and netted a season-high 33 points in the win over Molloy…he is averaging 20.0 points with a team-high 31 three-pointers and 28 steals…senior forward Justin Alexander totaled 14 points and 10 rebounds in the win over NYIT and is averaging 11.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 1.9 steals…additional production has come from senior guards Leon Taylor (10.3 ppg, 2.7 apg) and Corwin Austin (9.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.3 apg)…sophomore center Evan Maxwell, who was named to the ECC All-Rookie team last year, totaled 12 points and 10 rebounds in the win over LIU Post and is averaging 7.7 points and 6.9 rebounds…DC is shooting 44-percent from the field overall, 34-percent from three-point land and 68-percent from the charity stripe…the Golden Lions are scoring 71.5 points and allowing 67.3 points per game…DC owns a -2.6 rebounding margin (35.1 / 37.7).

THE PURPLE KNIGHTS (6-7, 4-3 ECC): Bridgeport returns eight players and just one starter from last year's team that finished 23-10 (15-3 ECC)…UB claimed the ECC regular-season and tournament championships and advanced to the championship game of the NCAA Tournament East Regional…UB was voted first in the ECC preseason poll…UB hosts Roberts Wesleyan Friday (Jan. 17) before hosting Daemen Saturday…veteran head coach Mike Ruane must overcome the graduation of first-team All-ECC selections Darian David and Dion Waiters…the Purple Knights won three of their first four games, but are just 4-6 over their last 10…UB is coming off an 89-86 win at LIU Post on Jan. 8 and a 94-92 loss to NYIT on Jan. 11…additional ECC wins have come over Molloy (86-76), Queens (82-70) and STAC (83-60)…additional ECC losses have come against Dowling (77-75) and Mercy (85-84)…UB is 2-4 in games decided by five points or less…senior guard JoJo Swift has paced an offense that is averaging a league-high 84.1 points per game…Swift has scored 20 or more points seven times and is averaging 20.2 points and 5.9 assists…he was named ECC Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 24.5 points and 7.5 assists against LIU Post and NYIT last week…he scored 20 points and drained the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer in the 89-86 win over LIU Post…transfers Antoine Brown and Sean Berry have made immediate contributions…Brown totaled 19 points and 12 rebounds in the loss to NYIT and is averaging 12.8 points and 6.3 rebounds…Berry, a 6-foot-8 center, had 31 points in the win over Molloy and is averaging 11.7 points and 7.6 rebounds…additional production has come from senior forward Ivan Simic (10.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and sophomore transfer Ernest Rouse (9.8 ppg, 29 3pt fgs)…UB is shooting 46-percent from the field overall, 34-percent from three-point land and 71-percent from the charity stripe…the Purple Knights are scoring 84.1 points and allowing 80.8 points per game…UB owns a +4.8 rebounding margin (40.3 / 35.5).

LEAGUE RANKINGS: Bridgeport ranks first in the ECC in points per game (84.1), while Daemen ranks third (81.2) and Dowling seventh (71.5)…Dowling leads the league in fewest points allowed per game (67.3), while Daemen ranks seventh (76.7) and Bridgeport eighth (80.8)…Daemen leads the league in assists per game (16.7), ranks second in rebounds per game (41.2), third in both blocks per game (4.8) and field goal percentage (.450), fourth in rebound margin (+2.4) and fifth in steals (7.6)…Daemen leads the league in free throws attempted per game (26.4) and ranks second in free throws made per game (17.6), but only eighth in free throw percentage (.669)…UB leads the league in field goal percentage (.465) and free throws made per game (18.3)…UB ranks second in assists (15.4), rebound margin (+4.8), and free throws attempted per game (25.9), and third in three-pointers made (97), free throw percentage (.706) and total rebounds (40.3)..Dowling leads the league in three-pointers made (98) and blocks (5.1) per game and ranks second in steals per game (8.7)…Gerald Beverly leads the league in rebounding (9.8) and blocks (3.5), and ranks third in field goal percentage (.540) and sixth in scoring (18.0)…Casey Sheehan ranks ninth in points per game (15.8) and third in both assists per game (5.4) and steals per game (2.1)…Uchechi Ogbonna leads the league in field goal percentage (.585) and ranks fourth in rebounding (9.6) and 15th in scoring (13.1)…Mark Coppola ranks second in both assists per game (5.6) and assist/turnover ratio (2.5)…Jordan Greene ranks fifth in three-point field goals made (26) and eight in free throw percentage (.778)…Darien Davis of Dowling ranks third in scoring (20.0), third in minutes (35.0) and fourth in steals (1.9)…Justin Alexander of Dowling ranks fourth in blocks (2.8), steals (1.9) and minutes (34.1) and 12th in rebounding (7.8)…JoJo Swift of UB ranks second in scoring (20.2), first in assists (5.9), sixth in steals (1.8) and eighth in minutes (33.1)…Sean Berry of UB ranks seventh in blocks (1.2) and 13th in rebounding (7.6).

DID YOU KNOW?: Daemen is 31-2 since the start of the 2009-10 season when it scores 90 or more points…Daemen had won 13-straight games when scoring at least 90 points before suffering its 98-93 OT loss at Dominican on Jan. 7…Gerald Beverly has recorded at least one block in 19-straight games (and 28 of the last 29 games) dating back to the end of last season…Beverly has totaled 31 blocks over the last six games and swatted a career-high 11 shots during DC's win at Mercy on Jan. 6…he has moved into second place in career blocks (158) among Daemen's all-time leaders…Beverly recorded his 900th career point during the win over UDC last weekend and enters this weekend's action just 12 rebounds shy of 500 for his career…Casey Sheehan has moved into the Top-10 in career points at Daemen with 1,263…he also ranks fourth in career assists (415) and third in career steals (166)…Jordan Greene recorded his 100th career three-pointer during the win over UDC this past weekend.

WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen begins a stretch of seven-straight home games when it hosts St. Thomas Aquinas (Jan. 24) and Mercy (Jan. 26) in ECC games next weekend.

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.