Friday, Feb. 21, 2014 - 8 p.m.
Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.
Live Stats / Live Video

Bridgeport vs. Daemen
Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014 - 4 p.m.
Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.
Live Stats / Live Video

THE MATCHUPS: The Daemen College men's basketball team hosts Dowling College (Feb. 21) and the University of Bridgeport (Feb. 22) in two huge East Coast Conference games this weekend…Dowling and Daemen sit atop the ECC standings, while Bridgeport is in third place…the Wildcats can secure at least a tie for the ECC regular-season championship with two wins.

SALUTE TO THE SENIORS: Saturday's game will mark the final home game for seniors Mark Coppola, Kadeem Johnson, Troy Nowak, Uchechi Ogbonna and Casey Sheehan…their contributions to the program over the past four years will be recognized in a pre-game ceremony.

CROWD PLEASERS: Lumsden Gymnasium has been packed for several of Daemen's 11 home games this year…the Wildcats are averaging an ECC-best 382 fans at Lumsden Gym, and the Wildcats have provided some very entertaining basketball…Daemen has averaged 86 points during its 11 home games and four of the games have been decided by four points or less…Matt Parrino of The Tonawanda News filed this story following Daemen's 94-91 win over LIU Post.

HOME SWEET HOME: Daemen takes a 33-game home winning streak into this weekend's action…Daemen's home winning streak ranks as the longest among all men's Division II teams and the second longest in the nation among NCAA men's basketball programs—behind Division III Albertus Magnus (37)…the Wildcats have gone 34-1 at home since the start of the 2011-12 season and have won 81-percent (90-21) of their home games over the past eight seasons.

MORE STREAKS: Daemen has won a school-record 11-straight games overall and 14-straight league games…Daemen and Southern Connecticut own the current longest winning streak (11) among NCAA Division II East Region teams.

THE COACHES: Don Silveri is in his 25th season as head men's basketball coach at Daemen and has posted a 411-343 (.545) 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 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 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 second all-time meeting between Daemen and Dowling…Daemen handed the Golden Lions their first ECC loss of the year following a 77-72 OT win at Dowling last month…Daemen trailed by 16 points early in the second half and was down by 10 points (62-52) with four minutes left…Uchechi Ogbonna's putback with one second left forced OT…Jordan Greene drilled five three-pointers and equaled his career-high for points (28) to lead Daemen…Gerald Beverly added 17 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks…Darien Davis paced Dowling with four three-pointers, 22 points and five steals…Leon Taylor added four three-pointers and a season-high 21 points off the bench.

THE SERIES vs. BRIDGEPORT: Saturday's game will mark the second all-time meeting between Daemen and Bridgeport…Daemen posted a 90-79 victory over the Purple Knights last month at Bridgeport…Daemen held a 48-45 lead early in the second half when the Wildcats took control with a 16-4 run that gave them a 64-49 lead with 13 minutes left…Daemen maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way…Gerald Beverly led a balanced attack with 20 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks, while Kyle Clifford (4-5 from three, career-high 16 points) and Aaron Davis (12 points) contributed off the bench…Sean Berry led the Purple Knights with 20 points and six boards.

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 24-8 against Division II teams since the start of the 2012-13 season.

USCAA RANKINGS: Daemen is ranked No. 1 in the USCAA Division 1 poll released Feb. 14…it is the fifth-straight week Daemen has held the top spot…eight teams will be selected to participate in the USCAA Championship Tournament, which will take place March 5-8 in Uniontown, Pa…selections will be announced Feb. 25…Daemen advanced to the USCAA Tournament championship game last winter.

THE WILDCATS (18-6, 15-3 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 have won 11-straight overall and are undefeated in their last 14 ECC games…Daemen has averaged 88.1 points and allowed an average of 71.1 points (+17.0) during its 11-game winning streak…the Wildcats are averaging a league-high 83.7 points and feature five players averaging in double figures…Daemen posted home wins over Molloy (111-72) and Queens (73-57) two weeks ago and is coming off a 92-71 victory at UDC last weekend…junior forward Gerald Beverly has scored in double figures in all 24 games and has recorded a league-best 13 double-doubles…he collected ECC Player of the Week honors for the third time this season after scoring a career-high 34 points in the win over UDC last weekend…he leads the team in scoring (18.4 ppg), rebounding (9.8 rpg) and blocks (92)…senior guard Casey Sheehan scored 27 points (his sixth 20-point effort of the season) in the win over Queens two weeks ago…he ranks second on the team in scoring (15.7 ppg) and assists (4.8 apg) and leads the team in steals (39)…senior forward Uchechi Ogbonna is averaging 12.2 points and 8.3 rebounds…he has recorded six double-doubles and netted 18 points in a recent 94-91 win over LIU Post…senior forward Kadeem Johnson was a recent ECC Player of the Week selection…he connected on 10-of-11 shots and totaled a career-high 23 points and a season-high 13 rebounds in a 98-82 win over RWC and is averaging 11.9 points and 5.9 rebounds…senior point guard Mark Coppola leads the league in both assists per game (6.3) and assist/turnover ratio (2.8)….junior sharpshooter Jordan Greene has provided instant offense off the bench…he is averaging 11.4 points with a team-high 48 three-pointers…he canned 4-of-5 three-pointers and scored 20 points in the recent win over Molloy…junior Aaron Davis (5.4 ppg) scored a season-high 12 points in wins over UDC and Bridgeport…sophomore guard Supreme Hannah equaled his career-high for points (13) in a 97-42 win over UDC, while senior Kyle Clifford went 4-for-5 from three-point land and scored a career-high 16 points in a 90-79 win at Bridgeport…Clifford's four-point play with 3.3 seconds left lifted Daemen to its 84-83 win over NYIT three weeks ago.

THE GOLDEN LIONS (21-4, 15-2 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 are receiving votes in the latest NABC Division II poll and are ranked fifth in the NCAA Division II East Region poll…DC has won six-straight games and is 8-1 over its last nine games…the six-game win streak includes victories over Queens (79-62), Molloy (79-77), Mercy (86-72), STAC (74-62 OT), NYIT (77-76 OT), and LIU Post (71-66)…the Golden Lions are 11-0 in games decided by five points or less…junior guard Darien Davis has scored 30 or more points five times this season and netted a season-high 40 points in the recent win over Mercy…he ranks second among the ECC leaders in scoring (21.2 ppg) and steals (51) and leads the league in three-pointers (61)…senior forward Justin Alexander has totaled seven double-doubles and is averaging 11.0 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 1.6 steals…additional production has come from senior guards Leon Taylor (10.3 ppg, 2.6 apg) and Corwin Austin (10.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.6 apg)…sophomore center Evan Maxwell, who was named to the ECC All-Rookie team last year, totaled 14 points and nine rebounds in the win over NYIT last week and is averaging 7.3 points and 6.1 rebounds.

THE PURPLE KNIGHTS (14-9, 12-5 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 plays at Roberts Wesleyan Friday (Feb. 21) before facing Daemen Saturday…the Purple Knights lost four of their first six games, but are 12-5 over their last 17…Bridgeport takes a six-game winning streak into this weekend's action…the streak includes wins over Queens (89-69), STAC (81-77), Mercy (98-58), UDC (80-61), LIU Post (83-68) and NYIT (79-73)…senior guard JoJo Swift has paced an offense that is averaging 82.6 points per game…Swift has scored 20 or more points eight times and scored 23 points in the recent win over STAC…he leads the team in scoring (17.3 ppt), assists (5.2 apg) and steals (40)…transfers Sean Berry and Antoine Brown have made immediate contributions…Berry, a 6-foot-8 center, had 23 points in the recent win over Queens and is averaging 11.7 points and 5.7 rebounds…Brown scored a season-high 21 points in an early-season loss to Dowling and is averaging 12.8 points and 6.3 rebounds…additional production has come from senior forward Ivan Simic (10.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and sophomore transfer Ernest Rouse (8.6 ppg, 44 3pt fgs)…Rouse had 13 points off the bench in the win over LIU Post last week.

ECC RANKINGS: Here is how the teams rank among ECC teams in selected statistical categories.

LEAGUE RANKINGS: Here is how players from the three teams rank among the ECC leaders…Gerald Beverly ranks first in blocks (3.8) and double-doubles (13), second in rebounding (9.8), third field goal percentage (55.1) and fourth in scoring (18.4)…Casey Sheehan ranks ninth in points per game (15.7), third in assists per game (4.8), fifth in steals per game (1.7), 10th in three-pointers (40) and 10th in free throw percentage (76.0)…Uchechi Ogbonna ranks second in field goal percentage (56.5), 10th in rebounding (8.3) and 18th in scoring (12.2)…Mark Coppola leads the league in both assists per game (6.3) and assist/turnover ratio (2.8)…he also ranks eighth in steals (1.6)…Jordan Greene ranks fourth in three-point field goals made (48), 12th in three-point field goal percentage (35.3), ninth in free throw percentage (76.2) and 24th in scoring (11.4)…Kadeem Johnson ranks fourth in free throw percentage (83.7), fourth in field goal percentage (54.8) and 19th in scoring (11.9)…Darien Davis of Dowling ranks first in three-pointers made (61), second in scoring (21.2) and steals (2.1), third in minutes (34.8), fifth in three-point field goal percentage (40.4) and 12th in field goal percentage (49.9)…Justin Alexander of Dowling ranks fourth in blocks (2.2), fifth in minutes (33.7), sixth in rebounding (8.9), sixth in free throw percentage (78.4), eighth in steals (1.6) and 15th in field goal percentage (49.2)…also from Dowling, Leon Taylor ranks eighth in free throw percentage (76.9) and Corwin Austin ranks fourth in steals (1.8)…JoJo Swift of UB ranks seventh in scoring (17.3), second in assists (5.2) and fifth in steals (1.7)…Sean Berry of UB ranks seventh in blocks (1.1), ninth in rebounding (8.3), 10th in field goal percentage (50.7) and 13th in scoring (13.9)…also from UB, Antoine Brown ranks 21st in scoring (11.7), while Ernest Rouse ranks third in three-point field goal percentage (41.9) and seventh in three-pointers made (44).

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 Friday's action with 594 assists in 106 career games (5.6 per game)…he leads the ECC in assists per game (6.3) this season and has totaled 23 assists and just four turnovers over the last three games…he tied the school-record for assists in a season (203) last year.

BEVERLY'S BLOCK PARTY: Gerald Beverly has recorded at least one block in 29-straight games (and 38 of the last 39 games) dating back to the end of last season…Beverly has totaled 37 blocks over the last eight games (4.6 pg) and swatted a career-high 11 shots during DC's win at Mercy on Jan. 6…he recorded his 200th career block during the win at UDC last weekend and already ranks second in career blocks (201) among Daemen's all-time leaders behind Ron Wright (233)…Beverly scored his 1,000th career point during Daemen's win over LIU Post on Jan. 31 and recorded his 500th career rebound during Daemen's win over Dowling on Jan. 17…he is the first player in program history to total 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 blocks.

SHEEHAN MOVING UP THE RANKS: Casey Sheehan scored his 1,400th career point during the win over Queens two weeks ago and currently ranks sixth in career points (1,418)…he also ranks third in both career assists (456) and career steals (178).

JOHNSON SAVES HIS BEST FOR LAST: Senior Kadeem Johnson has come through with some of the best games of his four-year career in recent weeks…he was named ECC Player of the Week on Feb. 3 after shooting 74-percent (25-for-34) from the field and averaging 19.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists during wins over Roberts Wesleyan, LIU Post and NYIT…he connected on 10-of-11 shots and totaled a career-high 23 points and a season-high 13 rebounds in the win over RWC…he has shot 71-percent (44-62) and has averaged 18.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists over the last six games…he has totaled 760 career points and 479 career rebounds, and has shot an impressive 58-percent (314-537) from the field over his career.

DID YOU KNOW?: Daemen is 9-1 this season and 35-2 since the start of the 2009-10 season when it scores 90 or more points…the Wildcats are 15-0 this season when leading at halftime.

WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen is expected to earn a bid to the upcoming USCAA Tournament, which will take place March 5-8 in Uniontown, Pa…Daemen advanced to the USCAA Tournament championship game last winter.

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.