THE LEAD: The Daemen College men's basketball team opens East Coast Conference (ECC) play this weekend…the Wildcats host Molloy College Friday (Dec. 12) at 8 p.m. and cap the weekend by hosting Queens College Saturday (Dec. 13) at 4 p.m…Daemen is the defending ECC regular-season champion.
Friday, Dec. 12, 2014
Molloy at Daemen - 8 p.m.
Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.
LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO / DAEMEN ROSTER / DAEMEN STATS / MOLLOY ROSTER / MOLLOY STATS
Saturday, Dec. 13, 2014
Queens at Daemen - 4 p.m.
Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.
LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO / QUEENS ROSTER / QUEENS STATS
CROWD PLEASERS: A packed Lumsden Gymnasium has become the norm for men's basketball games…Daemen averaged an ECC-best 400 fans at Lumsden Gym last year…the Wildcats have provided some very entertaining basketball—averaging 86 points per game during their last 16 home games since the start of the 2013-14 season.
HOME SWEET HOME: Daemen extended its home winning streak to 38-straight games (dating back to the start of the 2011-12 season) after posting a 79-72 win over Dominican on Nov. 30…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 (44) owns a longer home winning streak than Daemen…the top five home winning streaks among NCAA men's basketball programs as of games played Dec. 10 include Albertus Magnus (44), Daemen (38), Duke (37), Central Missouri (32), Gonzaga (31) and Centre (30)…the Wildcats have gone 39-1 at home since the start of the 2011-12 season and have won 82-percent (95-21) of their home games over the past nine seasons.
MORE STREAKS: Daemen enters this weekend's action riding a 16-game conference winning streak…Daemen's last conference loss came Dec. 20, 2013 at Molloy.
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 260-227 (.534 winning percentage)…Charles Marquardt is in his 21st season as head men's basketball coach at Molloy…the 2012-13 ECC Coach of the Year, he has posted a 212-341 (.383) record over his previous 20 season at Molloy…Darryl Jacobs is in his second 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 2014-15 season with a career coaching record of 208-215 (.492).
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 29-10 against Division II teams since the start of the 2012-13 season.
THE SERIES vs. MOLLOY: Friday's game will mark the fourth all-time meeting between Daemen and Molloy…the Lions have prevailed in two of the previous three meetings…the teams split their two meetings last year…Molloy posted a 78-69 victory over the Wildcats at Molloy…the Lions led by nine points (66-57) with just over six minutes to play when the Wildcats put together an 11-2 run and tied the game at 68-68 with 3:16 left…Molloy outscored the Wildcats 10-1 over the final 2:50 to secure the win…John Petrucelli played all 40 minutes and totaled 28 points, four assists and seven steals to lead Molloy…Gerald Beverly (19 pts, 16 rebs, 5 blks) and Uchechi Ogbonna (17 pts, 16 rebs) paced the Wildcats…Daemen answered with a 111-72 win at Lumsden Gym…the Wildcats raced out to an early 27-11 lead and held a 31-point lead (58-27) at the half…five players scored in double figures for Daemen…Jordan Greene drained four three-pointers and totaled 20 points, while Kadeen Johnson added 18 points and 10 rebounds…Petrucelli netted 18 points for Molloy…the teams met for the first time ever during the 2012-13 Molloy Tipoff Tournament…the Lions posted an 80-79 victory…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…Beverly totaled 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: Saturday's game will mark the fourth all-time meeting between Daemen and Queens…the Wildcats swept the season series last year and have prevailed in each of the previous three meetings…Daemen posted a 90-77 win at Queens last December…the Wildcats held a 42-32 lead at the half and outscored the Knights 18-8 over the first five minutes of the second half to take control…Casey Sheehan (22 pts), Uchechi Ogbonna (20 pts, 10 rebs) and Gerald Beverly (19 pts, 12 rebs, 3 blks) led the way…Ronald Washington (21 pts) and Amir Tarif (20 pts) led the Knights…Daemen completed the sweep with a 73-57 win at Lumsden Gym…the Wildcats closed out the first half with a 16-0 run and took a 40-23 lead into the half…Sheehan led the way with 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists, while Beverly added 22 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks…Tarif registered a double-double (15 pts, 12 asts) for Queens…the teams met for the first time ever during the 2012-13 Molloy Tipoff Tournament and Daemen posted a 76-64 victory…four players scored in double figures for Daemen, led by Beverly (15 pts, 14 rebs, 4 blks) and Ogbonna (15 points)…Patrick Parker led the Knights with 17 points.
THE WILDCATS (3-2; 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 are playing their first games since snapping a two-game losing streak following a 79-72 win over Dominican College on Nov. 30…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 had 26 points, a career-high 18 rebounds and seven blocks in the win over Dominican and once again leads the team in scoring (18.4 ppg), rebounding (10.6 rpg) and blocks (18)…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 an 88-80 win over Post and is averaging 10.8 points and 4.6 rebounds…junior guard Supreme Hannah has stepped into the starting lineup at point guard…he played 34 minutes and scored a career-high 18 points in 90-84 (OT) loss to Mercyhurst and equaled his career-high for points (18) in the win over Dominican…he is averaging 11.4 points…junior transfers Torrence Dyck, Jr. and Arif Mehmetaj and freshman Nick Petrucelli have made immediate contributions…Dyck has scored over 20 points in three of DC's five games and scored a season-high 29 points in the loss to Mercyhurst…he is averaging 17.6 points and 5.2 rebounds…Mehmetaj 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…he is averaging 8.3 points and 8.7 rebounds…Petrucelli played 17 minutes in a 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…senior Kyle Clifford scored 13 points in 13 minutes in the season-opening win…senior Aaron Davis made his fifth career start in the loss to Mercyhurst…he played 34 minutes and totaled nine points, seven rebounds and three assists.
THE LIONS (6-2; 1-0 ECC): Molloy returns nine players and three starters from last year's team that finished 17-13 overall (13-7 ECC) and advanced to the semifinals of the ECC Tournament…Molloy was voted seventh in the 2014-15 ECC preseason poll…veteran head coach Charles Marquardt must overcome the graduation of forward John Petrucelli (the brother of Daemen freshman Nick Petrucelli) who scored over 2,000 career points and was named ECC Player of the Year last winter…the Lions had a four-game winning streak snapped following a 99-92 non-league loss to Bentley this past Tuesday…Molloy opened ECC play with a 78-65 win over Mercy on Dec. 4…senior guard Matt McLeod tops the list of returning players…he collected honorable mention All-ECC honors last year after averaging 13.6 points and 6.1 rebounds…he scored 15 points in a recent 70-62 win over Nyack and is averaging 11.6 points and 4.9 rebounds…junior Brandon Williams and sophomores Jaylen Morris and Charlie Marquardt have paced the offense thus far…Williams has scored in double figures in all eight games and leads the team in scoring (16.8 ppg), assists (3.9 apg) and steals (15)…Morris, a graduate of St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute, has averaged 21.3 points over the last three games and netted 24 points in the win over Nyack…he is averaging 15.3 points and 4.5 rebounds…Marquardt totaled six three-pointers and 22 points in the loss to Bentley…he is averaging 12.4 points and is tied for the league lead with 24 three-pointers.
THE KNIGHTS (0-6; 0-0 ECC): Queens returns just three players and two starters from last year's team that finished 9-18 overall (9-11 ECC) and advanced to the ECC Tournament…Queens was voted sixth in the 2014-15 ECC preseason poll…the Knights opened the month of December with an 80-66 loss to Adelphi and remained winless following losses to Concordia (66-64) and Pace (66-61)…QC opens ECC play at Roberts Wesleyan Friday before taking on Daemen Saturday…senior guard Jeremiah Mordi tops the list of returning players after averaging a team-high 17.4 points last winter…he has scored over 20 points four times this season and netted a season-high 32 points during an 83-77 loss to Goldey-Beacom…he leads the team in scoring (20.4 ppg), three-pointers (13), rebounds (37), assists (20), blocks (5) and steals (14)…additional production has come from sophomore guard Diego Maldonado and newcomers Mohamed Dansoko and Travis Whitfield…Maldonado totaled 13 points and nine rebounds in the loss to Concordia and is averaging 6.3 points…Dansoko totaled 14 points and seven rebounds in the loss to Pace and is averaging 10.0 points…Whitfield contributed 26 points, 11 rebounds and four steals in the loss to Goldey-Beacom and is averaging 8.5 points and 6.2 rebounds.
SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE: Daemen ranks second among ECC teams in scoring offense (79.0 points per game), while Molloy ranks first (68.9 points allowed per game) and Queens ranks third (71.0 papg) in the conference in scoring defense.
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.
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 38-straight games (and 47 of the last 48 games) dating back to the end of the 2012-13 season…he registered seven blocks in the win over Dominican and in the process became Daemen's leader in career blocks—replacing 2006 graduate Ron Wright…he has totaled 238 blocks in 94 career games (2.5 per game) and has already become the first player in program history to total 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 blocks in a career…he enters this weekend's action with 1,271 career points and 684 career rebounds…he needs just 11 points to crack the Top-10 in career points at Daemen and already ranks fourth in career rebounds.
GREENE NETS 800TH POINT: Senior Jordan Greene recorded his 800th career point during the recent loss at Holy Family…he has totaled 825 points in 93 career games (8.9 per game) and is just 16 three-pointers shy of 150 triples for his career.
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 heads to The Sunshine State to take part in the Trip Sports Cruzin Classic…the Wildcats will play St. Thomas University Wednesday (Dec. 17) and take on nationally-ranked University of Indianapolis Thursday (Dec. 18)…both games take place on the campus of Barry University in Miami Shores, Fla…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.
