Jesse Lalka ranks second in the ECC in three-point field goal percentage heading into this weekend's games at LIU Post and NYIT

Men's Basketball 1/14/2016 12:15:00 PM

Wildcats Seek To Extend ECC Winning Streak This Weekend

Daemen Set To Face League-Leading LIU Post On Friday, Then Visit NYIT On Sunday

THE LEAD: The Daemen College men's basketball team takes its modest two-game East Coast Conference winning streak on the road to face Long Island University Post (Friday, Jan. 15) and N.Y. Institute of Technology (Sunday, Jan. 17) this weekend.

Friday, January 15 (at Pratt Recreation Center, Brookville, N.Y.)
Daemen at LIU Post, 7:30 p.m.
DC ROSTER / DC STATS / LIUP ROSTER / LIUP STATS / VIDEO / LIVE STATS

Sunday, January 17 (at Recreation Hall, Old Westbury, N.Y.)
Daemen at N.Y. Institute of Technology, 3 p.m.
DC ROSTER / DC STATS / NYIT ROSTER / NYIT STATS / VIDEO / LIVE STATS

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...to date, MacDonald owns a career record of 283-242.

DAEMEN SCOUTING REPORT (7-6, 3-3 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...Daemen was picked fourth in the ECC preseason poll released in late October...MacDonald welcomes 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...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...after going 1-3 over their first four games of the season, Daemen has gone 6-3 in their last nine, dating back to an 88-79 non-conference win over Edinboro on Dec. 12...since then, the Wildcats have added non-league victories over Dominican (69-60) and Felician (94-71), while league wins have come against Dowling (97-80), Mercy (94-81) and Roberts Wesleyan (98-96)...last Saturday's win over Mercy snapped Daemen's two-game home losing skid which featured ECC defeats to District of Columbia (89-84) and Saint Thomas Aquinas (85-66)...the Wildcats are coming off a miraculous two-point win at thruway rival RWC earlier this week (details below)...Dyck continues to pace an explosive Daemen offense which enters this weekend's action leading the ECC in scoring at 83.8 points per game...Dyck leads the league in scoring individually, averaging 22.8 points per game, sparked by back-to-back 30-point games and a 30.1 point-per-game average in the last three games...in addition, Dyck has dished a team-high 32 assists this season and is hauling in 5.6 rebounds per game which is second to only Mehmetaj who is having a fine season in his own right...Mehmetaj recorded his third double-double of the season in Tuesday's win at RWC, and for the season is averaging a team-high 6.1 rebounds, while adding 17.6 points per game to rank sixth in the league in scoring...additional production is coming from sophomore guard Nick Petrucelli (9.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg), freshman guard Jay Sarkis (6.8 ppg, 2.1 apg, 40% 3pt fg) and junior guard/forward Jesse Lalka (5.0 ppg, 48% 3pt fg).

LIU POST SCOUTING REPORT (12-3, 7-0 ECC): After being picked third in the ECC preseason poll, the Pioneers have established themselves as the class of the league thus far with 12 wins in their first 15 outings and an unblemished league record to date...the architect of the Pioneers' success is veteran head coach Erik Smiles, now in his third season on the LIU Post sidelines and his 12th overall as a head coach (previously at Farmingdale State)...since coming to the Pioneers, Smiles has led the program to an overall record of 46-28, qualifying for the ECC Tournament in each of his first two seasons...LIU Post returns eight players from last season's squad that went 17-13 overall and 11-9 in ECC play, but lost to graduation were the Pioneers' top two scorers in Tyuan Williams (14.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and P.J. Torres (13.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg),,,headlining the Pioneers' returners is 6-foot-5 junior forward Greg Dotson who produced 11.3 points per game on 53-percent shooting last season...also back is senior point guard Dillon Burns who has led the Pioneers in assists in each of the last two seasons...the Pioneers enter Friday's game with Daemen as winners in eight of their last nine outings, a stretch that includes all seven of their ECC victories which are coming by average margin of 13.9 points per game...LIU Post's lone loss in recent games came at home on Dec. 30 to Merrimack (84-65)...the Pioneers have won three-straight games since then, and are coming off a 105-70 rout of NYIT earlier this week...the Pioneers have been driven by their defensive efforts thus far as they lead the country in field-goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 36.5-percent to date...LIU Post also ranks second nationally in defensive rebounds per game (32.6) and sixth nationally in blocked shots per game (5.3)...offensively, the Pioneers have been led by junior guard Jared Hall who is contributing 16.1 points per game, up by more than 11 points from his 2014-15 production (4.7 ppg)...Hall, who is adding 5.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, has scored in double figures in 14 consecutive games, including a season-high 26 points in an early-season, non-league win over Goldey-Beacom...Dotson ranks eighth in the ECC in rebounding (8.3 rpg) while also producing 13.8 points per outing...Burns' 65 total assists rank second among ECC players and he's averaging a career-best 10.8 points per game thus far...additional production is coming from Division I transfer (Florida International University) Michael Phillip (5.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 26 blocks), junior college transfer Barrington Alston (8.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and returner Devon McMillan (6.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg)...the Pioneers are ranked eighth in the latest version of the D2SIDA East Region media poll.

THE SERIES VS. LIU POST: Friday's game marks the sixth meeting all-time between the Wildcats and Pioneers with LIU Post holding a 3-2 edge in the series...the teams have split their season series in each of the last two years, and the home team has emerged victorious in all five previous meetings...LIU Post struck last in the series, defeating Daemen 79-56 on the last weekend of the 2014-15 regular season...Isiah Stokley (19 pts) and Tyuan Williams (18 pts, 6 rebs) paced the Pioneers...Daemen scored a 79-74 win in the teams' first meeting last season on Jan. 23, 2015...Torrence Dyck (23 pts, 12 rebs) and Gerald Beverly (18 pts, 12 rebs) each recorded double-doubles for the Wildcats...the series dates back to a 79-58 Pioneer victory in opening round action of the LIU Post Holiday Invitational on Dec. 30, 2009...the Pioneers' Jonathan Kohler went off for 31 points in the initial meeting while Daemen got 11 points apiece from Devon Dawson and Ajay Rutledge.

N.Y. INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY SCOUTING REPORT (1-13, 0-7 ECC): NYIT has found tough sledding so far this season after graduating ECC Player of the Year Darian Hooker, the nation's leading scorer last season at 28.3 points per game...after scoring an 80-76 win over Goldey-Beacom in their season opener on Nov. 14, the Bears have dropped 13 straight contests heading into this weekend's action (NYIT plays Roberts Wesleyan on Friday before facing Daemen on Sunday)...compounding matters for Interim Head Coach Rob Isme is the loss of the Bears' top returner in 6-foot-8 senior forward Jon Feiler who was lost for the season with an injury suffered in mid-November...Feiler was poised for stellar senior campaign after producing 11.2 points and 10.9 rebounds per game to earn honorable mention All-ECC status as a junior...the big man was producing again this season (12.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg), appearing in the first four games of the season before going out of the lineup...Feiler is one of just five returners from the Bears' 2014-15 squad that went 14-15 overall and 11-9 in the league to earn the No. 3 seed to the ECC Tournament...the Bears 2015-16 roster features 10 newcomers, including six freshmen...NYIT was picked ninth in the ECC preseason poll...Isme took control of the program on an interim basis last May following the departure of longtime bench boss Sal Lagano who had roamed the NYIT sidelines for 18 seasons...Isme had served as an assistant with the NYIT program since the 2007-08 season...the Bears have leaned heavily on freshman Jeffrey Hayden thus far, and the 6-foot-4 forward has responded by averaging a team-high 16.7 points and adding 7.3 rebounds per game...Hayden has racked up a league-best three ECC Rookie of the Week selections...Hayden made his season debut on Nov. 21 vs. Concordia (N.Y.) and promptly put up 34 points on 15-of-19 shooting, and has four more games of 20 or more points since then...the Bears are also getting 14.4 points per game from senior guard Khalif Chaplin, and 11.4 points per game from junior forward Kachi Nzerem...defensively, the Bears are paced by 6-foot-6 senior Jerrel Green (8.6 ppg, 9.4 rpg) who ranks second in the country in blocks per game (3.57)...additional production is coming from junior guard Jordan Nanton (8.8 ppg, 4.8 apg)...the Bears' roster also includes Buffalo native and Erie Community College product Darale Young who is averaging 6.0 points in 19.4 minutes per game...NYIT has jacked up a league-high 327 three-pointers thus far, but they are last in the league in three-point field-goal percentage (.275)...sparked by Green's denials at the rim, the Bears rank 20th in the country with 4.8 blocked shots per game.

THE SERIES VS. NYIT: Sunday's game will mark the fifth all-time meeting between the Wildcats and Bears...NYIT has prevailed in three of the previous four meetings, including a sweep of last season's series...Darian Hooker scored 35 points, including the game-winning three point attempt as time expired in overtime, to lead the Bears to an 85-84 win on Jan. 24, 2015 which snapped Daemen's 44-game home winning streak, the longest among Division II teams at the time...Gerald Beverly scored 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in defeat for the Wildcats...NYIT added a 78-67 win on the final day of the 2014-15 regular season behind Hooker's 26 points, and spoling another solid outing from Beverly (26 pts, 9 rebs)...Daemen's lone win in the series came on Feb. 2, 2014 and was a miraculous one in its own right...Kyle Clifford came off the bench and converted a rare four-point play with three seconds remaining to turn a three-point deficit into a one-point lead (84-83) which stood up after a desperation heave by the Bears misfired at the buzzer.

INSTANT CLASSIC: Daemen emerged victorious earlier this week against thruway rival Roberts Wesleyan, defeating the host Redhawks 98-96 after trailing by 22 points (86-64) with 6:16 remaining in the second half...Torrence Dyck led a furious rally, scoring 18 of his career-high-tying 35 points in the final six minutes in which Daemen outscored RWC 34-10...employing a suffocating full-court press, the Wildcats held RWC without a field goal for exactly six minutes and forced six critical turnovers which aided the comeback efforts...greenhorn guard Jay Sarkis converted 3-of-4 free throws on consecutive possessions to give the Wildcats its first lead since the score was 8-6 early in the first half...a two-point Wildcat lead was temporarily erased following a layup by RWC's Zack Panebianco which knotted the count at 96-all with 16 seconds to play...that set the stage for Dyck who broke the tie with a game-winning drive and layup with just four seconds remaining, completing Daemen's improbable comeback win while playing in his hometown of Rochester...the win not only moved Daemen to 7-6 overall and 3-3 in the league, it also represented the Wildcats' ninth-straight win overall in the series with RWC, and their ninth-straight win at RWC's Voller Athletic Center...the Wildcats have prevailed in 16 of the last 17 meetings and own a 29-11 edge in the all-time series.

DOMINANT DYCK: Senior guard/forward Torrence Dyck has been on a roll of late for the Wildcats, averaging 30.7 points per game in the last three outings, which have included back-to-back 30-point games - both Daemen victories...Dyck scored a then-season-high 30 points in last Saturday's 94-81 defeat of Mercy...he followed that by matching his career-high of 35 points in Tuesday's incredible 98-96 comeback win at Roberts Wesleyan, scoring 18 points in the final six minutes as the Wildcats rallied from a 22-point deficit late in the game...Dyck's exploits of late have him sitting atop the race for the league scoring title at 22.8 points per game, which also ranks him 19th in the country...the 6-foot-5 senior also leads in the league in field goals made (106) while ranking second in both free throws made (63) and attempted (96), and fifth in field goal percentage (.558)...he's scored in double figures in all but one game this season, including nine games of at least 20 points...he's also averaging 24.9 points per game in Daemen's seven wins this season...he earned ECC Co-Player of the Week for games played Dec. 7-15 and it hasn't been all about scoring either as Dyck is contributing 5.6 rebounds and a team-best 32 total assists...he notched back-to-back double-doubles (26 pts, 11 rebs vs. District of Columbia; 21 pts, 10 rebs vs. Dowling) in mid-December...in 36 career games for the Wildcats, Dyck has totaled 740 points (20.6 ppg)...with 14 games remaining in the regular season, he needs to average 18.6 points in those games to top 1,000 points and become just the fourth two-year player in team history to do so, and the first since Russell John totaled 1,061 points from 1990-92

INJURY BUG: Daemen has been without the services of a pair of starters in recent games...senior guard Supeme Hannah has missed the last nine games and grad student Ryan Grandits, a 6-foot-5 forward, has been out of the lineup for two-straight games...Hannah was averaging 11.5 points and a team-best 3.0 assists per game over Daemen's first four outings of the season before he was forced out of the lineup...the 6-foot senior has 79 games, including 37 starts under his belt so losing him is a major blow...32 of Hannah's starts have come since the start of the 2014-15 season, as he's produced 10.7 points and 3.8 assists in 33.4 minutes per game over those games...it is unknown at this point if Hannah will return this season...Grandits is expected to return this weekend, giving the Wildcat lineup a shot in the arm...Grandits had contributed 7.1 points and 5.3 rebounds over the first 11 games this season, starting each one of them...his return gives the Wildcats another experienced player in the lineup...combined with his three seasons at Medaille, Grandits has appeared in 91 total games in his career.

SERIOUS SNIPERS: After a 4-for-6 shooting performance from three-point range in Tuesday's win at Roberts Wesleyan, junior guard/forward Jesse Lalka is now ranked second in the ECC in three-point field goal percantage (.484) this season...Lalka has connected on 15 of his 31 three-point attempts this season and has three games this season with multiple three-point baskets...for his career to date, Lalka has been a 49-percent three-point shooter (42-for-86)...just behind Lalka in the ECC three-point field goal percentage rankings this season is his teammate, junior forward Arif Mehmetaj...Mehmetaj leads the Wildcats with 26 three-point baskets this season, and is shooting 46-percent from long-range...as a team, Daemen's 38.6-percent three-point shooting (107-for-311) ranks first in the league and their total long-range makes ranks fourth.

90-POINT PRODUCTION: Daemen has scored over 90 points in back-to-back games heading into this weekend's action...it's the first time Daemen has topped 90 points in consecutive games since wins over District of Columbia (102-74) and Dowling (103-98) in February of last season...with five 90-point games this season, Daemen is now 48-2 when topping 90 points since the start of the 2009-10 season.

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?: January has been a great month for the Wildcats in recent years...since the 2011-12 season, Daemen is 35-7 (.833 winning percentage) in January games...that includes a 21-5 road record (.808 winning percentage) in January games in that span...also, since joining the East Coast Conference in 2013-14, Daemen is 18-4 in January league games (.818 winning percentage).

WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen returns homs to do battle with ECC foes Molloy (Friday, Jan. 22) and Queens (Sunday, Jan. 24) next week....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.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

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

#10 Kyle Clifford: G; 5' 11"; Senior

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

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

#11 Jesse Lalka: G/F; 6' 2"; Junior

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

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

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

#5 Jay Sarkis: G; 6' 1"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

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

#10 Kyle Clifford
: 5' 11"; Senior
: G

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

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

#11 Jesse Lalka
: 6' 2"; Junior
: G/F

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

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

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

#5 Jay Sarkis
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: G