Junior guard Jaleo Wilkes is coming off the bench to average 6 points, 1.8 assists and 1 steal per game during Daemen's four-game winning streak

Men's Basketball 1/21/2016 12:20:00 PM

Wildcats Ride Momentum Into Weekend Home Games

Mike MacDonald's Squad Looks To Extend Current Four-Game ECC Winning Streak

THE LEAD: Riding the momentum created by four-straight wins, including three East Coast Conference road victories last week, the Daemen College men's basketball team returns home to square off with Molloy College and Queens College this weekend at Lumsden Gymnasium

Friday, January 22 (at Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.)
Daemen vs. Molloy, 8 p.m.
DC ROSTER / DC STATS / MC ROSTER / MC STATS / VIDEO / LIVE STATS / GAME PROGRAM

Sunday, January 24 (at Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.)
Daemen vs. Queens, 3 p.m.
DC ROSTER / DC STATS / QC ROSTER / QC STATS / VIDEO / LIVE STATS / GAME PROGRAM

COACHES VS. CANCER SUITS & SNEAKERS/WEAR PINK GAME PRESENTED BY ADPRO SPORTS: Friday's game vs. Molloy will serve as Daemen's Suits and Sneakers/Wear Pink Game to aide the Coaches vs. Cancer program which is co-sponsored by the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches...Suits and Sneakers Awareness Week is a nationwide event when basketball coaches across the country unite for a common cause - saving lives from cancer...the coaching staffs from Molloy and Daemen will don sneakers with their normal sideline attire...in addition, numerous promotional activities are planned throughout the game to help spread the word about the fight against cancer, and there will be ways for attendees to donate to the American Cancer Society.

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 286-242.

DAEMEN SCOUTING REPORT (9-6, 5-3 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 8-3 in their last 11, 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), Roberts Wesleyan (98-96), LIU Post (91-82) and NYIT (83-67)...the win over Mercy on Jan. 9 snapped Daemen's two-game home losing skid which featured ECC defeats to District of Columbia (89-84) and St. Thomas Aquinas (85-66)...the Wildcats have won four-straight heading into this weekend's games...Dyck continues to pace an explosive Daemen offense which enters this weekend's action leading the ECC in scoring at 84.3 points per game...Dyck leads the league in scoring individually, averaging 23.5 points per game, sparked by a 29.8 point-per-game average in the last five games...in addition, Dyck has dished a team-high 35 assists this season and is hauling in 5.7 rebounds per game which is second to only Mehmetaj who is having a fine season in his own right...Mehmetaj recorded his foruth double-double of the season in last week's defeat of NYIT, and for the season is averaging a team-high 6.3 rebounds, while adding 16.7 points per game to rank seventh in the league in scoring...additional production is coming from sophomore guard Nick Petrucelli (10.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg), freshman guard Jay Sarkis (6.7 ppg, 2.1 apg, 42% 3pt fg), grad student Ryan Grandits (6.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and junior guard/forward Jesse Lalka (5.1 ppg, 50% 3pt fg).

MOLLOY SCOUTING REPORT (4-12, 2-6 ECC): Molloy is led into their annual tour of Western New York by head Charles Marquardt, the longest tenured coach in the ECC now in his 22nd season on the Lions' bench...heading into the 2015-16 season, Marquardt has led the Lions to three-straight winning seasons, the longest such streak of his tenure...the Lions return eight players from their 2014-15 team which achieved an overall record of 16-13, and an ECC mark of 11-9, earning a berth to the ECC Tournament...Molloy was picked fifth in this year's version of the ECC preseason poll...2014-15 honorable mention All-ECC pick Jaylen Morris headlines the Lions' returners...Morris, a native of Amherst, N.Y., played scholastically for St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute here in the area, and averaged 13.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game as a sophomore last year...also back is point gaurd Brandon Williams, a senior with 101 games played, including 81 starts, under his belt to date...the Lions also return the coach's son, Charlie Marquardt, a sharp-shooting junior guard who led the team with 75 three-pointers last season...after opening the season with five consecutive losses, the Lions got off the proverbial schneid with back-to-back wins, including a 77-76 defeat of Mercy in their ECC opener...since then, Molloy is just 2-7 and they come into Friday's game riding a three-game losing streak...the Lions last win came in ECC play vs. NYIT (88-68) on Jan. 9...league losses thus far have come against St. Thomas Aquinas (76-74), District of Columbia (79-70), LIU Post (94-74), Queens (78-62), Bridgeport (76-72) and Dowling (83-77)...outcomes have been hotly contested for the Lions all season, but they are just 1-6 in games decided by six points or less...Morris has led the way offensively, ranking fifth in the league in scoring (17.4 ppg) while averaging the second-highest minutes per game (35.4) of anyone in the league...he scored a season-high 28 points in the loss to STAC and put home 27 points in the win over NYIT...Morris is also tossing in a team-high 8.2 rebounds per game, and he's posted eight double-doubles...Marquardt has continued his assault from three-point range, connecting on a team-high 48 triples as part of his 14.2 points per game...freshman guard Curtis Jenkins (10.9 ppg), the reigning ECC Rookie of the Week, and the senior Williams (10.8 ppg, 4.2 apg) are also putting up double-figuring scoring fo Molloy...additional production is coming from seniors Kevin Bowles (7.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and Maurice Gatson (7.1 ppg).

THE SERIES VS. MOLLOY: Friday's game will mark the sixth all-time meeting between Daemen and Molloy, and the Wildcats hold a 3-2 edge in the series which dates back to the 2012-13 season...Daemen took both matchups last season, winning 75-61 at Lumsden Gymnasium before posting an 82-76 overtime win at Molloy's Quealy Gym...Gerald Beverly totaled 25 points and 20 rebounds in the home win, and Torrence Dyck put up 28 points in the second game on Long Island...the teams split the season series in 2013-14 with each team winning on their home floor...Molloy struck first with a 78-69 win behind John Petrucelli's 28 points, four assists and seven steals...Daemen answered with a 111-72 win at Lumsden Gym…Jordan Greene drained four three-pointers and totaled 20 points, while Kadeem Johnson added 18 points and 10 rebounds…the teams met for the first time ever during the 2012-13 Molloy Tipoff Tournament when the Lions posted an 80-79 victory…the Lions got a steal and layup by Matt McLeod with 1.5 seconds left to secure the win.

QUEENS SCOUTING REPORT (5-7, 3-4 ECC): Queens, who plays at Roberts Wesleyan on Friday before heading further west for Sunday's matinee here, is led by head coach Darryl Jacobs, now in his third season at the helm...the Knights were picked seventh in the ECC preseason poll, and Jacobs returns just five players from his 2014-15 roster which went 6-21 overall, and 6-14 in ECC play...the big loss for the Knights came via the graduation of second-team All-ECC guard Jeremiah Mordi who led the team in scoring (19.2 ppg), rebounding (6.9 rpg) and assists (4.2 apg) last season...the Knights' returners are headlined by junior guard Diego Maldonado who averaged 11.7 points per game last season...also back is junior guard Kyheim Chaplin (9.6 ppg) and senior big men Paul Little (7.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg) and Mohamed Dansoko (7.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg)...the Knights have played .500 basketball since the start of December, going 4-4 in that span after opening the season with just one win in their four November outings...like Molloy, Queens has played a number of tight ballgames this season, going 3-4 in games decided by six points or less...the Knights have secured ECC victories over St. Thomas Aquinas (69-64), NYIT (85-72) and Molloy (78-62), while league losses have come against Mercy (74-70), District of Columbia (71-66), LIU Post (81-66) and Dowling (105-60)...newcomer Tyree White has paced the Knights so far after transferring from Hostos Community College...a 6-foot-4 junior, White is averaging team-bests of 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game while shooting 52-percent from the field...he scored a season-high 28 points in the Knights' upset of STAC and narrowly missed a triple-double (9 pts, 12 rebs, 11 asts) vs. UDC...White's 3.1 steals per game ranks second in the nation...Maldonado is the only other player averaging double figures (11.4 ppg), and he leads the team with 25 three-point baskets...additional production is coming from Chaplin (9.4 ppg) and Little (6.7 ppg).

THE SERIES VS. QUEENS: Sunday's game will mark the sixth all-time meeting between Daemen and Queens, and the Wildcats own a 4-1 edge in the series...Queens struck last, snapping Daemen's unblemished four-game winning streak in the series with a 93-83 win on Jan. 31, 2015 at QC's Fitzgerald Gymnasium...Diego Maldonado went off for 33 points in the Knights' win, spoiling double-double efforts from Daemen's Torrence Dyck (29 pts, 10 rebs) and Gerald Beverly (27 pts, 11 rebs)...prior to that, Daemen had won the previous four matchups by an average margin of 14.8 points per game...Daemen overcame an 18-point first-half deficit and outscored the Knights 56-32 in the second half en route to a 93-75 win in the teams' first meeting last season...Daemen swept the season series in 2013-14, posting a 90-77 win at Queens and a 73-57 win at home...the teams met for the first time ever during the 2012-13 Molloy Tipoff Tournament and Daemen posted a 76-64 victory.

INSTANT CLASSIC: Daemen emerged victorious last 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 represented the Wildcats' ninth-straight in the series overall with RWC, and their ninth-straight 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.

ON A ROLL: Daemen enters this weekend's games riding a four-game winning streak with all four wins coming in ECC play...the stretch started with a 94-81 home victory over Mercy on Jan. 9...the Wildcats followed that with three road wins last week, winning at Roberts Wesleyan (98-96), LIU Post (91-82) and NYIT (83-67)...looking over a broader stretch, Daemen is 8-3 in their last 11 games after opening the season with one win in their first four outings...offensive production has been the story for Daemen in the last 11 games as the Wildcats are averaging 86.3 points per game in that span, going over the 90-point mark on five occasions, including four since the dawn of the New Year...the three-straight 90-point games against Mercy, Roberts Wesleyan and LIU Post marked the Wildcats' first such streak since early January of 2014...Daemen is now 49-2 when topping 90 points since the start of the 2009-10 season.

DYCK SNAGS CONFERENCE AND NATIONAL HONORS: Senior guard/forward Torrence Dyck was named the East Coast Conference and U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Division II National Player of the Week after going on a scoring rampage in three Daemen wins last week...Dyck averaged 30.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game while leading the Wildcats road wins at Roberts Wesleyan, LIU Post and NYIT...the 6-foot-5 senior swingman matched his career-high with 35 points vs. RWC, and added 27 and 30 points, respectively against the Pioneers and Bears...the ECC Player of the Week selection was Dyck's second of the season, having previously earned the honor for games played Dec. 7-13...he also became the second Daemen player in as many years to garner USBWA Division II National Player of the Week honors, joining former Wildcat forward Gerald Beverly who picked up the honor for Jan. 5-11, 2015.

MORE DYCK: Following last week's scoring rampage, Torrence Dyck is now averaging an ECC-best 23.5 points per game this season...that also ranks first among all East Region players (the East Region is comprised of teams in the ECC, CACC and NE-10 Conference) and 15th nationally among all NCAA Division II players...the 6-foot-5 senior also leads in the ECC in field goals made (129) while ranking second in both free throws made (69) and attempted (105), and sixth in field goal percentage (.549)...he's scored in double figures in all but one game this season, including 11 games of at least 20 points...he has reached 30 points in three of his last four games, and now has five 30-point games in his two-year Daemen career...he's also averaging 25.7 points per game in Daemen's nine wins this season...he's also contributing 5.7 rebounds and a team-best 35 total assists...in 38 career games for the Wildcats, Dyck has totaled 797 points (21.0 ppg)...with 12 games remaining in the regular season, he needs to average 16.9 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.

SERIOUS SNIPERS: Daemen has been doing damage from beyond the three-point line this season...heading into this weekend's games, the Wildcats lead the ECC in three-point field goal percentage (.387), while ranking third in made three-pointers per game (8.4)...junior guard/forward Jesse Lalka leads the Daemen sharp-shooters as he ranks second among all ECC players by knocking down 50-percent of his long-range attempts this season (19-for-38)...Lalka has come on of late, making multiple three-point field goals in four of the last six games, shooting 12-for-22 (55-percent) in that span...Arif Mehmetaj leads the Wildcats with 29 three-point baskets this season, ranking eighth in the league in three-point field goal percentage (.426)...Torrence Dyck, who made 18 triples all of last season, has already knocked down 26 this season and is shooting a career-best 38-percent from distance...freshman guard Jay Sarkis (19-for-43) and sophomore guard Nick Petrucelli (12-for-32) have also contributed to Daemen's long-range shooting prowess thus far.

NEON DEION: Daemen's four-game winning streak has coincided with a shakeup in the team's starting lineup as redshirt-freshman guard/forward Deion Hamilton was inserted into the first five for the Jan. 9 game vs. Mercy...Hamilton, who had played a total of 44 minutes in the team's first 11 games, has responded by averaging 6.8 points and 5.8 rebounds in 21.5 minutes per game in the last four outings...he scored eight points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked three shots in his starting debut vs. Mercy...against LIU Post, he knocked down a pair of early three-pointers and totaled 13 points - his first career game of double-figure scoring - as Daemen knocked the Pioneers from the ranks of the league unbeatens...in last Sunday's win at NYIT, he dished a career-best five assists.

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 37-7 (.841 winning percentage) in January games...that includes a 14-2 home record (.875 winning percentage) in January games in that span...also, since joining the East Coast Conference in 2013-14, Daemen is 20-4 in January league games (.833 winning percentage).

WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen looks to avenge an earlier loss to District of Columbia when the Wildcats head to our nation's capital (Friday, Jan. 29) to tip-off the second round of their ECC slate....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

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

#33 Jordan Greene: F; 6' 5"; 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

#25 Deion Hamilton: G/F; 6' 4"; Redshirt Freshman

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

#33 Jordan Greene
: 6' 5"; Senior
: F

#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

#25 Deion Hamilton
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Freshman
: G/F

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