THE LEAD: The Daemen College men's basketball team travels to Erie, Pa. to take on Mercyhurst University of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) in a non-conference game Tuesday (Nov. 25).
Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014
Daemen at Mercyhurst - 7:30 p.m.
Mercyhurst Athletic Center, Erie, Pa.
LIVE STATS / DAEMEN ROSTER / DAEMEN STATS / MU ROSTER / MU STATS
THE COACHES: Mike MacDonald is entering his first season as head men's basketball coach at Daemen College after spending the past eight years at Medaille College where he transformed the program into a regional contender at the NCAA Division III level…inheriting a program that went 4-46 in the two years prior to his arrival, MacDonald's version of the Mavericks averaged 18 wins a season, while advancing to the postseason six times…Medaille's emergence as a Division III power in the Northeast was cemented in the last five seasons, as MacDonald led the Mavericks to more wins (101) than any other Division III team in New York State, while ranking 17th nationally in wins during the same time frame…MacDonald was named the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year on four occasions (2006-07, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2011-12)…he left Medaille as the school's all-time leader in wins (149) and winning percentage (.671)…prior to his stint at Medaille, MacDonald served as the head coach at Canisius College from 1997-2006, guiding the Golden Griffins to 108 wins which ranks him third in program history for coaching victories…in 17 seasons as a collegiate head coach, MacDonald has achieved a record of 259-226 (.535 winning percentage)…Gary Manchel is in his 12th season as head coach at Mercyhurst…he has guided the Lakers to nine-straight winning seasons and a record of 181-127 (.588) over the past 11 seasons…he previously spent nine season (1992-2001) as head coach at UMass-Lowell and entered the 2014-15 season with an overall coaching record of 312-252 (.553).
MOVE TO II: Daemen is in Candidacy Year Three of the NCAA Division II membership process…Daemen was accepted as a member of the East Coast Conference (ECC) and began playing full regular-season conference schedules in the fall of 2013…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 Three.
DAEMEN vs. NCAA DIVISION II OPPONENTS: The Wildcats went 20-5 against NCAA Division II opponents last season and are 28-9 against Division II teams since the start of the 2012-13 season.
THE SERIES: Saturday's game will mark the 16th all-time meeting between Daemen and Mercyhurst…the Lakers have prevailed in 14 of the previous 15 meetings…only five of the previous 15 meetings have come after Daemen gained membership in the NAIA (1986-87)…the teams met for the first time since the 1996-97 season last year and the Wildcats posted their first-ever victory over Mercyhurst (69-63) at Lumsden Gymnasium…Casey Sheehan led the Wildcats with 19 points and five assists, while Gerald Beverly (15 pts, 7 rebs) and Uchechi Oggonna (15 pts, 7 rebs) also contributed…Andy Hoying led the Lakers with 13 points.
THE WILDCATS (2-1; 0-0 ECC): Daemen returns eight players and just one starter from last year's team that posted a 21-7 overall record and claimed the East Coast Conference regular-season championship (17-3) in its first season as a league member…Daemen was voted third in the 2014-15 ECC preseason poll…the Wildcats earned a bid to the USCAA Championship Tournament for the second-straight year last year and suffered a 58-57 loss to eventual champion Washington Adventist in the semifinals…first-year head coach Mike MacDonald must overcome the graduation of senior guards Casey Sheehan and Mark Coppola…Sheehan averaged 16.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists last year and collected first-team All-ECC honors…Coppola was a three-year starter at point guard and closed out his career with a school-record 623 assists…the Wildcats opened the season with home wins over Concordia (85-50) and Post (88-80) during the Knee Center of WNY / ECC-CACC Challenge and suffered a 68-59 loss at Holy Family this past Saturday…senior forward Gerald Beverly tops the list of returning players…the 2013-14 ECC Defensive Player of the Year and 2014-15 ECC Co-Preseason Player of the Year, Beverly led the team in scoring (18.9 ppg), rebounding (10.0 rpg) and blocks (111) last year…he was named MVP of the Knee Center of WNY / ECC-CACC Challenge for the second-straight year after shooting 77-percent (13-17) from the field and totaling 38 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks over the two games…he recorded his 28th career double-double (18 pts, 11 rebs) in the loss to Holy Family…senior sharpshooter Jordan Greene also returns after averaging 10.5 points with a team-high 52 three-pointers last year…he drained four three-pointers and totaled 18 points in the win over Post and netted 15 points in the loss to HFU…junior Supreme Hannah will take over at point guard following the graduation of Coppola…he played 32 minutes and totaled eight points and three assists in the win over Post…junior transfers Torrence Dyck, Jr. and Arif Mehmetaj and freshman Nick Petrucelli have made immediate contributions…Dyck collected second-team all-state honors following his senior year at East High School in Rochester and played at San Jacinto College last year…he scored 22 points in the win over Post…Mehmetaj played two seasons at SUNY Delhi and was named Mountain Valley Conference Player of the Year last winter after averaging 14.2 points and 7.6 rebounds…he was named to the all-tournament team following the Knee Center of WNY / ECC-CACC Challenge after totaling 20 points and a team-high 21 rebounds over the two games…Petrucelli is a 2013 graduate of Hicksville (N.Y.) High School and spent last year at Thomasville Prep in North Carolina…he earned all-county honors following his senior year at Hicksville High and averaged 18 points a game at Thomasville last year…he played 17 minutes in the season-opening win over Concordia and contributed 10 points, six boards and three assists…sophomore Alex Borges played 21 minutes and established career-highs for points (14) and rebounds (5) in the win over Concordia, while senior Kyle Clifford scored 13 points in 13 minutes in the season-opening win.
HISTORIC WIN OVER CANISIUS: Daemen kicked off the 2014-15 season in historic fashion with an 83-81 (OT) win over Canisius College in an exhibition game last week…it marked the program's first-ever win against an opponent from the NCAA Division I level….Rochester-natives Torrence Dyck and Gerald Beverly led the way for Daemen…Dyck, a newcomer, totaled 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting…Beverly, the Co-Preseason Player of the Year in the ECC, rang up 20 points, nine rebounds and four blocks…Jordan Greene as contributed with three three-points, 11 points and a team-high seven assists…click HERE for a complete recap of the game.
THE LAKERS (1-3; 1-1 PSAC): Mercyhurst was voted third in the 2014-15 PSAC Western Division preseason poll…MU returns nine players and two starters from last year's team that finished 17-12 overall (11-5 PSAC) and advanced to the semifinals of the PSAC Tournament…the Lakers must overcome the graduation of All-PSAC guard Jonathan Ouegnin who averaged 8.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists last year…the Lakers opened the season with losses to Fairmont State (72-53) and West Virginia Wesleyan (72-62) during the Joe Retton Classic hosted by Fairmont State…MU opened PSAC play with a 60-55 victory over Cal Pa. on Nov. 19 and dropped to 1-3 (1-1 PSAC) following a 46-44 loss to Gannon this past Saturday…junior guard Jean Onana returns after averaging a team-high 10.8 points with a team-high 44 three-pointers last year…senior guard Callon Dailey also returns to the starting lineup…he missed the first three games this season, but scored a team-high 14 points off the bench in the loss to Gannon Saturday…newcomers Damon Jones, Gerrae Williams and Paris Bennett have made immediate contributions…Jones, a junior college transfer who averaged 18.3 points at Mercyhurst North East last year, scored 18 points in the win over Cal. Pa. and is averaging a team-high 12.5 points…Williams, who redshirted last year after playing two seasons at Cloud County Community College, drilled four three-pointers and also scored 18 points in the win over Cal. Pa…Bennett, a graduate student who sat out last season after playing three years at Division I George Mason, contributed 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds in just 16 minutes off the bench against West Virginia Wesleyan…MU's roster also includes senior forward James Ewing, a graduate of Cardinal O'Hara who played two seasons at Division I Toledo…he has started all four games this season and is averaging 5.8 points and 4.5 rebounds.
CONFERENCE CHAMPS: Daemen claimed the East Coast Conference regular-season championship last year in its first season of eligibility after posting a 17-3 league mark…the Wildcats, who were voted seventh out of 11 teams in the 2013-14 ECC preseason poll, closed out the regular-season by winning 16 consecutive league games.
HOME SWEET HOME: Daemen extended its home winning streak to 37-straight games (dating back to the start of the 2011-12 season) after posting wins over Concordia and Post during the season-opening Knee Center of WNY / ECC-CACC Challenge…Daemen's home winning streak ranks as the second longest in the nation among all NCAA men's basketball programs…only Division III Albertus Magnus College (42) owns a longer home winning streak than Daemen…the top five home winning streaks among NCAA men's basketball programs as of games played Nov. 24 included Albertus Magnus (42), Daemen (37), Duke (35), Amherst (31), Gonzaga (29), Central Missouri (29) and Centre (29)…the Wildcats have gone 38-1 at home since the start of the 2011-12 season and have won 82-percent (94-21) of their home games over the past nine seasons.
MORE STREAKS: Daemen posted a school-record 14-game winning streak last year and will enter the 2014-15 season riding a 16-game conference winning streak.
20/20: Daemen has reached the 20-win plateau in each of that last three seasons (and eight times over the past 12 seasons).
BEVERLY'S BLOCK PARTY: Gerald Beverly has recorded at least one block in 36-straight games (and 45 of the last 46 games) dating back to the end of the 2012-13 season…he has already become the first player in program history to total 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 blocks in a career…he enters Saturday's game with 1,235 career points and needs just 47 points to crack the Top-10 in career points at Daemen…he already ranks fourth in career rebounds (655) and second in career blocks (228)…he stands just six blocks shy of replacing 2006 graduate Ron Wright as the program's leader in career blocks.
GREENE NETS 800TH POINT: Senior Jordan Greene netted 15 points in Saturday's loss to Holy Family and in the process recorded his 800th career point…he has totaled 807 points in 91 career games (8.8 per game).
DID YOU KNOW?: Daemen was 11-1 last season and is 37-2 since the start of the 2009-10 season when it scores 90 or more points.
WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen returns to action Sunday (Nov. 30) when it hosts Dominican College in a non-conference game…Daemen's complete 2014-15 schedule can be accessed HERE.
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.
