THE LEAD: The Daemen College men's basketball team travels to long-time rival Roberts Wesleyan College Tuesday (Feb. 24) for an East Coast Conference game…it will mark the first of three-straight road games for the Wildcats this week.
Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015
Daemen at Roberts Wesleyan - 8 p.m.
Voller Athletic Center, Rochester, N.Y.
LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO / DAEMEN ROSTER / DAEMEN STATS / RWC ROSTER / RWC STATS
POLL POSITION: Daemen is ranked No. 1 in the latest United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) poll…selections for the eighth-team USCAA National Championship Tournament were announced Monday (Feb. 23) and for the second-straight year Daemen will enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed...click HERE for more information.
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 273-234 (.538 winning percentage)…Rob McCoy is in his 14th season as head coach at Roberts Wesleyan…he has led the Redhawks to two three (2006, 2011, 2014) semifinal appearances in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) 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) 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 41-16 (.719) against NCAA Division II teams since the start of the 2012-13 season.
THE SERIES: Tuesday's game will mark the 39th all-time meeting between the two former American Mideast Conference (AMC) rivals…Daemen has prevailed in the last seven meetings and owns a 27-11 advantage in the all-time series…Daemen posted an 83-63 victory over the Redhawks last month at Lumsden Gym…Gerald Beverly paced a balanced attack with 16 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks…Mike Stone drilled four three-pointers and totaled 16 points for RWC…Daemen swept the season series last year…the Wildcats earned a 77-72 OT win at RWC…it marked the first-ever ECC win for Daemen…Daemen led by 10 with just over five minutes left in regulation, but the Redhawks outscored the Wildcats 18-8 down the stretch to force OT…Daemen scored nine of the first 10 points in OT to secure the win…Jordan Greene scored a team-high 19 points off the bench for Daemen, while Beverly added 11 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks…Isaac Medeiros (23 pts, 18 rebs) and Tyrel Dixon 15 pts, 16 rebs) paced the Redhawks…the Wildcats completed the sweep with a 98-82 win at Lumsden Gymnasium…Daemen bolted out to an early 24-11 lead and held a 49-33 advantage at halftime…Kadeem Johnson (23 pts, 13 rebs, 4 asts) and Casey Sheehan (23 pts, 6 asts) led the way for Daemen…Dixon netted 21 points for the Redhawks.
THE WILDCATS (17-8; 12-5 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 7-5 over their last 12…Daemen dropped a tough 85-78 decision to ECC-leader St. Thomas Aquinas and defeated Mercy (84-69) this past 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 a conference-best 18 double-doubles…he leads the team and ranks second in the league in scoring (20.5 ppg) and leads the ECC in rebounding (12.3 rpg), field goal percentage (.614) and blocks (93)…Dyck has scored 20 or more points 13 times and is averaging 19.3 points and 5.6 rebounds…senior Jordan Greene equaled his career-high for points (28) in the loss to STAC last weekend and is averaging 12.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists with a team-high 61 three-pointers…junior guard Supreme Hannah is shooting 45-percent from three-point land (35-for-81) and is averaging 10.5 points and 3.7 assists…additional production has come from seniors Kyle Clifford and Aaron Davis and sophomore Jesse Lalka…Clifford has scored in double figures 13 times and is averaging 8.9 points with 44 three-pointers…Davis has started 18 games and is contributing 4.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game…Lalka has averaged 26 minutes and 7.8 points over the past five games…he has shot 58-percent (11-19) from three-point land over the last five games.
THE REDHAWKS (10-13; 6-11 ECC): Roberts Wesleyan successfully completed its transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II this past summer and is in its first season as an official NCAA Division II member school…the Redhawks return nine players and three starters from last year's team that finished 13-16 (8-12 ECC)…RWC was voted 10th in the 2014-15 ECC preseason poll…the Redhawks have dropped three of their last four games and like Daemen split a weekend series with Mercy and St. Thomas Aquinas this past weekend…RWC defeated Mercy 58-54, before suffering a 75-71 loss to STAC…senior forward Isaac Medeiros and junior swingman Tyrel Dixon top the list of returning players…Medeiros collected honorable mention All-ECC honors last year, while Dixon was an ECC All-Rookie team selection two years ago…Medeiros totaled 29 points and 12 boards in a recent 81-77 loss to Dowling and leads the team in scoring (15.6 ppg), rebounding (6.6 rpg) and blocks (20)…Dixon had 15 points in a recent win over District of Columbia and is averaging 12.6 points and 6.6 rebounds…senior guard Mike Stone is back after sitting out the 2013-14 season with a knee injury…he drained a team-high 64 three-pointers and averaged 11.4 points two years ago…junior college transfer Marcus Gooding has started 22 games and is averaging 13.7 points with a team-high 66 three-pointers…he drilled nine triples and scored 29 points in a recent 92-88 loss to Bridgeport…additional production has come from sophomore forward Kevin Madiamba (7.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg).
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 29-8 league record over the past two seasons.
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 two-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 64 of the last 68 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 (3.7)…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 313 blocks in 114 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 55-straight games and has recorded 45 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 stands nine points shy of 1,700 career points and recently recorded his 900th career rebound…he ranks fifth in career points (1,691), third in career rebounds (938) and first in career blocks (313) among Daemen's all-time leaders.
GREENE JOINS 1,000-POINT CLUB: Senior Jordan Greene equaled his career-high for points (28) during the loss to STAC this past weekend and in the process netted his 1,000th career point…he has shot 54-percent (19-35) from behind the arc and has averaged 19.3 points over the past four games…he is 13 triples shy of becoming just the fourth player in program history to record 200 or more three-pointers…he has totaled 187 triples and 1,024 points in 113 career games…he has made at least one three-pointer in 36-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 12 times this season and is averaging 10.5 points…he is averaging a team-high 3.7 assists and also leads the team in three-point field goal percentage (35-81/.450)…Dyck, a junior college transfer, had started the first 23 games before suffering a knee injury…he 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 closes out the regular season this weekend when it travels to Long Island for ECC games against LIU Post (Feb. 27) and New York Institute of Technology (Feb. 28).
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.
