Head coach Mike MacDonald has led Daemen to a 4-2 record in their last six outings heading into this week's ECC games vs. St. Thomas Aquinas and Mercy

Men's Basketball 1/6/2016 11:15:00 AM

Men's Basketball Returns Home For ECC Clashes

THE LEAD: The Daemen College men's basketball team returns home for the first time since Dec. 13 when they play host to Saint Thomas Aquinas College (Thursday, Jan. 7) and Mercy College (Saturday, Jan. 9) at Lumsden Gymnasium in a pair of East Coast Conference matchups this week.

Thursday, January 7 (at Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.)
Daemen vs. Saint Thomas Aquinas, 8:00 p.m.
DC ROSTER / DC STATS / STAC ROSTER / STAC STATS / LIVE VIDEO / LIVE STATS / GAME PROGRAM

Saturday, January 9 (at Lumsden Gymnasium, Amherst, N.Y.)
Daemen vs. Mercy, 4:00 p.m.
DC ROSTER / DC STATS / MC ROSTER / MC STATS / LIVE VIDEO / LIVE STATS / GAME PROGRAM

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...MacDonald enters the 2015-16 season with a career record of 277-236.

DAEMEN SCOUTING REPORT (5-5, 1-2 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 4-2 in their last six, dating back to an 88-79 non-conference win over Edinboro on Dec. 12...Dyck netted 26 points and Mehmetaj went for 21 points and nine boards in the win which snapped a three-game slide...Dyck flirted with a triple-double (26 pts, 11 rebs, seven asts) the following day, but Daemen fell in their ECC opener to District of Columbia (89-84)...the Wildcats split a pair of road ECC contests to closeout the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule, downing Dowling in a high-scoring affair (97-80) on Dec. 18 before dropping a 94-85 decision at Bridgeport on Dec. 20...Mehmetaj (26 pts, 10 rebs) and Dyck (21 pts, 10 rebs) each recorded double-doubles in the win over Dowling...the Wildcats are coming off a sweep of two games at last weekend's 10th Annual James Clancy Memorial Tournament hosted by Dominican...Daemen took out the tournament host on Jan. 2, winning 69-60 with freshman guard Jay Sarkis scoring nine of his career-high 15 points in the final 3:39 to help preserve the wire-to-wire win...the following day, Daemen took a 94-71 win over Felician behind Nick Petrucelli's career-high 20 points...the duo of Dyck and Mehmetaj continue to pace an explosive Daemen offense which ranks first in the ECC in scoring (83.2 ppg)...Dyck (20.4 ppg) leads the team in scoring and is one of just two players in the league averaging over 20 points per game...Mehmetaj is producing 18.4 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds per game...additional production has come from Hannah (11.5 ppg, 3.0 apg), although he has missed the last six games with an injury, as well as from Petrucelli (9.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg), Ryan Grandits (7.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.0 apg), and Sarkis (7.3 ppg, 46% 3pt fg).

SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS SCOUTING REPORT (8-4, 2-2 ECC): Saint Thomas Aquinas is led by third-year head coach Tobin Anderson, the 2014-15 ECC Coach of the Year, who has guided the Spartans to consecutive appearances in the finals of the ECC Tournament in his first two seasons on the bench, and an overall record of 44-29 to date (.603 winning percentage)...with previous head-coaching gigs at Division III Clarkson and Hamilton, Anderson owns a career record of 162-92 (.638 winning percentage)...the Spartans were picked second in the ECC preseason poll released in late October...STAC returns nine players from last season's squad which achieved an overall record of 21-11 and an ECC mark of 17-3 which was good enough to share the league's regular-season crown with Bridgeport...included in the lot of returners is five players who made at least 11 starts last season...the group is headlined by 2015-16 ECC Preseason Player of the Year Chaz Watler...Watler, a 6-foot-2 junior guard, averaged 15.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game while shooting 51-percent from the field and 42-percent from three-point range en route to first-team All-ECC honors last season...also back is a quartet of sophomores - guard/forward Justin Reyes (11.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg), guard Shaquille McFarlan (8.7 ppg), forward Jules de Courtenay (6.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and center Sam Berlin (4.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg) - who all produced as rookies last season...Reyes was an honorable mention All-ECC pick, and was selected as the league's Rookie of the Year last season...STAC was one of a handful of Division II teams to score exhibition wins against Division I opponents at this season's outset, downing Saint John's 90-58 at Carnasecca Arena on Nov. 4...after opening the regular season with five wins in their first seven outings, the Spartans have hit road blocks more frequently of late, going just 3-2 over their last five...the Spartans opened league play with an 85-64 win over N.Y. Institute of Technology in a game held at Brooklyn's Barclays Center...STAC went on to add an ECC victory over Molloy (76-74 on Dec. 12), while ECC losses have come against Queens (69-64 on Dec. 9) and LIU Post (75-66 on Dec. 19)...STAC's game here Thursday will be their first true road game of the ECC slate...the Spartans are coming off a pair of recent non-league wins having won at Bloomfield (68-66) on New Year's Eve, and at home vs. Georgian Court (101-64) on Jan. 2...Reyes has been the main catalyst thus far as one of just two players in the ECC to be averaging a double-double (16.9 ppg, 10.3 rpg) at this juncture...the reigning ECC Player of the Week, Reyes recorded back-to-back 20+ point games in the wins over Bloomfield and Georgian Court...he notched a season-high 28 points in a 10-point win over Dominican on Nov. 21, and he currently leads the league in field goal percentage (.630)...Reyes' six double-doubles this season rank 16th nationally...Watler has also produced, averaging 14.8 points and 3.7 assists while playing a team-best 31.2 minutes per game...additional production has come from McFarlan (9.8 ppg) and freshman guard Jonathan Lawton (8.4 ppg, 47% 3pt fg)...the Spartans enter Thursday's game as the top-ranked ECC team in scoring defense (70.6 ppg allowed) and scoring margin (+6.1 ppg).

THE SERIES VS. SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS: Thursday's game marks the sixth all-time meeting between Daemen and STAC, with the Spartans holding a 3-2 edge in the five previous meetings...the series that dates back to a 55-53 STAC win on Jan. 28, 2000 and was renewed during Daemen's inaugural season of ECC membership in 2013-14 with the Wildcats sweeping both matchups that season...Gerald Beverly averaged 20 points, 8 rebounds and 8.5 blocks in the Daemen victories, both of which came by just four points...STAC exacted revenge by sweeping last season's two games, a 95-87 shootout in Sparkill (Jan. 16, 2015) and an 85-78 decision at Lumsden Gym (Feb. 20, 2015)...Torrence Dyck scored a career-high 35 points in the January matchup, but Chaz Watler went for 32 points and 10 boards to pace the Spartans...Justin Reyes led a quintet of double-figure scorers with 18 points in the February matchup which spoiled another great individual effort for Daemen...Jordan Greene matched his career-high with 28 points, including the 1,000th of his career, in the defeat.

MERCY SCOUTING REPORT (4-4, 2-2 ECC): Mercy is led by second-year head coach Dr. Jody King who came to the Mavericks after previous head-coaching stints at SUNY Maritime and Hostos Community College...to date, Dr. King owns a career record of 127-78 (.620 winning percentage) in seven-plus seasons as a head coach...in his first season at MC in 2014-15, Dr. King led the Mavericks to an 8-18 overall mark, the program's most wins since an 8-19 record in 2007-08...the Mavericks were picked to finish eighth in the ECC preseason poll released in late October...MC returns seven players from last season's squad, including four who made at least 17 starts...all four players in that quartet - seniors Jeremiah Brown (13.0 ppg, 54% 3pt fg), Jason Quijada (12.6 ppg), Gerald McClease (11.2 ppg, 7.2 rpg) and Lazaro Martinez (11.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg) - averaged double-figure scoring last season...perhaps the brightest news heading into this year is the return of 6-foot-2 guard/forward Tyseem Lyles...Lyles started the first nine games of last season, and was averaging a team-high 18.0 points per game before having his season cut short due to an injury...the Mavericks enter this weekend's games having nearly matched their ECC win total from all of last season when they went 3-17...MC plays at Roberts Wesleyan on Friday before visiting Daemen for Saturday's matinee...the Mavericks are winners of their last three outings...a 74-70 home-court win over Queens on Dec. 12 snapped a four-game slide and kick-started the Mavericks' recent winning ways...they added a second-straight ECC win on Dec. 19 over N.Y. Institute of Technology (84-70), and are coming off a 73-72 non-conference win over Georgian Court earlier this week (Jan. 4)...newcomer K.J. Rose nailed a three-pointer as time expired to deliver Monday's win over GCU...the Mavericks last suffered defeat on Dec. 9 in another one-point affair (77-76) vs. Molloy...it's been a pair of transfers who have led the way thus far...William Robinson, a 6-foot-6 junior who previously played at Nyack, currently leads the team in both scoring (12.7 ppg) and rebounding (8.6 rpg)...Shaquille Stokes, a 6-foot transfer from Saint Rose, is next with 12.4 points per game and a team-leading 11 three-pointers...Lyles has started all eight games in his return from injury and is chipping in 11.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, with additional production coming from Rose (9.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, team-high 23 assists) and Martinez (6.4 ppg)...Mercy has been doing damage on the backboard so far this season, ranking first in the country in offensive rebounds per game (17.7)...Robinson gets 4.4 offensive boards per game himself, ranking sixth nationally...the Mavericks are also forcing opponents into 18.3 turnovers per game, a number that ranks No. 17 in the nation, helping them surrender just 72.9 points per game which ranks third best in the ECC.

THE SERIES VS. MERCY: Saturday's game marks the fifth all-time meeting between the Wildcats and Mavericks which dates back to Daemen's inaugural season of ECC membership in 2013-14...the Wildcats own a 4-0 lead in the all-time series, winning by an average margin of 11.5 points per game...in the two previous meetings at Lumsden Gym, that margin jumps to 14.5 points per outing...Daemen placed six players in double figures, including a combined 35 points from Gerald Beverly and Casey Sheehan, to win the first-ever meeting, a 99-92 decision at Mercy on Jan. 6, 2014...the duo combined for 30 points in an 82-68 win on Jan. 26, 2014...last season, Daemen opened the series with a 90-80 win at Mercy on Jan. 17, 2015 behind Beverly's double-double (25 pts, 12 rebs)...Beverly doubled up again (29 pts, 14 rebs) in the final home game of his career, an 84-69 win against the Mavericks on Feb. 21, 2015.

DOMINANT DYCK: Senior guard/forward Torrence Dyck is putting up big numbers for the Wildcats again this season...after earning first-team All-ECC honors last season, Dyck has put himself in the early running for ECC Player of the Year this season...he enters this weekend's games ranked among the ECC leaders in scoring (20.4 ppg - second), made free throws (44 - third), made field goals (74 - fifth) and field goal percentage (.540 - sixth)...Dyck has scored in double figures in all but one game this season, including six games of 20 or more points...he opened the season with a bang, netting a season-high 29 points on 10-for-13 shooting in Daemen's 109-87 defeat of Wilmington...he followed that up with a 23-point outing, including a career-high four three-pointers, in a three-point loss to regionally-ranked Holy Family...for his efforts in Daemen's season-opening games, Dyck was named to the all-tournament team for the ECC-CACC Challenge...Dyck would go on to be named ECC Co-Player of the Week for games played Dec. 7-15 after posting back-to-back 26-point games vs. Edinboro and District of Columbia...he added a season-high 11 rebounds in the loss to UDC for his first double-double of the season...Dyck would add a second-straight double-double (21 pts, 10 rebs) in leading Daemen past Dowling on Dec. 18.

SUPREME LOSS: Daemen has been without the services of starting guard Supreme Hannah for the last six games, and his status moving forward is unknown at this point...Hannah, a 6-foot senior, had emerged as not only the team's primary ball-handler, but also a viable scoring threat from the perimeter since being inserted in the starting lineup to begin his junior season...last year, Hannah started all 28 games that he played in (he missed three games with an injury), averaging 10.5 points and a team-high 3.9 assists while seeing 33.4 minutes per game...prior to going out of the lineup this season, Hannah was posting another solid season with 11.5 points and 3.0 assists per game...incredibly, in his absence, the Wildcats have posted a 6-3 record in the last two seasons, including a 4-2 mark this year.

FANTASTIC FROSH: Daemen has looked to freshman guard Jay Sarkis to help shoulder some of the load in the backcourt created by the recent loss of Supreme Hannah to injury...Sarkis has made seven-straight starts heading into this week's games, giving him the most starts of any Daemen freshman since Gerald Beverly made six during the 2011-12 season...Sarkis has produced, averaging 8.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 46-percent from the field since being inserted into the starting lineup...he has twice been named ECC Rookie of the Week, earning the honor for games played Nov. 23-29 and Dec. 28-Jan. 3...last week, Sarkis scored nine of his career-high 15 points in the final 3:39 of the Wildcats' 69-60 win over Dominican, adding a career-high six rebounds as well...the following day, Sarkis notched a career-high six assists in Daemen's 94-71 rout of Felician...his 13 three-point baskets rank second on the team thus far, and he ranks fourth among all ECC players by shooting 46-percent from three-point range...for the season, Sarkis' average of 7.3 points per game ranks fifth among all ECC freshmen.

ITALIAN STALLION: Also stepping up of late has been sophomore guard Nick Petrucelli...since entering the starting lineup six games ago, Petrucelli has upped his production, averaging 10.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game while helping Daemen to a 4-2 record in those outings...three of Petrucelli's four double-figure scoring games this season have come in the last six, including a career-high 20-point outing in Daemen's 94-71 rout of Felician last Sunday...in that one, Petrucelli, who had made multiple three-point baskets once in 38 career games coming in, exploded for a career-high five triples, on just six attempts, while also adding a career-best nine rebounds...for the season, the Long Island native is shooting 51-percent from the field (39-for-76) and producing 9.5 points and 5.1 rebounds in 23.5 minutes per game.

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 33-6 (.846 winning percentage) in January games...that includes a 13-1 home record in January games in that span.

WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen remains in ECC play for the remainder of the regular season and will open a three-game week by locking up with longtime rival Roberts Wesleyan next Tuesday, Jan. 12 in Rochester....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

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

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

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

#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

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

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

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

#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