THE LEAD: The Daemen College men's basketball team hosts St. Thomas Aquinas College (Feb. 20) and Mercy College (Feb. 21) in East Coast Conference games this weekend…it will mark the final two home games of the year for Daemen and the first of five games in the span of nine days for the Wildcats…Daemen is looking to keep pace with St. Thomas Aquinas and Bridgeport atop the ECC standings.
Friday, Feb. 20, 2015
St. Thomas Aquinas at Daemen - 8 p.m.
Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.
LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO / DAEMEN ROSTER / DAEMEN STATS / STAC ROSTER / STAC STATS
Friday, Feb. 21, 2015
MERCY at Daemen - 4 p.m.
Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium, Bridgeport, Conn.
LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO / MERCY ROSTER / MERCY STATS
SALUTE TO THE SENIORS: Saturday's game will mark the final home game for seniors Gerald Beverly, Kyle Clifford, Aaron Davis, Tom Escott and Jordan Greene…their contributions to the program will be recognized during a pre-game Senior Day ceremony.
WOUNDED WARRIOR NIGHT: In collaboration with an initiative set forth by the East Coast Conference, the Daemen College Athletic Department will host Wounded Warrior Night at the men's and women's basketball double-header on Friday vs. St. Thomas Aquinas. The event is being co-sponsored by the Daemen College Student Veterans Alliance and will feature a ceremonial jump ball prior to each game featuring a Daemen student who previously served in the military. Additionally, donations will be accepted with all proceeds benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project.
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 closed out the regular-season by winning 16 consecutive league games—a streak that reached a Division-II best 21-straight league wins before the Wildcats suffered a 95-87 loss at St. Thomas Aquinas on Jan. 16…Daemen has posted a 28-7 league record over the past two seasons.
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 87 points per game during their last 24 home games since the start of the 2013-14 season.
HOME SWEET HOME: Daemen is 23-1 at Lumsden Gym since beginning ECC play during the 2013-14 season and the Wildcats have gone 46-2 at home since the start of the 2011-12 season…both losses have been by one point.
POLL POSITION: For the first time in over a month Daemen is not ranked in the D2SIDA Division II East Region poll…the Wildcats were ranked as high as No. 7 earlier this year…the poll includes the top-ten teams from the East Coast Conference, the Northeast-10 Conference and the Central Collegiate Athletic Conference…Daemen is ranked No. 1 in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) poll.
THE COACHES: Mike MacDonald is in 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 (2007, 2009, 2010, 2012)…he left Medaille as the school's all-time leader in wins (148) and winning percentage (.670)…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 272-233 (.538 winning percentage)…Tobin Anderson is in his second season as head men's basketball coach at STAC…before coming to STAC he spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Siena College and also previously served as head coach at Clarkson (1999-04) and Hamilton (2004-11)…Dr. Jody King is in his first season as head men's basketball coach at Mercy…he previously served as head coach at Hostos Community College and SUNY Maritime.
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) in July of 2012 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 40-15 (.727) against NCAA Division II teams since the start of the 2012-13 season.
THE SERIES vs. ST. THOMAS AQUINAS: Friday's game will mark the fifth all-time meeting between Daemen and St. Thomas Aquinas…the teams have split their previous four meetings, with all four games being decided by eight points or less…the Spartans posted a 95-87 victory over the Wildcats last month at STAC…the win snapped Daemen's Division II-best 21-game conference winning streak…Chaz Watler led the way with five three-pointers and 32 points…Torrence Dyck, Jr. scored a career-high 35 points for Daemen…Daemen swept the season series last year…the Wildcats posted a 79-75 victory at STAC…Gerald Beverly totaled 25 points, six rebounds and eight blocks for Daemen, while Aaron Cust scored 26 points for STAC…Daemen completed the sweep with a 69-65 victory at Lumsden Gym…Beverly came one block away from a triple-double, as he totaled 15 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocks…Marcus Henderson scored 20 points for STAC, while Omar Kellman added 16 points and 12 rebounds…Daemen suffered a 55-53 loss to the Spartans in the first-ever meeting on Jan. 28, 2000.
THE SERIES vs. MERCY: Saturday's game will mark the fourth all-time meeting between Daemen and Mercy…Daemen has prevailed in each of the previous three meetings…the Wildcats posted a 90-80 victory at Mercy last month…Gerald Beverly led the way with 25 points and 12 rebounds…Najee Senior paced a balanced Mercy attack with three three-pointers and 17 points…Daemen swept the season series last year…the Wildcats prevailed in the first-ever meeting, 99-92, at Mercy…six players scored in double figures for Daemen…Beverly led the way with 18 points, seven rebounds and 11 blocks…five players scored in double figures for Mercy led by Kirk Bailey (25 pts, 10 rebs) and Olajide Keshinro (24 pts, 14 rebs, 6 blks)…Daemen completed the sweep with an 82-68 win at Lumsden Gym…the hosts led by as many as 34 points in the second half…Casey Sheehan (16 pts) and Beverly (14 pts, 9 rebs, 4 blks) paced a balanced Daemen attack…Keshinro totaled 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks.
THE WILDCATS (16-7; 11-4 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 won 10 of their first 13 games, and are 6-4 over their last 10…Daemen defeated Dowling (103-98) and lost to Bridgeport (63-60) last weekend…senior forward Gerald Beverly and junior transfer Torrence Dyck have paced the Wildcats…Beverly, the 2013-14 ECC Defensive Player of the Year and 2014-15 ECC Co-Preseason Player of the Year, has recorded 17 double-doubles…he leads the team and second in the league in scoring (20.4 ppg) and leads the ECC in rebounding (12.3 rpg), field goal percentage (.607) and blocks (87)…Dyck has scored 20 or more points in 13 of DC's 23 games and is averaging 19.3 points and 5.6 rebounds…senior Jordan Greene equaled his season-high for points (19) in the loss to UB last weekend and is averaging 11.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists with a team-high 52 three-pointers…junior guard Supreme Hannah is shooting 43-percent from three-point land (30-for-70) and is averaging 10.2 points and 3.5 assists…additional production has come from seniors Kyle Clifford and Aaron Davis and freshman Nick Petrucelli…Clifford has scored in double figures 12 times and is averaging 8.6 points with 39 three-pointers…Davis has started 18 games and is contributing 4.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game…Petrucelli is averaging 18 minutes a game and is averaging 3.5 points.
THE SPARTANS (16-10; 13-3 ECC): St. Thomas Aquinas returns seven players and three starters from last year's team that finished 15-14 overall (9-11 ECC) and advanced to the championship game of the ECC Tournament…STAC was voted fourth in the 2014-15 ECC preseason poll…two of STAC's 10 losses have come against Division I Gonzaga and Stony Brook…STAC is ranked eighth in the latest D2SIDA East Region poll…the Spartans had an eight-game winning streak snapped following a 78-76 loss to NYIT on Feb. 11, before posting a 68-64 win over LIU Post last weekend…they are coming off a non-league loss (67-43) at regionally-ranked Southern New Hampshire this past Monday…sophomore guard Chaz Watler has paced the Spartans this season after earning ECC Rookie of the Year honors last winter…he scored 26 points in a recent 75-67 win over Molloy and is averaging 14.9 points…senior guard Marcus Henderson collected honorable mention All-ECC honors last year and is averaging 8.8 points and 3.4 assists with a team-high 44 three-pointers this year…additional production has come from freshmen Justin Reyes (10.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg) and Shaquille McFarlan (8.6 ppg)…Reyes had 17 points in the loss to NYIT last week.
THE MAVERICKS (7-15; 2-14 ECC): Mercy returns just three players and no starters from last year's team that finished 3-23 (3-17 ECC)…Mercy's 15-man roster features nine junior college transfers…Mercy was voted 11th in the 2014-15 ECC preseason poll…the Mavericks have lost 10 of their last 11 games and are coming off an 86-82 2OT loss to NYIT last weekend…the Mavericks play at Roberts Wesleyan Friday before facing Daemen Saturday…junior college transfers Jeremiah Brown, Jason Quijada and Gerald McClease have paced the Mavericks…Brown totaled 22 points in a recent 84-65 loss to Bridgeport and is averaging 13.0 points with 29 three-pointers…Quijada missed the first nine games of the year, but has averaged 11.8 points over the last 13…he had four three-pointers and 24 points in an 85-57 loss to LIU Post on Feb. 11…McClease (10.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg) had 16 points and 12 rebounds in a 72-71 win over Dowling last month…additional production has come from junior college transfer Lazaro Martinez (10.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg), who scored 33 points in the double OT loss to NYIT last weekend.
20/20: Daemen has reached the 20-win plateau in each of that last three seasons (and eight times over the past 12 seasons).
ECC HONOR ROLL: Gerald Beverly has been honored as the ECC Player of the Week three times this season and is also a three-time selection to the weekly ECC honor roll…Torrence Dyck, Jr. is a three-time selection to the weekly ECC honor roll, while Jordan Greene is a one-time selection to the ECC weekly honor roll.
NATIONAL HONOR FOR BEVERLY: Senior forward Gerald Beverly was named the Division II National Player of the Week by the United States Basketball Writers Association after averaging 25.3 points, 16.7 rebounds and 3.7 blocks during wins over Washington Adventist University, Dowling College and the University of Bridgeport in early January.
BEVERLY'S BLOCK PARTY: Gerald Beverly has recorded at least one block in 62 of the last 66 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 a win over District of Columbia on Jan. 3…he tied the ECC record for blocks in a game (12) during DC's win over St. Thomas (Fla.) on Dec. 17 and ranks high among all Division II players in blocks per game (3.8)…he recently replaced 2006 graduate Ron Wright as Daemen's leader in career blocks and recorded his 300th career rejection during a win over UDC on Feb. 6…he enters this weekend's action with 307 blocks in 112 career games (2.7 per game)…he has become just the third player in ECC history to record 300 career blocks.
MORE BEVERLY: Gerald Beverly has scored in double figures in 53-straight games and has recorded 44 career double-doubles…he registered his first career triple-double (17 pts, 17 rebs, 12 blks) during Daemen's win over St. Thomas (Fla.) 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 scored his 1,600th point two weeks ago and recorded his 900th rebound last weekend…he ranks fifth in career points (1,649), third in career rebounds (915) and first in career blocks (307) among Daemen's all-time leaders.
GREENE SET TO JOIN 1,000-POINT CLUB: Senior Jordan Greene enters this weekend's action just 16 points shy of 1,000 for his career…he recently became just the fifth player in program history to record 150 or more three-pointers and has totaled 178 triples in 111 career games…he has made at least one three-pointer in 34-straight games.
JUNIOR MINTS: Juniors Supreme Hannah and Torrence Dyck, Jr. have played a big role in Daemen's 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 10 times this season and is averaging 10.2 points…he is averaging a team-high 3.5 assists and also leads the team in three-point field goal percentage (30-70/.429)…Dyck, a junior college transfer, has started all 23 games and ranks second in scoring (19.3 ppg)…he has scored at least 20 points 13 times and netted a season-high 35 points in the 95-87 loss at St. Thomas Aquinas on Jan. 16.
DID YOU KNOW?: Daemen is 43-2 since the start of the 2009-10 season when it scores 90 or more points.
WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen returns to action Tuesday (Feb. 24) when it travels to Roberts Wesleyan College for an ECC game at 8 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.
