THE LEAD: The Daemen College men's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of Lumsden Gymnasium for the first time in nearly a month this weekend when it hosts Dowling College (Jan. 9) and the University of Bridgeport (Jan. 10) in East Coast Conference action…Daemen and Bridgeport enter the weekend as the only two teams still unbeaten in league play, while Dowling has suffered just one league loss.
Friday, Jan. 9, 2015
Dowling at Daemen - 8 p.m.
Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.
LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO / DAEMEN ROSTER / DAEMEN STATS / DOW ROSTER / DOW STATS
Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015
Bridgeport at Daemen - 4 p.m.
Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.
LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO / UB ROSTER / UB 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 18 home games since the start of the 2013-14 season.
HOME SWEET HOME: Daemen extended its home winning streak to 40-straight games (dating back to the start of the 2011-12 season) after posting a 93-75 win over Queens last month…Daemen's home winning streak ranks as the third longest in the nation among all NCAA men's basketball programs…only Division III Albertus Magnus (46) and Division I Duke (41) own longer home winning streaks than Daemen…the top five home winning streaks among NCAA men's basketball programs as of games played Jan. 7 include Albertus Magnus (46), Duke (41), Daemen (40), Metro State (33) and Gonzaga (32)…the Wildcats have gone 41-1 at home since the start of the 2011-12 season and have won 82-percent (97-21) of their home games over the past nine seasons.
MORE STREAKS: Daemen enters this weekend's action riding a 19-game conference winning streak…Daemen's last conference loss came Dec. 20, 2013 at Molloy…Daemen's conference winning streak ranks as the longest among all NCAA Division II programs, two ahead of nationally-ranked Lincoln Memorial.
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 265-228 (.537 winning percentage)…John Mateyko is in his first season as head men's basketball coach at Dowling…he spent the past 13 seasons at St. Joseph's College on Long Island and was named the Skyline Conference Coach of the Year in 2008 and 2012…he posted a 190-129 (.596) recorded during his 13 years at SJC and guided the Golden Eagles to two NCAA Division III Tournament appearances…Mike Ruane is in his 15th year as head men's basketball coach at Bridgeport…the 2011 ECC Coach of the Year, he has posted a record of 269-151 (.640) over the past 14 seasons and has led to Purple Knights to nine 20-win seasons and eight appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament.
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 32-11 against Division II teams since the start of the 2012-13 season.
THE SERIES vs. DOWLING: Friday's game will mark the third all-time meeting between Daemen and Dowling…Daemen swept the season series last year…the Wildcats handed the Golden Lions their first ECC loss of the year last year following a 77-72 OT win at Dowling…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…Daemen completed the sweep with a 100-92 win at Lumsden Gym…the Wildcats led by 13 points at the half and led by as many as 19 points during the second half…Dowling cut the lead to seven points late, but the Wildcats secured the win at the charity stripe…Casey Sheehan led the Wildcats with a season-high 34 points, while Gerald Beverly added 19 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks…Corwin Austin (24 pts, 8 rebs) and Darien Davis (21 pts) led the Golden Lions.
THE SERIES vs. BRIDGEPORT: Saturday's game will mark the third all-time meeting between Daemen and Bridgeport…Daemen swept the season series last year…the Wildcats posted a 90-79 victory over the Purple Knights 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…Daemen completed the sweep with a 75-66 win at Lumsden Gym…the victory earned Daemen the ECC regular-season title…the game was tied at 50-50 with 12 minutes left when the Wildcats put together a 12-3 run for a 62-53 lead…UB came no closer than six points down the stretch…Casey Sheehan netted 24 points, while Kadeem Johnson (19 pts, 9 rebs) and Gerald Beverly (15 pts, 14 rebs, 6 blks) also contributed…Ivan Simic led the Purple Knights with 15 points and nine boards.
THE WILDCATS (8-3; 3-0 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 have won six of their last seven games and claimed two wins during a trip to Washington, D.C. this past weekend…Daemen opened the trip with a 95-72 win over District of Columbia and capped it with an 82-76 victory over Washington Adventist…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…a two-time ECC Player of the Week selection this season, he recorded his first career triple double (17 pts, 17 rebs, 12 blks) during a win over St. Thomas last month and has recorded seven double-doubles this year…he ranks second in scoring (17.2 ppg) and leads the team in rebounding (11.7 rpg) and blocks (46)…senior Jordan Greene also returns after averaging 10.5 points with a team-high 52 three-pointers last year…he scored 17 points in the win over UDC and is averaging 9.7 points and 5.2 rebounds with 18 three-pointers…junior guard Supreme Hannah has stepped into the starting lineup at point guard…he is shooting 54-percent from three-point land (20-for-37) and is averaging 11.3 points and 3.7 assists…he went 5-for-6 from downtown and scored a career-high 22 points in a 93-75 win over Queens…junior transfers Torrence Dyck, Jr. and Arif Mehmetaj and freshman Nick Petrucelli have made immediate contributions…Dyck has scored over 20 points in seven of DC's 11 games and scored a season-high 30 points in the win over UDC…he is averaging a team-high 19.1 points and 4.6 rebounds…Mehmetaj was named to the all-tournament team following the season-opening Knee Center of WNY / ECC-CACC Challenge after totaling 20 points and a team-high 21 rebounds over the two games…he has missed the last eight games due to injury…Petrucelli is averaging 14 minutes off the bench and contributed eight points against UDC…senior Kyle Clifford has scored in double figures in four of the last six games and equaled his career-high for points (16) in the win over WAU…he is averaging 7.4 points with 17 three-pointers…senior Aaron Davis contributed eight points in the win over WAU, while sophomore Alex Borges netted 10 points in just 12 minutes off the bench against WAU.
THE GOLDEN LIONS (5-6; 3-1 ECC): Dowling returns 10 players and two starters from last year's team that finished 22-7 (16-4 ECC) and advanced to the ECC Tournament…DC was voted fifth in the 2014-15 ECC preseason poll…Dowling will be playing its first game since posting a 92-78 win over Adelphi on Dec. 20…the Golden Lions won three of their last four games before the holiday break…senior guard Darien Davis tops the list of returning players…the 2014-15 ECC Co-Preseason Player of the Year, he has scored 30 or more points four times this season and netted a season-high 37 points in the win over Adelphi…he leads the ECC in scoring (26.3 ppg) and is also averaging 5.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game…junior center Evan Maxwell, a former ECC All-Rookie team selection, totaled 22 points and 12 rebounds in a recent 92-70 win over Mercy and is averaging 11.2 points and 9.5 rebounds…additional production has come from sophomore Ryan Hickey (10.4 ppg, 3.4 apg, 19 3pt fgs), senior Donte Adams (9.9 ppg, 24 3pt fgs) and freshman Tristan Brown (8.1 ppg, 4.2 apg).
THE PURPLE KNIGHTS (8-3; 4-0 ECC): Bridgeport returns seven players and just one starter from last year's team that finished 18-11 overall and 14-6 in the ECC…UB claimed the ECC tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament…UB was voted first in the 2014-15 ECC preseason poll…UB plays at Roberts Wesleyan Friday (Jan. 9) before facing Daemen Saturday…UB is ranked sixth in the latest D2SIDA East Region media poll…the Purple Knights take a six-game winning streak into the weekend and are coming off an 80-74 win at Dominican this past Sunday…newcomer Devon Elliott and veterans Ernest Rouse and Willie Williams III have paced the Purple Knights…Elliott, who averaged 20.5 points at Erie Community College two years ago, drilled five three-pointers and scored a season-high 22 points in a recent 66-63 win over nationally-ranked Southern Connecticut State…he is averaging a team-high 14.8 points with 18 three-pointers…Rouse netted 28 points in an 86-84 win over LIU Post and is averaging 13.5 points with a team-high 28 triples…Williams totaled 18 points and 17 boards in the win over Dominican and is averaging 10.4 points and a team-high 9.6 rebounds…additional production has come from junior Eddie Asamoah (7.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg) and senior Nagwan Crowell (7.0 ppg, 4.0 apg)…junior college transfer Jesse Jones (who drilled 87 three-pointers at Passaic CC last year) saw his first action of the year in a 70-63 win over New York Tech on Dec. 20 and totaled 11 points.
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—a streak that has now reached a Division-II best 19-straight league wins.
20/20: Daemen has reached the 20-win plateau in each of that last three seasons (and eight times over the past 12 seasons).
HONOR ROLL: Gerald Beverly has been honored as the ECC Player of the Week twice this season and is also a two-time selection to the weekly ECC honor roll…Torrence Dyck, Jr. is a one-time selection to the weekly ECC honor roll.
BEVERLY'S BLOCK PARTY: Gerald Beverly has recorded at least one block in 52 of the last 54 games dating back to the end of the 2012-13 season…he had a streak of 41-straight games with at least one block snapped during last weekend's loss to District of Columbia…he tied the ECC record for blocks in a game (12) during DC's win over St. Thomas on Dec. 17 and currently leads all Division II players in blocks per game (4.18)…he recently replaced 2006 graduate Ron Wright as Daemen's leader in career blocks and enters this weekend's action with 266 blocks in 100 career games (2.7 per game)…he is on pace to become just the third player in ECC history to record 300 career blocks.
MORE BEVERLY: Gerald Beverly has scored in double figures in 41-straight games and recorded his 34th career double-double during Daemen's win at Washington Adventist this past Monday…he registered his first career triple-double (17 pts, 17 rebs, 12 blks) during Daemen's win over St. Thomas on Dec. 17…Beverly has already become the first player in program history to total 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 blocks in a career…he played in his 100th career game this past Monday and enters this weekend's action ranked eighth in career points (1,368), fourth in career rebounds (760) and first in career blocks (266) among Daemen's all-time leaders.
GREENE NEARS 150 TRIPLES: Senior Jordan Greene stands just six three-pointers shy of 150 for his career…he is looking to become just the fifth player in program history to reach 150 career three-pointers…he will be playing in his 100th career game Friday night and enters the weekend with 818 career points.
JUNIOR MINTS: Juniors Supreme Hannah and Torrence Dyck, Jr. have played a big role in Daemen's early success…Hannah, who averaged just 3.3 points a game over his freshman and sophomore seasons is enjoying a breakout season…he has scored in double figures five times this season and is averaging 11.3 points…he leads the team in assists (3.7 apg), three-point field goals (20) and three-point field goal percentage (.541)…Dyck, a junior college transfer, has started all 11 games and leads the team in scoring (19.1 ppg) and steals (11)…he has scored at least 20 points seven times and netted a season-high 30 points in last weekend's win at UDC.
DID YOU KNOW?: Daemen is 40-2 since the start of the 2009-10 season when it scores 90 or more points.
WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen returns to action next weekend when it travels to St. Thomas Aquinas College (Jan. 16) and Mercy College (Jan. 17) for ECC games…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 facebook.com/DaemenCollegeMensBasketball) to get live game updates and breaking news throughout the year.
