| THE LEAD |
| The Daemen College men's basketball team goes for the season sweep against Mercy College this weekend...Saturday's game marks the second meeting between the Wildcats and Mavericks in the last 26 days...Daemen scored a 76-64 victory in the prior meeting this season at Lumsden Gymnasium...the Wildcats have won eight of their last 10 games overall, and seven of their last eight ECC contests dating back to mid-December...on the other side, Mercy is winless (0-11) since Dec. 8. |
| Â Â |
| GAME INFORMATION & LINKS |
 Â Â Â Â VS Â Â Â  |
| Â Â Â |
Date:
Saturday, Jan. 28 |
Time:Â
2:30 p.m. |
Location:Â
Westchester Community College Gymnasium - Valhalla, N.Y. |
| Â Â |
|
|
| Daemen Roster |
Mercy Roster |
|
| Daemen Schedule |
Mercy Schedule |
|
| Daemen Stats |
Mercy Stats |
|
| Â Â |
|
|
| LIVE STATS |
LIVE VIDEO |
|
| Â Â |
|
|
| EAST COAST CONFERENCE WEBSITE |
EAST COAST CONFERENCE STANDINGS |
EAST REGION INSIDERS WEBSITE |
| Â Â |
| SOCIAL MEDIA |
| Daemen Twitter:Â |
@DaemenAthletics, @DaemenMBB |
| Daemen Hashtags:Â |
#DCWildcatNation, #WNYsD2Team, #LiveBreatheDaemen, #beFIERCE |
| Mercy Twitter: |
@MercyMavericks |
| East Coast Conference Twitter: |
@ECCSports |
| East Region Basketball Insiders Twitter: |
@D2EastHoops |
| Â Â |
| 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. |
| Â Â |
| DAEMEN SCOUTING REPORT (13-6, 7-4 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 eight of its last 10 games overall, and seven of the last eight league games dating back to mid-December...most recently, the Wildcats have won three straight games, and are coming off an 88-66 defeat of LIU Post earlier this week...the sharp-shooting Wildcats canned nine of their first 12 three-pointers, establishing a 39-9 lead in the first 12 minutes before cruising to victory...Redband scored 14 consecutive points during the game-opening run and finished with a career-high 22...Mehmetaj and Hannah added 18 points apiece in the win...Mehmetaj is averaging 17.7 points and shooting 55.1 percent from the field in seven 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 five games...the recent up-swing in production has Mehmetaj leading the team in scoring (14.8 ppg) and rebounding (5.1 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 (14.3 ppg), and he leads the team in assists (67)...Mehmetaj and Hannah rank 10th and 13th, respectively, among the ECC's scoring leaders...Redband leads all ECC freshmen in scoring at 11.7 points per game...he also leads the team and ranks second in the league with 56 three-pointers while shooting 47.9 percent from deep...Hamilton, who has come off the bench in nine straight games, is contributing 10.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game...additional production is coming from sophomore guard Darius Garvin (8.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, team-high 28 steals), senior guard Jaleo Wilkes (7.0 ppg, 2.1 apg) and redshirt-junior forward Aleks Miljenovic (6.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg)...Garvin scored a career-high 22 points in a non-league win over St. Michael's on Dec. 19, and Daemen is 6-2 when he scores 10 points or more this season...redshirt-senior guard/forward Jesse Lalka is averaging 5.7 points and shooting 48 percent from three-point range since being inserted into the starting lineup 10 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 10 games this season, going 9-1 in those contests...Daemen leads the ECC in scoring defense, allowing just 70.1 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 (.321)...offensively, the three-point shot continues to play a major role for the Wildcats...they lead the league in total three-pointers made (190) and attempted (486), as well as three-pointers made per game (10.0)...shooting 39.1 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 (12.1) and assist-turnover ratio (1.2). |
| Â Â |
| MERCY SCOUTING REPORT (2-17, 0-11 ECC) |
| Mercy is led by Dr. Jody King who is in his third season at the helm, having guided the Mavericks to a 23-50 record in his tenure to date...last season, Dr. King led the Mavericks to a 13-15 record and the program's first postseason appearance since the 2000-01 season, earning the No. 6 seed to the ECC Tournament...they promptly upset third-seeded District of Columbia for the program's first-ever postseason win, advancing to the semifinal round where their season came to an end against Daemen...the Mavericks return just two players from their 2015-16 team...6-foot-6, 260-pound center William Robinson headlines the returners after averaging 12.0 points and 7.8 rebounds per game last season...also back is senior guard Raphael Jennings who made 23 starts last season while shooting 48.6 percent from three-point range (6.0 ppg)...among Mercy's eight newcomers is a pair of experienced transfers in 5-foot-11 guard Ryan Hickey and 6-foot-6 wing Marko Kozul...Hickey totaled 134 three-point field goals in three seasons at the now-closed Dowling College...last season, he finished seventh in the ECC with 59 three-pointers and averaged 10.5 points per game...Kozul transferred in from Felician College where he averaged 10.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game in 2015-16...Mercy was picked sixth in the ECC preseason poll...the Mavericks have been unable to parlay last season's success so far in 2016-17...they enter Saturday's contest with Daemen in desperate need of a win, having lost 11 straight ballgames...the Mavericks' two wins this season have come against St. Michael's and Georgian Court, two teams with a combined 5-34 record this season...their last win came against GCU on Dec. 8...the Mavericks are 0-8 in games decided by less than 10 points this season, with half of those defeats coming this month...Mercy is coming off an 89-82 loss to Queens earlier this week...Hickey (12.4 ppg, team-high 37 three-pointers), Robinson (11.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg) and Jennings (10.6 ppg, team-high 64 assists) have paced the Mavericks this season...Hickey scored a season-high 24 points in the Mavs' loss to Daemen back on Jan. 2...he's been cold of late, averaging 6.5 points and shooting 27.8 percent from the field in the last two games...Robinson has posted four double-doubles, including a monster outing (29 points, 12 rebounds) vs. LIU Post on Dec. 14...Jennings scored 17 points, his most in game since November, in this week's loss to Queens...additional production has come from Kozul (8.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg), Matthew Morgan (6.9 ppg) and Kelvin Howard (6.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg)...Mercy enters Saturday's game ranked last in the league in scoring (70.3 ppg), field goal percentage (41.1) and field goal percentage defense (50.5). |
| Â Â |
| DAEMEN VS. MERCY: THE HISTORY |
| All-Time:Â Daemen leads the all-time series 8-0 |
| Streak: Won 8 |
| Previous Meetings: CLICK HERE |
| Last Meeting: Daemen 76, Mercy 64Â |Â Jan. 2, 2017 |
| Last Meeting Highlights: Daemen used a 25-6 run over nine minutes of second-half action en route to a 12-point win...Arif Mehmetaj recorded team-highs of 19 points and seven rebounds, while adding two blocks and a pair of steals to lead the Wildcats...Ryan Hickey shot 10-for-17 from the field and scored a game-high 24 points in defeat for the Mavs. |
| Â Â |
| GOING STREAKING |
| An 88-85 defeat of Roberts Wesleyan on Jan. 18 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. |
| Â Â |
| 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. |
| Â Â |
| 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 (190) and attempted (486), as well as three-pointers made per game (10.0)...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 nine games this season posting a 7-2 record in those outings...Daemen has made at least 10 three-pointers in 28 games during MacDonald's tenure...the high-water mark in those games is 15 made three-pointers which has been accomplished three times - Feb. 5, 2016 in a 106-102 win over Dowling, Nov. 23, 2016 in a 90-79 win at Edinboro, and Jan. 25, 2017 in an 88-66 win over LIU Post. |
| Â Â |
| 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 six of the last eight games, and is averaging 17.7 points and shooting 55.1 percent from the field in seven games this month...since transferring to Daemen from SUNY Delhi, Mehmetaj has appeared in 48 games while making 44 starts, and he's totaled 702 points (14.6 ppg), 296 rebounds (6.2 rpg) and 80 three-point field goals. |
| Â Â |
| 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 12 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 13th in the league) in scoring (14.3Â ppg)...he also leads the team and ranks sixth in the league in total assists (67)...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 98 games, including 56 starts, and has totaled 769 points and 251 assists...he's currently 19 assists shy of moving into the top-10 all-time at Daemen. |
| Â Â |
| 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. |
| Â Â |
| 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. |
| Â Â Â |
| DID YOU KNOW? |
| Since the 2011-12 season, Daemen is 46-8 during the month of January (.852 winning percentage). |
| Â Â |
| ON THE HORIZON |
| Daemen returns home to host the University of Bridgeport on Thursday, Feb. 2. |
