Men's Basketball Hosts Mercyhurst Tuesday Night

THE LEAD: After a 10-day hiatus, The Daemen College men's basketball officially returns to action by hosting Mercyhurst University in a non-conference matchup...general admission is $5 ($3 for senior citizens and visiting students with ID)...Daemen students, faculty and staff, along with children under 12 will be admitted free of charge.

Tuesday, November 24 (at Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.)
Daemen vs. Mercyhurst, 7:00 p.m.
DC ROSTER / DC STATS / MU ROSTER / MU STATS
LIVE VIDEO / LIVE STATS / GAME PROGRAM

DIVISION II DEBUT: Daemen successfully completed a three-year membership process and was approved for active membership status at the NCAA Division II level by the NCAA Membership Committee his past summer…Daemen was accepted as a member of the East Coast Conference (ECC) in July of 2012 and began playing full regular-season conference schedules in the fall of 2013…the 2015-16 academic year will mark the first year Daemen will be eligible for ECC and NCAA post-season play.

MAC IS BACK: Local hoops fixture Mike MacDonald returns to the bench for his second season as Daemen's head coach, and his 19th season overall as a collegiate head coach...in his first season at the helm, MacDonald led Daemen to a 21-10 campaign which concluded with the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Division I national championship last March...by winning 20 games in his Daemen debut, MacDonald became one of the only active coaches in the country to achieve a 20-win season at the NCAA Division I, II and III levels of competition...prior to beginning his stint at Daemen, MacDonald transformed the Division III program at Medaille into a perennial power, averaging 18 wins a season and advancing to the postseason six times in his eight years as head coach...MacDonald made his head coaching debut at the Division I level, leading the program at Canisius from 1997-2006...while there, MacDonald's teams racked up 108 wins making him the third all-time winningest coach in the program's history...MacDonald enters the 2015-16 season with a career record of 277-236.

DAEMEN SCOUTING REPORT (1-1, 0-0 ECC): Daemen returns nine players from last year's team that posted a 21-10 overall record and a 13-7 mark in the East Coast Conference, while capturing the USCAA Division I national championship in the team's final year of non-eligibility for ECC and/or NCAA Division II postseason play...in addition to the returners, head coach Mike MacDonald welcomes nine fresh faces to his 18-man roster...the big question heading into this season will be how the Wildcats can replace the consistent production of 6-foot-7 forward Gerald Beverly who was lost to graduation...the two-time ECC Defensive Player of the Year who is now playing professionally in Germany is arguably the most accomplished player in team history, and replacing the 20 points, 12 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game he produced will be a tall order early on...Daemen was picked fourth in the ECC preseason poll released late last month...MacDonald does welcome back a pair of starters in senior guard Supreme Hannah and senior guard/forward Torrence Dyck...Hannah was perhaps the most improved player in the ECC last season, averaging 10.5 points and a team-best 3.9 assists per game as he transitioned into the team's starting point guard...after playing just 494 total minutes in his first two seasons, Hannah racked up 936 minutes in his junior campaign to rank seventh in the ECC in minutes per game (33.4)...Dyck, a 6-foot-5 slasher, made an immediate impact in his first season for the Wildcats, averaging 19.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game en route to first-team All-ECC honors, before having his season cut short in early February due to an injury...also back is 6-foot-7 forward Arif Mehmetaj...an inside-outside threat, Mehmetaj started the first three games of the 2014-15 season, averaging 8.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, before having his season cut short by an injury...the Wildcats opened their 2015-16 season by going 1-1 at the ECC-CACC Challenge hosted by Daemen at Lumsden Gymnasium...Daemen ran to a 109-87 win in the opener versus Wilmington (Del.), getting 29 points from Dyck, and 20 from Mehmetaj...sophomore guard Nick Petrucelli chipped in a career-high 17 points off the bench, helping Daemen lead by as many 30 points in the contest...the second day of the tournament saw Daemen lock up with Holy Family, the No. 5 ranked team in the preseason D2SIDA East Region media poll, and the favorite to win the CACC South Division...HFU walked away with an 89-86 win in a great early season matchup as Hannah's game-tying three-point attempt was just off the mark at the buzzer...Mehmetaj notched career-highs of 24 points and 17 rebounds and was named to the all-tournament team, as was Dyck who netted 15 of his 23 points in the second half...Hannah added a career-high 23 points and newcomer Ryan Grandits recorded his first double-double (10 pts, 10 reb) of the season...Dyck leads Daemen in the early going, averaging 26 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 63-percent from the field (17-for-27)...Mehmetaj is next, averaging 22 points and 12 boards per game...additional production is coming from Hannah (19.5 ppg, 4.0 apg) and Grandits (11 ppg, 7 rpg, 2.5 apg)...Daemen has come out of the gates shooting the ball well from three-point range, connecting on 46-percent of their attempts (22-for-48) thus far.

MERCYHURST SCOUTING REPORT (3-1, 2-1 PSAC): Mercyhurst is located in Erie, Pa. and the Lakers are members of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division...head coach Gary Manchel, now in his 13th season at the helm, has led the program to 335 victories during his tenure...Manchel guided the Lakers to a 20-9 campaign last season, culminating in the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament berth...the Lakers return 11 players from their 2014-15 roster, including second-team All-PSAC selection Gerrae Williams...Williams, a 6-foot-2 redshirt-senior guard, led a balanced Laker team last year, averaging 10.5 points while knocking down a team-high 45 three-pointers...also back is senior guards Damon Jones (10 ppg) and Jean Onana (7.6 ppg), and senior forward Sean Beins (7.4 ppg)...the Lakers were picked first in the PSAC West Division preseason poll released in late October...MU opened the 2015-16 season by downing Division III Houghton, 88-58 on November 13...the Lakers were busy last week with three PSAC contests, taking two of three...they opened the week by downing Indiana (Pa.), the 2014-15 national runners-up, 64-57 on November 18...after a 74-68 loss to Shippensburg last Saturday, the Lakers rebounded by defeating Kutztown, 71-70 in overtime on Sunday...Beins has led the way thus far, coming off the bench to average 15.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game...he netted a season-high 20 points in Sunday's win over Kutztown...Jones is chipping in 15 points per game, and leads the team in free throws made (22) and attempted (28)...Kayode Ajenifuja is adding 9.3 points and 5 rebounds per outing, while Williams has tossed in 8.8 points per game thus far...MU is one of the stingier teams around, allowing just 64.8 points per game thus far...at the last release of national statistics rankings (November 19), the Lakers were ranked seventh in the country in points per game allowed...Tuesday's game in Amherst marks the Lakers' first road tilt of the season.

THE SERIES: Tuesday's game will mark the 17th all-time meeting between Daemen and Mercyhurst…the Lakers have prevailed in 15 of the previous 16 meetings…only six of the previous 16 meetings have come after Daemen gained membership in the NAIA (1986-87)…during the 2013-14 season, the teams met for the first time since 1996-97 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 Ogbonna (15 pts, 7 rebs) also contributed…Andy Hoying led the Lakers with 13 points...Mercyhurst exacted some revenge last season, scoring a 90-84 overtime win in Erie...that game saw Daemen overcome an 18-point halftime deficit to force the extra session...Jean Onana led a quintet of double-figure scorers for the Lakers with 17 points, while Buffalo native James Ewing tossed in 12 points and 11 rebounds...Torrence Dyck scored 29 to lead the Wildcats in defeat.

ECC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Redshirt-junior forward Arif Mehmetaj was named the first ECC Player of the Week this season after helping Daemen to a split of its season-opening games versus Wilmington (Del.) and Holy Family...Mehmetaj averaged 22 points and 12 rebounds in the pair of games...his best outing came in defeat to regionally-ranked HFU, establishing new single-game career-highs for points (24) and rebounds (17).

20/20: Daemen has reached the 20-win plateau in each of the last four seasons (and nine times over the past 13 seasons).

DID YOU KNOW?: Since the start of the 2010-11 season, Daemen is 57-11 in games played at Lumsden Gymnasium...their 89-86 loss to Holy Family on November 14 was just the Wildcats' fourth home loss in the last five seasons, and four of those have been decided by three points or less.

WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen hits the road for the first time this season when they visit PSAC foe Slippery Rock on Tuesday, December 1 for a 7 p.m. tip-off....for a full look at what lies ahead, check out the Wildcats' complete 2015-16 schedule.

FOLLOW THE WILDCATS: Follow Daemen College men's basketball on Twitter (@DaemenAthletics /@DaemenMBB) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/daemencollegeathletics /www.facebook.com/DaemenCollegeMensBasketball) to get live game updates and breaking news throughout the year.

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Players Mentioned

#55 Gerald Beverly: F; 6' 7"; Senior

#4 Torrence Dyck: G/F; 6' 5"; Senior

#3 Supreme Hannah: G; 6' 0"; Senior

#21 Arif Mehmetaj: F; 6' 7"; Junior

#24 Nick Petrucelli: G; 6' 3"; Sophomore

#44 Ryan Grandits: F; 6' 5"; Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

#55 Gerald Beverly
: 6' 7"; Senior
: F

#4 Torrence Dyck
: 6' 5"; Senior
: G/F

#3 Supreme Hannah
: 6' 0"; Senior
: G

#21 Arif Mehmetaj
: 6' 7"; Junior
: F

#24 Nick Petrucelli
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: G

#44 Ryan Grandits
: 6' 5"; Graduate Student
: F