| THE LEAD |
| The Daemen College men's basketball team visits Molloy College for a Saturday matinee matchup with key implications for the ECC standings on the line...both teams enter at 4-3 in league play, part of a four-way tie for third place in the league standings...Daemen has been hot of late, winning four straight league contests, and five of their last overall...Molloy closed out 2016 with four consecutive victories, but the Lions are just 1-2 since the calendar flipped to 2017. |
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| GAME INFORMATION & LINKS |
 Â Â Â Â VS Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  |
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Date:
Saturday, Jan. 14 |
Time:Â
2 p.m. |
Location:Â
Quealy Gymnasium - Rockville Centre, N.Y. |
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| Daemen Roster |
Molloy Roster |
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| Daemen Schedule |
Molloy Schedule |
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| Daemen Stats |
Molloy Stats |
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| LIVE STATS |
LIVE VIDEO |
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| EAST COAST CONFERENCE WEBSITE |
EAST COAST CONFERENCE STANDINGS |
EAST REGION INSIDERS WEBSITE |
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| SOCIAL MEDIA |
| Daemen Twitter:Â |
@DaemenAthletics, @DaemenMBB |
| Daemen Hashtags:Â |
#DCWildcatNation, #WNYsD2Team, #LiveBreatheDaemen, #beFIERCE |
| Molloy Twitter: |
@MolloyLions |
| East Coast Conference Twitter: |
@ECCSports |
| East Region Basketball Insiders Twitter: |
@D2EastHoops |
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| RETURN OF THE MAC |
| Local hoops fixture Mike MacDonald returns to the bench for his third season as Daemen's head coach, and his 20th season overall as a collegiate head coach...in his first two seasons on the job, MacDonald has led the Wildcats to a 40-20 overall record...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...he followed that up by leading Daemen to a 19-10 record and the program's first-ever postseason berth at the NCAA Division II level, qualifying for and advancing to the finals of the East Coast Conference Tournament...prior to beginning his stint at Daemen, MacDonald transformed the Division III program at Medaille into a perennial power, averaging 18 wins per 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...the longtime bench boss opens the 2016-17 season with a career record of 296-246. |
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| DAEMEN SCOUTING REPORT (10-5, 4-3 ECC) |
| Daemen returns 12 players from its 2015-16 team which went 19-10 overall and 14-6 in East Coast Conference play, finishing second in the final regular season standings to earn the No. 2 seed in the ECC Tournament as the Wildcats made their first-ever postseason appearance at the NCAA Division II level...after receiving a bye into the semifinal round of the tourney, Daemen scored a wild 103-102 (OT) victory over sixth-seeded Mercy to advance to the ECC Tournament finals where their season came to an end with an 80-63 loss to top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas...for the second straight year, the Wildcats open the season after graduating one of the top players in team history...last year at this time, the Wildcats were learning about life without two-time ECC Defensive Player of the Year Gerald Beverly...this time around, the Wildcats are without 6-foot-5 wing Torrence Dyck who led the ECC in scoring last season (21.9 ppg)...among the team's returners are five players who started at least 12 games last season, and a sixth - redshirt-senior guard Supreme Hannah - who was limited to just four games last year after making 28 starts in 2014-15...the group of returners is headlined by redshirt-senior forward Arif Mehmetaj who earned second-team All-ECC honors last season after averaging 15.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game...Mehmetaj posted nine 20-point games and a team-best seven double-doubles last season while leading the team with 47 three-point field goals...he finished 12th in the league in scoring, 14th in rebounding and ninth in free throw percentage (80.2)...Hannah was averaging 11.5 points and 3.0 assists per game before he went down with a season-ending injury...he logged 33.4 minutes per game in 2014-15, averaging 10.5 points and 3.9 assists per game that season...redshirt-sophomore wing Deion Hamilton was a two-time ECC Rookie of the Week selection last season...he chipped in 8.0 points per game, including an average of 11.2 points in his 17 starts...among the team's new additions this season, redshirt-freshman Jeff Redband is expected to make an immediate impact...the Wildcats were picked fifth in the ECC preseason poll...Daemen has won four straight ECC games, and five of its last six overall, dating back to mid-December...the Wildcats' only loss in that span was a three-point defeat (67-64) to regionally-ranked St. Rose in a non-league matchup on Dec. 31...recent wins have come over ECC foes Mercy (76-64), #23 St. Thomas Aquinas (67-64) and Queens (75-62)...last week's defeat of STAC was Daemen's first-ever against a nationally-ranked opponent at the Division II level...Hannah scored 13 of his team-high 15 points in the final 15 minutes, helping Daemen rally from a nine-point deficit for the win...earlier this week at Queens, Mehmetaj scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half, helping Daemen erase a three-point halftime deficit with a 33-13 run over the first 12 minutes of the second half...the Wildcats canned 12 three-pointers in the win, marking the sixth time this season that Daemen has hit at least 10 triples in a game...Hannah, who scored a career-high 29 points in an overtime loss at District of Columbia last month, leads the team in scoring (14.2 ppg) and assists (52)...Mehmetaj is producing 13.1 points and a team-best 5.2 rebounds per game...Hamilton, who has come off the bench in five straight games, is contributing 11.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game...Redband rounds out the Wildcats' double-figure scorers at 10.9 points per game...he leads the team and is tied for third in the league with 40 three-pointers while shooting 44 percent from deep...additional production is coming from sophomore guard Darius Garvin (8.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, team-high 21 steals), senior guard Jaleo Wilkes (6.8 ppg, 1.8 apg) and redshirt-junior forward Aleks Miljenovic (6.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg)...redshirt-senior guard/forward Jesse Lalka is averaging 7.3 points and shooting 50 percent from three-point range since being inserted into the starting lineup six games ago...Daemen continues to be one of the top defensive teams in the league this season...the Wildcats have held opponents below 70 points in nine games this season, going 8-1 in those contests...Daemen leads the ECC in scoring defense, allowing just 68.3 points per game, while also ranking in the league's top-two teams in field goal percentage defense (.420) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.311)...offensively, the three-point shot continues to play a major role for the Wildcats...they lead the league in total three-pointers made (141) and attempted (388), as well as three-pointers made per game (9.4)...shooting 36.3 percent from long distance as a team ranks the Wildcats second in the ECC...Daemen has also been efficient in terms of taking care of the ball, leading the league in fewest turnovers per game (11.7) and assist-turnover ratio (1.2). |
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| MOLLOY SCOUTING REPORT (8-8, 4-3 ECC) |
| Veteran bench boss Charles Marquardt is back for his 23rd season on the Molloy bench, having led the Lions to a 245-381 record in his tenure...the Lions bring back seven players from their 2015-16 team, including three who started at least 17 games...Molloy went 9-19 overall last season, snapping a string of three consecutive winning seasons...their 7-13 mark in ECC play placed them ninth in the conference, snapping their string of 10 consecutive conference tournament appearances...headlining the group of returners is the Lions' top two scorers from last season - the coach's son, senior guard Charlie Marquardt and senior guard Jaylen Morris...Marquardt led the ECC in three-point field goals (88) last season, while averaging a team-high 16.9 points per game...Morris, an Amherst native who played scholastically at St. Joe's Collegiate Institute, earned third-team All-ECC honors after averaging 16.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game...also back is double-figure scorer Curtis Jenkins (10.8 ppg)...among the team's newcomers this year is 6-foot-8 senior Mike Guzzardi who averaged 2.6 points and 1.9 rebounds in 23 games for former ECC member Dowling last season...the Lions were picked in a tie for seventh place in the ECC preseason poll...the Lions have played the third toughest schedule among ECC teams to date, according to the latest NCAA statistical rankings...four of MC's eight losses have come against teams ranked in the latest D2SIDA East Region media poll, while they also own a 109-102 overtime win at Adelphi which is ranked seventh in that poll...after closing out 2016 with four consecutive wins (three in league play), the Lions are just 1-2 in January...MC knocked off previously regionally-ranked Bridgeport (107-89) on Jan. 7, going over the century mark for the third time season...the Lions are coming off a 90-79 loss at league-leading District of Columbia on Wednesday...Molloy enters Saturday's game as one of four ECC teams scoring over 80 points per game, ranking third in the league (82.0 ppg)...Marquardt is playing 35.6 minutes per game, and he leads the league in scoring (21.4 ppg) and three-point field goals (54)...he's scored at least 20 points in nine games this season, including a season-high 33 in the overtime win vs. Adelphi...Morris, who scored a season-high 29 points in the loss to UDC earlier this week, is producing 18.9 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game...Guzzardi has started all 16 contests and is averaging 13.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game...additional production is coming from super-sub Jenkins (11.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg) and Nick Corbett (9.2 ppg, team-high 59 assists), a freshman guard. |
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| DAEMEN VS. MOLLOY: THE HISTORY |
| All-Time:Â Daemen leads the all-time series 5-2 |
| Streak: Won 5 |
| Previous Meetings: CLICK HERE |
| Last Meeting: Daemen 76, Molloy 74 | Feb. 26, 2016 |
| Last Meeting Highlights: Daemen clinched the No. 2 seed and a bye into the semifinal round of the ECC Tournament with their two-point win at Molloy in the penultimate game of the 2015-16 regular season...Arif Mehmetaj shot 9-for-11 from the field (4-for-4 from three-point range) and totaled a game-high 26 points to lead the Wildcats...Jay Sarkis canned five three-pointers as part of a 17-point effort, and Torrence Dyck posted a double-double (11 points, 12 rebounds) in the win...Buffalo native Jaylen Morris recorded a double-double (20 points, 13 rebounds) to pace Molloy in defeat. |
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| CLOSE AT QUEALY |
| Tight matchups between Daemen and Molloy at the latter's Quealy Gymnasium have become the norm in the series...two of the four all-time meetings there have been decided by two points or less, and a third meeting needed an overtime period to decide the outcome...Matt McLeod scored with 1.5 seconds remaining to lift Molloy to an 80-79 win in the teams' first-ever meeting back on Nov. 10, 2012...Daemen picked up its first road win in the series on Jan. 30, 2015, outscoring the Lions 10-4 in overtime to secure an 82-76 victory...last season's 76-74 Daemen win at Quealy was the Wildcats' closest win of the regular season, and it dropped the Lions to 2-9 that year in games decided by six points or less. |
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| LET IT FLY |
| Since Mike MacDonald took the reins of the Daemen program, the three-point shot has become an increasingly important weapon in the Wildcats' offensive arsenal...Daemen presently leads the ECC in total three-pointers made (141) and attempted (388), as well as three-pointers made per game (9.4)...the Wildcats finished fifth in the league in three-pointers made per game (8.1) in MacDonald's first season on the Daemen bench (2014-15), and second last season (8.3)...in knocking down 12 three-pointers in Wednesday's win over Queens, the Wildcats have hit double-figure triples in six games this season, posting a 5-1 record in those outings...Daemen has made at least 10 three-pointers in 25 games during MacDonald's tenure...the high-water mark in those games is 15 made three-pointers which has been accomplished twice - Feb. 5, 2016 in a 106-102 win over Dowling, and Nov. 23, 2016 in a 90-79 win at Edinboro. |
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| THE ARIF FACTOR |
| With 21 points in Wednesday's win over Queens, redshirt-senior forward Arif Mehmetaj has now recorded 11 games of at least 20 points in his Daemen career...the Wildcats are 8-3 when Mehmetaj reaches 20 points...that includes a 2-0 record this season...Mehmetaj scored a season-high 26 points in his season debut, a 90-79 road win at Edinboro on Nov. 23...it's been a bit of an up-and-down season to date for Mehmetaj, the Wildcats' top returner from last season when he averaged 15.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game to earn second-team All-ECC honors...he has knocked down multiple three-pointers in three of the last four games, and is averaging 14.7 points during Daemen's current three-game winning streak...over the course of his Daemen career, Mehmetaj is averaging 14.1 points and 6.3 rebounds in 44 games played. |
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| UNDER THE RADAR |
| Redshirt-senior guard Supreme Hannah has quietly put together one of the best stretches of his career recently...Hannah has scored in double figures in eight consecutive games - the longest streak of his career...it dates back to his career-high 29-point outing against District of Columbia on Dec. 3...he was key in the Wildcats' 67-64 win over nationally-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas last week, scoring 13 of his 15 points in the final 15 minutes of the contest, helping Daemen rally from a nine-point deficit...he added 15 points in the road win at Queens earlier this week, helping Daemen snap a two-game slide in games at Fitzgerald Gymnasium...Hannah, who was granted a medical redshirt after his 2015-16 season ended just four games in due to injury, is leading Daemen in scoring (14.2 ppg) and assists (52) this season...he currently ranks seventh in the ECC in total assists and free throw percentage (82.4)...Hannah opened this season by earning MVP honors at the ECC-CACC Challenge where he led Daemen to wins over Caldwell and Dominican...for his career, Hannah has appeared in 94 games, including 52 starts, and has totaled 710 points and 236 assists...he's currently 34 assists shy of moving into the top-10 all-time at Daemen. |
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| MAC'S MILESTONE |
| Daemen's 90-79 win over Edinboro on Nov. 23 was the 300th in the career of Daemen head coach Mike MacDonald...now in his 20th season as a collegiate head coach, and his third at Daemen, MacDonald spent nine seasons leading the Division I program at Canisius where he totaled 108 wins to rank third all-time...he went on to transform the Division III program at Medaille into a perennial contender in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference, leaving there as the program's all-time leader in wins with 148...since arriving at Daemen, MacDonald has led the Wildcats to a 47-24 mark. |
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| 20/20 |
| Daemen's 19-win season in 2015-16 snapped a string of four-straight 20-win seasons...the Wildcats have registered at least 20 wins nine times in the last 14 seasons...the high-water mark in that stretch was the Wildcats' 27-6 campaign in 2012-13 when they played an independent schedule while transitioning to NCAA Division II. |
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| DID YOU KNOW? |
| Since joining the East Coast Conference and beginning to play a full Division II schedule in the 2013-14 season, Daemen is 29-5 in games played during the month of January. |
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| ON THE HORIZON |
| Daemen tips off a three-game home-stand by hosting longtime rival Roberts Wesleyan College on Wednesday, Jan. 18. |
