THE LEAD: The Daemen College men's basketball team closes out the 2014-15 regular-season with East Coast Conference games at LIU Post (Feb. 27) and New York Tech (Feb. 28) this weekend.

Friday, Feb. 27, 2015
Daemen at LIU Post - 7:30 p.m.
Pratt Recreation Center, Brookville, N.Y.
LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO / DAEMEN ROSTER / DAEMEN STATS / LIUP ROSTER / LIUP STATS

Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015
Daemen at New York Tech - 3 p.m.
Voller Athletic Center, Old Westbury, N.Y.
LIVE STATS / NYIT ROSTER / NYIT STATS

POLL POSITION: Daemen is ranked No. 1 in the final United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) poll…selections for the eight-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 details.

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 274-234 (.539 winning percentage)…Erik Smiles is in his second season as head men's basketball coach at LIU Post…before coming to LIUP he spent nine seasons as head coach at NCAA Division III Farmingdale State College…a three-time Skyline Conference Coach of the Year selection, he posted a 182-72 (.717) record at FSC and led the Rams to four NCAA Division III Tournament appearances (2006, 08, 09, 12)…Sal Lagano is in his 18th season at New York Tech…he guided the Bears to a 22-9 record and an appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament in 2004.

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 42-16 (.724) against NCAA Division II teams since the start of the 2012-13 season.

THE SERIES vs. LIU POST: Friday's game will mark the fifth all-time meeting between Daemen and LIU Post…the teams have split their previous four meetings…Daemen posted a 79-74 victory over the Pioneers last month at Daemen…Torrence Dyck (23 pts, 12 rebs, 6 asts) and Gerald Beverly (18 pts, 12 rebs, 7 blks) paced the Wildcats…Tyuan Williams and P.J. Torres both scored 14 points for LIUP…the teams split their season series last year…the Pioneers posted a 93-85 victory on Long Island…LIU Post scored six points in the final five seconds to turn a two-point lead into an eight-point lead…Vaughn Allen (28 pts, 13 rebs) and Torres (22 pts, 5 stsl) led the Pioneers…Beverly scored 28 points for Daemen…Daemen answered with a 94-91 victory at Lumsden Gym…neither team led by more than five points the entire second half…five players scored in double figures for the Wildcats…Kadeem Johnson led the way with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists…Torres totaled 23 points, six rebounds and five assists for LIUP…the first-ever meeting came in opening round action of the LIU Post Holiday Invitational on Dec. 30, 2009…the Pioneers posted a 79-58 victory over the Wildcats.

THE SERIES vs. NEW YORK TECH: Saturday's game will mark the fourth all-time meeting between Daemen and New York Tech…NYIT has prevailed in two of the previous three meetings…the Bears posted an 85-84 OT win at Daemen last month…the win snapped Daemen's Division II-best 44-game home winning streak…Darian Hooker scored 35 points and drained the game-winning three-pointer as time expired in OT…Gerald Beverly (26 pts, 13 rebs, 5 blks) and Torrence Dyck (20 pts) paced the Wildcats…the teams split their season series last winter…the teams met for the first time ever at NYIT and the Bears posted an 84-79 victory…Phil Izevbehal (22 pts) and Marcus Moore (15 pts, 11 rebs) led the Bears, while Uchechi Ogbonna totaled 17 points and 12 rebounds for Daemen…Daemen earned the split following an 84-83 win at Lumsden Gym…Daemen trailed by three with under 10 seconds left when Gerald Beverly grabbed an offensive rebound and fed Kyle Clifford for a game-tying three-pointer…Clifford was fouled on the shot and made the free throw to give Daemen an 84-83 lead with :03 seconds left…a last second shot by NYIT was off the mark…Beverly led the way with 20 points and 11 rebounds…Wayne Bradford scored 23 points for the Bears.

THE WILDCATS (18-8; 13-5 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 8-5 over their last 13…Daemen has won four of its last six games and posted a 59-55 win at rival Roberts Wesleyan this past Tuesday…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 (20.3 ppg) and leads the ECC in rebounding (12.2 rpg), field goal percentage (.602) and blocks (96)…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 a loss to ECC-leader STAC last weekend and is averaging 12.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists with a team-high 62 three-pointers…junior guard Supreme Hannah is shooting 41-percent from three-point land (35-for-86) and is averaging 10.3 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 14 times and is averaging 9.5 points…he ranks second on the team in three-pointers (50) and three-point field goal percentage (.417)…he drilled six three-pointers and scored a career-high 24 points in Tuesday's win over RWC…Davis has started 18 games and is contributing 4.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game…Lalka has averaged 27 minutes and 6.8 points over the past six games.

THE PIONEERS (14-12; 9-9 ECC): LIU Post returns 10 players and four starters from last year's team that finished 17-12 (12-8 ECC) and advanced to the ECC Tournament…LIUP was voted second in the 2014-15 ECC preseason poll…LIU has advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament four of the last seven seasons…senior guard P.J. Torres tops the list of returning players…he collected second team All-ECC honors last winter after leading the team in scoring (16.6 ppg), assists (3.8 apg) and steals (38)…the Pioneers have won four of their last six games and are coming off a 90-80 loss at NYIT Tuesday night…Torres and senior forward Tyuan Williams have paced the Pioneers…Torres totaled 30 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's loss to NYIT and is averaging 13.6 points and 6.2 rebounds…Williams totaled 18 points and 15 rebounds in a recent 61-56 win over Molloy and is averaging 14.4 points and 8.1 rebounds…additional production has come from newcomer Greg Dotson (11.4 ppg, 39 blks) and juniors Akosa Maduegbunam (8.5 ppg, 49 3pt fgs) and Dillon Burns (6.3 ppg, 4.2 apg)…Dotson contributed 24 points and 10 rebounds off the bench in a 62-46 win over Queens last week.

THE BEARS (12-14; 9-9 ECC):  New York Tech returns six players and two starters from last year's team that finished 10-16 overall and 8-12 in the ECC…NYIT was voted eighth in the 2014-15 ECC preseason poll…the Bears have won seven of their last 10 games and host Roberts Wesleyan Friday before taking on Daemen Saturday…NYIT snapped a two-game slide with a 90-80 win over LIU Post this past Tuesday…senior guard Darian Hooker has provided the offense…a transfer from Division I Campbell who sat out last year with an injury, he has scored 30 or more points 12 times this year and is averaging a Division II-best 28.5 points per game…he also leads the league in three-pointers (73) and assists (5.0 apg)…he scored 41 points in Tuesday's win over LIU Post (his third 40-point game of the season)…additional production has come from junior college transfer Jon Feiler (11.2 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 35 blks), junior guard Khalif Chaplin (11.3 ppg, 36 3pt fgs) and freshman forward Fred "Bam" Rivers (7.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg)…Felier had 15 points and 18 rebounds in Tuesday's win over LIU Post.

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 30-8 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 65 of the last 69 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 316 blocks in 115 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 56-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 scored his 1,700th points during Tuesday's win over RWC and recently recorded his 900th career rebound…he ranks fifth in career points (1,706), third in career rebounds (947) and first in career blocks (316) 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 last weekend and in the process netted his 1,000th career point…he has shot 48-percent (20-42) from behind the arc and has averaged 16.8 points over the past five games…he is 12 triples shy of becoming just the fourth player in program history to record 200 or more three-pointers…he has totaled 188 triples and 1,031 points in 114 career games…he has made at least one three-pointer in 37-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 10.3 points and a team-high 3.7 assists…Dyck, a junior college transfer, had started the first 23 games before suffering a knee injury…he ranks second in scoring (19.3 ppg) and has scored at least 20 points 13 times…he netted a season-high 35 points in the 95-87 loss at St. Thomas Aquinas on Jan. 16.

STEPPING UP: Injuries to two starters (Dyck, Davis) have provided senior Kyle Clifford and sophomore Jesse Lalka with increased playing time in recent games…Clifford has started the last five games and has averaged 14.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists over that stretch…he has also shot 50-percent (15-30) from three-point land over the last five games…he went 6-for-8 from downtown and scored a career-high 24 points in Tuesday's win over RWC…Lalka has averaged 30 minutes a game over the past five games and has started two of the last three…he has shot 56-percent (9-16) from three-point land and has averaged 6.6 points over the last five games…he went 3-for-4 from downtown and scored a career-high 11 points in a 103-98 win over Dowling on Feb. 13.

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 travels to Uniontown, Pa. this week to take part in the 2015 USCAA Tournament…a complete tournament preview will be posted on the Daemen athletic website on Tuesday.

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.