| THE LEAD |
| The Daemen College men's basketball team will attempt to close their three-game home stand with their third straight win as Long Island University Post makes their annual trek to Lumsden Gymnasium for a mid-week tussle...the game features two teams who appear to be heading in opposite directions...Daemen has won seven of their last nine, including six of their last seven ECC contests, while LIU Post has dropped four in a row, and seven of their last eight...despite the recent trends, these teams have played things relatively close in the past, including a three-point overtime win for the Pioneers earlier this season...the three all-time meetings at Lumsden Gymnasium have been decided by an average of 6.7 points per game. |
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| GAME INFORMATION & LINKS |
 Â Â Â Â VS Â Â Â  |
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Date:
Wednesday, Jan. 25 |
Time:Â
6 p.m. |
Location:Â
Lumsden Gymnasium - Amherst, N.Y. |
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| Daemen Roster |
LIU Post Roster |
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| Daemen Schedule |
LIU Post Schedule |
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| Daemen Stats |
LIU Post 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 |
| LIU Post Twitter: |
@liupostpioneers |
| 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 (12-6, 6-4 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 Wednesday's contest having won seven of its last nine games overall, and six of the last seven league games dating back to mid-December...most recently, the Wildcats picked up a pair of league wins last week, knocking off Roberts Wesleyan (88-85) and District of Columbia (97-77)...Darius Garvin scored 19 points to pace a balanced scoring attack in the win over RWC which continued Daemen's recent dominance in the series...the Wildcats have won 11 straight and 18 of the last 19 in the series with their long-time rivals from Rochester...the win over UDC last Saturday came with the Firebirds tied atop the league standings with St. Thomas Aquinas, making Daemen the only team in the ECC with wins over both UDC and STAC this season...the Wildcats established new season-highs for points and field goal percentage (63.6) against UDC, paced by Mehmetaj (21 points) and Redband (19 points) who combined for 40 points on 15-of-21 shooting...Mehmetaj has been the catalyst of late as he's averaging 17.7 points and shooting 55.2 percent from the field in six games this month...he posted his second double-double of the season in a three-point loss at Molloy on Jan. 14, establishing a new season-high for rebounds (14) while matching his season-high for points (26)...he has gone over 20 points in three of the last four games...the recent up-swing in production has Mehmetaj leading the team in scoring (14.6 ppg) and rebounding (5.4 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 (14.1 ppg), and he leads the team in assists (62)...Mehmetaj and Hannah rank 10th and 12th, respectively, among the ECC's scoring leaders...Hamilton, who has come off the bench in eight straight games, is contributing 10.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game...Redband rounds out the Wildcats' double-figure scorers at 11.1 points per game...he leads the team and ranks second in the league with 51 three-pointers while shooting 46.8 percent from deep...additional production is coming from Garvin (8.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, team-high 27 steals), senior guard Jaleo Wilkes (7.0 ppg, 2.1 apg) and redshirt-junior forward Aleks Miljenovic (6.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg)...Garvin has scored in double figures in back-to-back games, and Daemen is 6-2 when he scores 10 points or more this season...redshirt-senior guard/forward Jesse Lalka is averaging 6.3 points and shooting 50 percent from three-point range since being inserted into the starting lineup nine 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 70.3 points per game, while also ranking in the league's top-two teams in field goal percentage defense (.433) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.320)...offensively, the three-point shot continues to play a major role for the Wildcats...they lead the league in total three-pointers made (175) and attempted (454), as well as three-pointers made per game (9.7)...shooting 38.5 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 (12.2) and assist-turnover ratio (1.2). |
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| LIU POST SCOUTING REPORT (5-14, 4-5 ECC) |
| LIU Post is led by head coach Erik Smiles, now in his fourth season at the helm...Smiles heads a Pioneer program that has a storied history of success with six NCAA Tournament appearances in the last 14 seasons and nine consecutive ECC Tournament appearances...his two predecessors, Tim Cluess and Chris Casey, have each moved on to Division I jobs, leading the programs at Iona and Niagara, respectively...since taking the reins, Smiles has led the Pioneers to a 57-49 record, including a 44-34 mark in ECC play...the Pioneers went 18-12 overall and 12-8 in ECC play last season, ultimately bowing out in the semifinals of the ECC Tournament with an 85-58 loss to top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas...the Pioneers return just four players from their 2015-16 team, but all four are experienced, having each played double-figure minutes last year...included in the group of returners are a pair of all-conference picks in seniors Jared Hall and Greg Dotson...Hall, a 6-foot guard who earned first-team All-ECC honors, led the Pioneers and ranked fifth in the ECC in scoring last year at 18.4 points per game...Dotson, a 6-5 high-rising forward, earned second-team all-league honors last season after posting 10 double-doubles and averaging 15.0 points and 8.1 rebounds per game...among the team's 12 newcomers are 10 freshmen...senior guard Jemal Mosley transferred from New Haven where he scored over 800 points in three seasons, while also leading the Chargers in scoring last year (16.3 ppg)...the Pioneers were picked second in the ECC preseason poll but they'll enter Wednesday's game having lost four in a row, and seven of the last eight...the Pioneers' last win was an 86-64 dismantling of Roberts Wesleyan on Jan. 7...they are coming off an 87-81 overtime loss to St. Anselm on Jan. 21, a result which dropped LIU Post to 3-7 at home this season...Dotson played the full 45 minutes and scored a season-high 26 points while adding nine boards and four blocks in the loss to St. Anselm...he has posted five double-doubles this season as he leads the team in both scoring (14.7 ppg) and rebounding (7.4 rpg)...Dotson is shooting 47.8 percent from three-point range, ranking second in the league...he's recorded 33 three-point baskets this season after making just 29 in his first two seasons for the Pioneers combined...Mosley started the first 18 games of the season before missing Saturday's contest vs. St. Anselm, taking 13.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game out of the LIU Post lineup...he scored a season-high 28 points in a loss at Queens earlier this month, and leads the team in three-point field goals with 41...Hall's scoring production has dropped considerably from last season but he's still contributing 9.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game...his 87 total assists ranks second in the league...additional production is coming from junior guard Kyle McLeggan (9.1 ppg, 29 three-pointers), freshman forward Hall Elisias (7.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 26 blocks) and freshman guard Jared Rivers (7.2 ppg)...Elisias, who posted back-to-back double-doubles in mid-December, has not played since Dec. 31...the Pioneers are 3-7 in games decided by less than 10 points this season...coach Smiles' attention to the defensive end has not wavered as the Pioneers lead the league in field goal percentage defense (41.0) while ranking third in points allowed per game (76.8)...LIU Post also ranks second in rebounds per game (40.3) and rebounding margin per game (+4.3)...the team's struggles have come offensively where they rank ninth in scoring (73.2 ppg) and field goal percentage (42.4). |
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| DAEMEN VS. LIU POST: THE HISTORY |
| All-Time:Â LIU Post leads the all-time series 5-3 |
| Streak: Lost 2 |
| Previous Meetings: CLICK HERE |
| Last Meeting: LIU Post 73, Daemen 70 (OT) | Nov. 30, 2016 |
| Last Meeting Highlights: Daemen canned 14 three-pointers and opened up a 15-point second-half lead, but a nearly 11-minute drought between field goals proved costly as LIU Post erased the deficit and came away with a three-point win in overtime...Greg Dotson played the full 45 minutes and posted a double-double (24 points, 10 rebounds) to pace the Pioneers...Jemal Mosley added 15 points for LIU Post, including a layup at the 1:39 mark of overtime which gave his team the lead for good...Arif Mehmetaj (15 points) and Deion Hamilton (14 points, 11 rebounds) led the Wildcats. |
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| HOME SWEET HOME |
| Daemen is enjoying its home cooking once again this season, going 10-1 at Lumsden Gymnasium thus far...their 10th home win of the season came on Jan. 21 vs. District of Columbia, and it marked 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 11.6 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 66.7 points per game to their opponents in home games...the Wildcats are 66-9 at home since the start of the 2011-12 season. |
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| GOING STREAKING |
| Last Wednesday's 88-85 defeat of Roberts Wesleyan was Daemen's 11th 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 (175) and attempted (454), as well as three-pointers made per game (9.7)...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 eight games this season posting a 6-2 record in those outings...Daemen has made at least 10 three-pointers in 27 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 three 20-point games this month, redshirt-senior forward Arif Mehmetaj has now recorded 13 games of at least 20 points in his Daemen career...the Wildcats are 9-4 when Mehmetaj reaches 20 points...that includes a 3-1 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 a 78-75 loss at Molloy on Jan. 14...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 seveb games, and is averaging 17.7 points and shooting 55.2 percent from the field in six games this month...since transferring to Daemen from SUNY Delhi, Mehmetaj has appeared in 47 games while making 43 starts, and he's totaled 684 points (14.6 ppg), 295 rebounds (6.3 rpg) and 77 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 11 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...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 (14.1 ppg)...he also leads the team and ranks sixth in the league in total assists (62)...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 97 games, including 55 starts, and has totaled 751 points and 246 assists...he's currently 24 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 30-5 in home league games...LIU Post 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 heads to the New York City metro area for an ECC battle with Mercy College this Saturday, Jan. 28...tip-off is slated for 2:30 p.m. at the Westchester Community College Gymnasium. |
