| THE LEAD |
| A big opportunity lies ahead for the Daemen College men's basketball team as they'll play host to University of the District of Columbia in an important East Coast Conference matchup this weekend...the Firebirds will enter Saturday's contest in a tie with St. Thomas Aquinas College for first place in the ECC standings...Daemen, which presently sits in a tie for fifth place, is looking to avenge a 90-84 overtime loss to the Firebirds earlier this season...Saturday's game marks the beginning of the second round of ECC play for the Wildcats as they are looking for their second consecutive ECC Tournament berth. |
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| GAME INFORMATION & LINKS |
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   VS          |
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Date:
Saturday, Jan. 21 |
Time:Â
3 p.m. |
Location:Â
Lumsden Gymnasium - Amherst, N.Y. |
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| Daemen Roster |
District of Columbia Roster |
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| Daemen Schedule |
District of Columbia Schedule |
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| Daemen Stats |
District of Columbia 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 |
| District of Columbia Twitter: |
@UDCAthletics |
| 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 (11-6, 5-4 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 enters Saturday's contest having won six of its last eight games overall, and five of its last six league games dating back to mid-December...a four-game ECC winning streak was snapped in gut-wrenching fashion as the Wildcats surrendered an old-fashioned three-point play with 0.5 seconds remaining in a 78-75 loss at Molloy this past Saturday...Daemen rebounded with an 88-85 defeat of Roberts Wesleyan earlier this week...the Wildcats led by as many as 18 points before fending off a furious rally by the Redhawks late in the game...sophomore guard Darius Garvin paced five double-figure scorers in the win, posting 19 points to go with six rebounds, three assists and three steals...Mehmetaj has been the catalyst of late as he's averaging 17.0 points and shooting 50.8 percent from the field in five games this month...he posted his second double-double of the season in the loss at Molloy, establishing a new season-high for rebounds (14) while matching his season-high for points (26)...he went for 15 points and a season-high five assists in the win vs. RWC...the recent up-swing in production has Mehmetaj leading the team in scoring (14.1 ppg) and rebounding (5.6 rpg)...Hannah, who scored a career-high 29 points in an overtime loss at District of Columbia last month, is right behind in the scoring column (14.0 ppg), and he leads the team in assists (57)...Mehmetaj and Hannah rank 10th and 12th, respectively, among the ECC's scoring leaders...Hamilton, who has come off the bench in seveb straight games, is contributing 11.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game...Redband rounds out the Wildcats' double-figure scorers at 10.6 points per game...he leads the team and ranks second in the league with 46 three-pointers while shooting 44.7 percent from deep...additional production is coming from Garvin (8.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, team-high 26 steals), senior guard Jaleo Wilkes (7.1 ppg, 1.9 apg) and redshirt-junior forward Aleks Miljenovic (6.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg)...redshirt-senior guard/forward Jesse Lalka is averaging 6.4 points and shooting 45.4 percent from three-point range since being inserted into the starting lineup eight 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 69.9 points per game, while also ranking in the league's top-two teams in field goal percentage defense (.427) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.316)...offensively, the three-point shot continues to play a major role for the Wildcats...they lead the league in total three-pointers made (162) and attempted (433), as well as three-pointers made per game (9.5)...shooting 37.4 percent from long distance as a team ranks the Wildcats third in the ECC...Daemen has also been efficient in terms of taking care of the ball, leading the league in fewest turnovers per game (12.2) and assist-turnover ratio (1.2). |
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| DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SCOUTING REPORT (10-7, 7-2 ECC) |
| Back for another season on the UDC bench is fourth-year head coach Mike Riley....the former Georgetown assistant has guided the Firebirds to a remarkable turn-around, posting 15 wins in 2015-16, just two years removed from a 3-23 campaign in Riley's first season...the Firebirds finished 15-14 overall last season, qualifying as the No. 3 seed for the ECC Tournament after posting a 13-7 league record...it was the Firebirds' first ECC Tournament berth since the 2011-12 team...they were bounced in the first round by sixth-seeded Mercy, 72-71...UDC returns five players from its 2015-16 roster, including three double-figure scorers...that group is headlined by senior guard Kasim Chandler who finished fourth in the league in scoring last season at 19.1 points per game...the ultra-quick Chandler knows how to get to the rim and draw contact as he led the league in free throws made (167) and attempted (200), while also dishing off a team-high 104 assists...the Firebirds also return senior guard Joseph Nickerson (15.0 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and senior forward Jayone Troutman (12.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg)...UDC was picked fourth in the ECC preseason poll...UDC comes into Saturday's game tied with St. Thomas Aquinas for first place in the league standings...after opening the season with just one win in their first five contests, a 90-84 overtime win over Daemen on Dec. 3 has sparked the Firebirds to nine wins over their last 12 outings...the string of good play includes an 8-1 record in games decided by eight points or less...included in the stretch is an 85-80 home win over St. Thomas Aquinas on Dec. 17...the win came with STAC ranked No. 3 in the country, snapping the Spartans' 28-game regular-season winning streak that dated back to last season...UDC is coming off an 80-77 road loss at Bridgeport on Jan. 18 which snapped a four-game winning streak...Nickerson and Chandler have formed one of the top scoring tandems in the league again this season...Nickerson ranks fourth in the league in scoring (19.1 ppg)...he also leads the league in steals (52) and ranks sixth in rebounding (7.4 rpg)...Nickerson picked up ECC Player of the Week honors for the second time this season last week after averaging 27 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 3 assists in two UDC victories...he scored a season-high 28 points in a 90-79 win over Molloy on Jan. 11, and has reached 20 points in five games this season...Chandler is producing 18.4 points per game, good for sixth in the league...he leads the ECC in made free throws (105) and assists (86)...Chandler scored a season-high 29 points in an 87-81 victory over LIU Post on Jan. 4, and has reached 20 points in seven of the last eight games...Troutman (8.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg) has missed five of the last seven games, but the Firebirds haven't missed a beat with additional production this season from senior guard Reggie Sidbury (12.1 ppg, team-high 43 three-pointers) and junior guard Traevon Butler (10.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg)...Sidbury hit 5-of-9 from three-point range and totaled a season-high 21 points in the Firebirds' earlier victory over Daemen...the Firebirds will enter Saturday's contest producing 80.5 points per game which ranks fourth in the league...they also rank fourth in field goal percentage (.451), three-point field goal percentage (.360) and three-pointers made per game (7.9)...UDC leads the ECC in free throw percentage, converting 78.3 percent of their attempts, while ranking second in made free throws per game (16.6)...with just one player taller than 6-foot-5 on the roster, rebounding has been an issue as the Firebirds rank last in the league in both rebounds per game (32.6) and rebound margin per game (-9.1)...defensively, UDC is allowing their opponents to shoot 46.4 percent from the field which ranks eighth in the league, but they lead the ECC in blocks per game (4.4) while also generating 9.1 steals per game which ranks second. |
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| DAEMEN VS. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: THE HISTORY |
| All-Time:Â Daemen leads the all-time series 5-2 |
| Streak: Lost 1 |
| Previous Meetings: CLICK HERE |
| Last Meeting: District of Columbia 90, Daemen 84 (OT) | Dec. 3, 2016 |
| Last Meeting Highlights: Joseph Nickerson made a pair of free throws with one second remaining in regulation, knotting the score at 80-80 and forcing the game to overtime where the host Firebirds outscored Daemen 10-4 to pull out the win...the game featured 11 lead changes, including five in the final 1:26 of regulation...Nickerson finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and five steals, and Reggie Sidbury canned five three-pointers as part of a 21-point outing to lead the Firebirds...the loss spoiled a tremendous individual effort from Daemen's Supreme Hannah who pumped home a career-best 29 points...Hannah shot 8-for-14 from the field and a perfect 10-for-10 at the charity stripe. |
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| HOME SWEET HOME |
| Daemen is enjoying its home cooking once again this season, going 9-1 at Lumsden Gymnasium thus far...a win on Saturday will mark the fifth time in the last six seasons that Daemen has recorded double-figure home victories...the Wildcats are outscoring their opponents by an average of 9.6 points per game at home this season, with just three games being decided by less than 10 points...the three close games were all decided by three points, and all have come since Dec. 31...one of the ECC's top defensive teams this season, Daemen is allowing just 65.7 points per game to their opponents in home games...the Wildcats are 65-9 at home since the start of the 2011-12 season. |
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| GOING STREAKING |
| Wednesday's 88-85 defeat of Roberts Wesleyan was Daemen's 11 straight in the all-time series with the Redhawks, marking the Wildcats's second-longest active streak against any opponent (16 straight wins against Houghton is Daemen's longest active streak, although the teams haven't met since the 2011-12 season)...the three-point margin of victory Wednesday is nothing new as seven of the wins in the streak have come by eight points or fewer, including the last four in a row...none was more dramatic than the Wildcats' 98-96 win at Roberts Wesleyan last season (Jan. 12, 2016) as Daemen erased a 22-point second-half deficit to emerge victorious...Torrence Dyck's driving layup with four seconds left capped a furious 34-10 rally which took place over the final 6:16 of the game, delivering the Wildcats' ninth straight win at RWC's Voller Athletic Center...Dyck scored 18 of his career-high 34 points in the game-changing spurt, propelling him to U.S. Basketball Writers Association Division II Men's Basketball Player of the Week honors...the Redhawks attempted to flip the script on Wednesday, rallying from an 18-point second-half deficit to pull within five points with just over a minute to play...RWC had possession with a chance to draw even closer, bur Darius Garvin came up with a huge steal for the Wildcats, and he converted a pair of free throws with 20 seconds remaining to essentially put the game out of reach...Garvin scored 19 points to lead five double-figure scorers...Arif Mehmetaj (15 points, season-high five assists) and Supreme Hannah (14 points, seven rebounds) played key roles...the Wildcats got great production off the bench as well, with Deion Hamilton, Jaleo Wilkes and Aleks Miljenovic combining for 31 points on 13-of-21 shooting...the Wildcats have now won 18 of the last 19 vs. RWC dating back to the 2007-08 season. |
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| DOWN GO THE CHAMPS |
| On Jan. 4, Daemen picked up a 67-64 win over St. Thomas Aquinas, the defending ECC regular season and tournament champions...the Spartans, who return 11 players and all five starters from their 2015-16 team which went 27-5 overall, came into the contest ranked No. 23 in the country and the Wildcat victory marked their first-ever against a nationally-ranked opponent at the NCAA Division II level...the game was also a rematch of last season's ECC Tournament finals, and it snapped Daemen's five-game slide in the all-time series...the contest featured 10 ties and 13 lead changes...Supreme Hannah scored 13 of his 15 points in the final 15 minutes of the game, helping Daemen rally from a nine-point second-half deficit...Deion Hamilton added 15 points as well, and Jaleo Wilkes scored 10 points...the Hamilton-Wilkes duo helped the Wildcats to a 31-16 advantage in points off the bench...a bucket by senior big man Alex Borges at the 8:08 mark of the second half ignited the decisive 11-2 spurt that gave the Wildcats control of the game, turning a 53-51 deficit into a 62-55 lead. |
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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 (162) and attempted (433), as well as three-pointers made per game (9.5)...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)...the Wildcats have hit double-figure triples in seven games this season, including the last three this month, posting a 5-2 record in those outings...Daemen has made at least 10 three-pointers in 26 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 a pair of 20-point games last week, redshirt-senior forward Arif Mehmetaj has now recorded 12 games of at least 20 points in his Daemen career...the Wildcats are 8-4 when Mehmetaj reaches 20 points...that includes a 2-1 record this season...Mehmetaj scored a season-high 26 points in his season debut, a 90-79 road win at Edinboro on Nov. 23, and matched that total in last Saturday's 78-75 loss at Molloy...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 five of the last six games, and is averaging 17.0 points in five games this month...since transferring to Daemen from SUNY Delhi, Mehmetaj has appeared in 46 games while making 42 starts, and he's totaled 663 points (14.4 ppg), 293 rebounds (6.4 rpg) and 76 three-point field goals. |
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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 10 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 earlier this month, 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 last 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, ranks second on the team (and 12th in the league) in scoring (14.0 ppg)...he also leads the team and ranks sixth in the league in total assists (57)...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 96 games, including 54 starts, and has totaled 735 points and 241 assists...he's currently 29 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 for the 2013-14 season, Daemen is 29-5 in home league games...District of Columbia is one of four ECC teams to own a win at Lumsden Gymnasium in the last four seasons. |
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| ON THE HORIZON |
| Daemen's three-game home-stand concludes when Long Island University Post treks to Lumsden Gymnasium for a 6 p.m. tip-off on Wednesday, Jan. 25. |
