Friday, Feb. 7, 2014 - 8 p.m.
Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.
Live Stats / Live Video

Queens vs. Daemen
Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014 - 3 p.m.
Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.
Live Stats / Live Video

THE MATCHUPS: The Daemen College men's basketball team hosts Molloy (Feb. 7) and Queens (Feb. 9) in East Coast Conference (ECC) action…Daemen is currently in second place in the ECC standings.

CROWD PLEASERS: Lumsden Gymnasium has been packed for several of Daemen's nine home games this year…the Wildcats are averaging an ECC-best 375 fans at Lumsden Gym, and the Wildcats have provided some very entertaining basketball…Daemen has averaged 85 points during its nine 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 last weekend's 94-91 win over LIU Post.

HOME SWEET HOME: Daemen takes a 31-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 (35)…Duke's 29-game home winning streak is the longest among Division I schools…the Wildcats have gone 32-1 at home since the start of the 2011-12 season and have won 81-percent (88-21) of their home games over the past eight seasons.

MORE STREAKS: Daemen has won eight-straight games overall and 11-straight league games…Daemen and Southern Connecticut own the current longest winning streak (8) 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 408-343 (.543) 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)…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).

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. MOLLOY: Friday's game will mark the third all-time meeting between Daemen and Molloy…the Lions have prevailed in both of the previous two meetings…Molloy posted a 78-69 victory over the Wildcats earlier this year 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…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 third all-time meeting between Daemen and Queens…the Wildcats have prevailed in both of the previous two meetings…Daemen cruised to a 90-77 win at Queens earlier this year…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…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 21-8 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 Jan. 31…it is the third-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…Daemen advanced to the USCAA Tournament championship game last winter.

THE WILDCATS (15-6, 12-3 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 are undefeated in their last 11 ECC games…Daemen posted wins over Roberts Wesleyan (98-82), LIU Post (94-91) and New York Tech (84-83) last week…Daemen has won eight straight overall (and 11 of its last 12) and has averaged 87.8 points over its last 12 games…five players are averaging in double figures…junior forward Gerald Beverly has scored in double figures in all 21 games and has recorded a league-best 11 double-doubles…a two-time ECC Player of the Week selection, he leads the team in scoring (17.6 ppg), rebounding (10.1 rpg) and blocks (80)…senior guard Casey Sheehan scored 23 points in the win over RWC last week…he ranks second on the team in scoring (15.3 ppg) and assists (4.7 apg) and leads the team in steals (32)…senior forward Uchechi Ogbonna is averaging 12.6 points and 8.7 rebounds…he has recorded six double-doubles and netted 18 points in the win over LIU Post last Friday…senior point guard Mark Coppola equaled his season-high for assists (10) in a recent win over Mercy and leads the league in both assists per game (6.0) and assist/turnover ratio (2.5)…senior forward Kadeem Johnson was named ECC Player of the Week on Monday after shooting 74-percent (25-for-34) from the field and averaging 19.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists over the three wins…he connected on 10-of-11 shots and totaled a career-high 23 points and a season-high 13 rebounds in Tuesday's win over RWC…he is averaging 11.1 points and 5.5 rebounds….junior sharpshooter Jordan Greene is averaging 11.3 points with a team-high 41 three-pointers…he canned five three-pointers and equaled his career-high for points (28) in a 79-72 OT win at Dowling…junior Aaron Davis (5.4 ppg) has scored in double figures in four of the last eight games and scored a season-high 12 points in wins over UDC and Bridgeport…sophomore guard Supreme Hannah equaled his career-high for points (13) in the 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 this past weekend.

THE LIONS (11-9, 8-4 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…the Lions won just two of their first nine games, but are 9-2 over their last 11…Molloy had an eight-game winning streak snapped following a 51-47 loss to Queens last week…the Lions rebounded with a 68-58 win over Bridgeport and are coming off a 79-77 loss at Dowling…Petrucelli has lived up to his preseason billing…he leads the league and ranks fourth among all Division II players in points per game (24.6)…he has scored 30 or more points four times this year, including a 36-point effort in a recent 88-85 win over LIU Post…he also leads the team in rebounding (7.4 rpg) and leads the nation in steals (76)…junior guard Matt McLeod had 18 points in a recent non-league win over Nyack and is averaging 13.6 points and 5.9 rebounds…freshman Charles Marquardt IV has scored in double figures in seven of the last 12 games and is averaging 7.4 points with a team-high 33 three-pointers…additional production has come from senior center Tyler Hammett (6.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 28 blks) and sophomore guard Brandon Williams (7.0 ppg, 3.2 apg)…freshman Jaylen Morris, a graduate of St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute, has started 10 of the last 13 games and scored a season-high 16 points in the loss to Dowling last week.

THE KNIGHTS (4-15, 4-9 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…the Knights opened the year with 12-straight losses before posting a 73-69 OT win over Mercy on Jan. 11…the Knights are 4-3 over their last seven games, including impressive wins over LIU Post (79-77) and Molloy (51-47)…QC suffered losses to Dowling (79-62) and Bridgeport (89-69) last week and plays at Roberts Wesleyan Friday before taking on Daemen Sunday…senior guard George Holmes, an All-ECC pick last year, averaged 13.6 points over the first five games before suffering a season-ending injury…senior forward Amir Tarif had 18 points in the win over LIU Post and is averaging 11.1 points and 6.8 rebounds…senior guard Patrick Parker, an All-ECC selection last year, scored 15 points in the win over Molloy and is averaging 10.9 points and 4.3 assists…junior guard Jeremiah Mordi recently returned to the lineup following a one-year hiatus…he has played in six of the last eight games and totaled 26 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and four steals in the win over LIU Post…he is averaging 15.5 points and 5.7 rebounds…additional production has come from junior forward Patrick Modzelewski (9.5 ppg).

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

Note: Rankings do not include games played 2/6/14

LEAGUE RANKINGS (Not including games played 2/6/14): Here is how players from the three teams rank among the ECC leaders…Gerald Beverly ranks first in blocks (3.8) and double-doubles (11) and second in rebounding (10.1)…he also ranks third in field goal percentage (54.0) and seventh in scoring (17.6)…Casey Sheehan ranks ninth in points per game (15.3), third in assists per game (4.6), sixth in steals per game (1.6), 10th in three-pointers (32) and 12th in free throw percentage (74.2)…Uchechi Ogbonna ranks first in field goal percentage (56.6), sixth in rebounding (8.7) and 19th in scoring (12.6)…Mark Coppola leads the league in both assists per game (6.0) and assist/turnover ratio (2.5)…he also ranks sixth in steals (1.6)…Jordan Greene ranks third in three-point field goals made (41), 17th in free throw percentage (73.0) and 22nd in scoring (11.3)…Kadeem Johnson ranks second in field goal percentage (55.1) and 24th in scoring (11.1)…John Petrucelli of Molloy ranks first in scoring (24.6), free throws made (129) and attempted (156) and steals (3.8)…he also ranks second in minutes (36.8), sixth in free throw percentage (82.7) and 13th in rebounding (7.4)…also from Molloy, Matt McLeod ranks third in free throw percentage (83.8) and fourth in steals (1.7), Charles Marquardt IV ranks ninth in three-pointers (33) and second in three-point percentage (44.0), Brandon Williams ranks 10th in assists (3.2) and second in assist/turnover ratio (2.4) and Tyler Hammett ranks fifth in blocks (1.4)…Patrick Parker of Queens ranks first in minutes (36.9) and sixth in assists (4.3), while his teammate Amir Tarif ranks 24th in scoring (11.1), fifth in field goal percentage (53.1) and 15th in rebounding (6.8).

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 Tuesday's action with 571 assists in 103 career games (5.5 per game)…he leads the conference in assists per game (6.0) this season and has totaled 63 assists and just 20 turnovers over the last nine 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 26-straight games (and 35 of the last 36 games) dating back to the end of last season…Beverly has totaled 25 blocks over the last five games (5.0 pg) and swatted a career-high 11 shots during DC's win at Mercy on Jan. 6…he already ranks second in career blocks (189) 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 set to become 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 1,300th career point during the win over Mercy on Jan. 26 and currently ranks seventh in career points (1,363)…he is tied for third in career assists (438) and also ranks third in career steals (171).

DID YOU KNOW?: Daemen is 7-1 this season and 33-2 since the start of the 2009-10 season when it scores 90 or more points…the Wildcats are 12-0 this season when leading at halftime.

WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen returns to action Friday (Feb. 14) when it travels to the University of the District of Columbia for an ECC game at 5 p.m.

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.