| THE LEAD |
| A game with big implications pertaining to the East Coast Conference standings will take place on Thursday at Lumsden Gymnasium as Daemen College hosts the University of Bridgeport...both teams enter with four-game winning streaks...Bridgeport sits in second place in the current ECC standings with Daemen just behind in a tie for third (before conference games Wednesday evening)...the Wildcats will be looking to avenge a 79-69 loss at Bridgeport earlier this season. |
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| GAME INFORMATION & LINKS |
 Â Â Â Â VS Â Â Â  |
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Date:
Thursday, Feb. 2 |
Time:Â
8 p.m. |
Location:Â
Lumsden Gymnasium - Amherst, N.Y. |
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| Daemen Roster |
Bridgeport Roster |
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| Daemen Schedule |
Bridgeport Schedule |
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| Daemen Stats |
Bridgeport 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 |
| Bridgeport Twitter: |
@PKnights |
| 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 (14-6, 8-4 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 Thursday's contest having won nine of its last 11 games overall, and eight of the last nine league games dating back to mid-December...most recently, the Wildcats have won four straight games, and are coming off an 82-72 road win at Mercy this past weekend...the Wildcats held Mercy to just 3-for-19 shooting while forcing seven turnovers in final 12+ minutes to rally from a double-figure deficit for the win...Hannah posted the fifth 20-point game of his career in the win, while Hamilton and senior guard Jaleo Wilkes came off the bench to combine for 25 points (20 in the second half) on 9-of-12 shooting...Mehmetaj leads the team and ranks 10th in the league in scoring (14.9 ppg)...he's posted four 20-point games this season, three of which have come in the last six games...he also leads the team in rebounding (5.2 rpg) and total blocks (18)...Hannah is producing 14.3 points per game and he leads the team in assists (67)...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 59 three-pointers while shooting 48.8 percent from deep...he scored a season-high 22 points in a win over LIU Post on Jan. 25...Hamilton, who has come off the bench in 10 straight games, is contributing 10.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game...additional production is coming from sophomore guard Darius Garvin (8.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, team-high 28 steals), Wilkes (7.2 ppg, 2.0 apg) and redshirt-junior forward Aleks Miljenovic (5.7 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 5.5 points and shooting 44.4 percent from three-point range since being inserted into the starting lineup 11 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 70.2 points per game, while also ranking in the league's top-two teams in field goal percentage defense (.426) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.325)...offensively, the three-point shot continues to play a major role for the Wildcats...they lead the league in total three-pointers made (197) and attempted (504), as well as three-pointers made per game (9.9)...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 (12.2) and assist-turnover ratio (1.2). |
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| BRIDGEPORT SCOUTING REPORT (11-8, 7-3 ECC) |
| Veteran mentor Mike Ruane is back for his 17th season on the Bridgeport bench...to date, Ruane has guided the Purple Knights to a 319-180 record in his tenure which has included nine 20-win seasons and the same number of NCAA Tournament berths...UB posted a 15-14 overall record last season, and finished fifth in the ECC standings with a 12-8 league record...the Purple Knights, who bring back seven players from their 2015-16 roster, saw their string of three straight ECC Tournament titles snapped when they lost in the opening round (73-68 in overtime) to fourth-seeded LIU Post...despite losing their top five scorers from last season, the Purple Knights were picked third in the ECC preseason poll...the seven returners accounted for just 22 percent of the Purple Knights' scoring last season when they finished fifth in the ECC at 79.7 points per game...the Purple Knights enter Thursday's game having won four straight games, rebounding from a string of six consecutive losses between Dec. 15 and Jan. 1...after allowing 86.7 points per game during the losing streak, the Purple Knights have righted the ship defensively, allowing just 74.5 points in the last four games...offensively, UB ranks second in the league in scoring at 84.6 points per game...they've scored over 90 points four times this season, including in each of their last two outings...UB is coming off a 98-77 defeat of NYIT last Wednesday...6-foot-9 senior center Kyle Benjamin, who previously played for Daemen Hall of Famer Alex Nwora at Erie Community College in Buffalo, has paced the Purple Knights this season...after averaging just 3.9 points and 2.5 rebounds in 15 games last season, Benjamin is producing 14.9 points and 10.6 rebounds per game this season, and is one of just two players in the league to be averaging a double-double...his 11 double-doubles this season ranks sixth in the country..Benjamin also leads the ECC and ranks ninth nationally with 51 blocked shots...the Purple Knights are also getting double-figure scoring from Sam Joseph (13.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg), Rakim Lesane (12.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg) and Stefano Osuji (10.5 ppg3.9 rpg)...Joseph has reached double figures in seven straight games, and scored 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting in the recent win over NYIT...additional production is coming from Carlos DeJesus (9.8 ppg, team-high 40 three-pointers, team-high 29 steals) and D'Vonne Trumbo (6.1 ppg, team-high 72 assists). |
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| BY THE NUMBERS |
| DAEMEN |
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BRIDGEPORT |
| 77.2 |
POINTS PER GAME |
84.6 |
| 70.2 |
POINTS PER GAME ALLOWED |
80.4 |
| +7.1 |
SCORING MARGIN |
+4.2 |
| .455 |
FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE |
.470 |
| .426 |
FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE DEFENSE |
.447 |
| .391 |
3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE |
.352 |
| .325 |
3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE DEFENSE |
.375 |
| 9.9 |
3-POINT FIELD GOALS MADE PER GAME |
6.9 |
| .753 |
FREE THROW PERCENTAGE |
.757 |
| 12.4 |
FREE THROWS MADE PER GAME |
16.1 |
| 34.6 |
REBOUNDS PER GAME |
37.1 |
| -3.0 |
REBOUNDING MARGIN |
+1.0 |
| 14.4 |
ASSISTS PER GAME |
16.1 |
| 12.2 |
TURNOVERS PER GAME |
14.7 |
| 15.2 |
TURNOVERS FORCED PER GAME |
17.0 |
| +3.0 |
TURNOVER MARGIN |
+2.3 |
| 1.2 |
ASSIST/TURNOVER RATIO |
1.1 |
| 6.5 |
STEALS PER GAME |
8.5 |
| 3.3 |
BLOCKS PER GAME |
3.9 |
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| DAEMEN VS. BRIDGEPORT: THE HISTORY |
| All-Time:Â Daemen leads the all-time series 4-3 |
| Streak: Lost 1 |
| Previous Meetings: CLICK HERE |
| Last Meeting: Bridgeport 79, Daemen 69 | Dec. 10, 2016 |
| Last Meeting Highlights: Bridgeport, which was ranked seventh in the D2SIDA East Region media poll at the time of the game, handed Daemen its fourth straight defeat by outscoring the Wildcats 68-43 in the final 27+ minutes of the contest...Carlos DeJesus canned 5-of-6 shots from three-point range and totaled 17 points to lead the Purple Knights...Rakim Lesane scored 15 points off the bench, sparking UB to a 28-9 edge in bench scoring...Jeff Redband shot 5-of-7 from three-point range and totaled 17 points and six rebounds to pace the Wildcats in defeat. |
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| HOME SWEET HOME |
| Daemen is enjoying its home cooking once again this season, going 11-1 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 11.5 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 67-9 at home since the start of the 2011-12 season, and 31-5 in home ECC contests since joining the league back in 2013-14. |
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| 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. |
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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 (197) and attempted (504), as well as three-pointers made per game (9.9)...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. |
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| THE ARIF FACTOR |
| With three 20-point games in January, 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 nine games, and is averaging 17.6 points and shooting 52.1 percent from the field over the last eight games...since transferring to Daemen from SUNY Delhi, Mehmetaj has appeared in 49 games while making 45 starts, and he's totaled 719 points (14.7 ppg), 303 rebounds (6.2 rpg) and 81 three-point field goals. |
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| THE DEFINITION OF SUPREME |
| 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 13 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 in early January, scoring 13 of his 15 points in the final 15 minutes of the contest...he scored 20 points in Daemen's 82-72 -from-behind victory at Mercy last weekend, marking his third 20-point game this season and the fifth of his career...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 11th in the league) in scoring (14.6 ppg)...he also leads the team and ranks seventh 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 99 games, including 57 starts, and has totaled 789 points and 251 assists...he's currently 19 assists shy of moving into the top-10 all-time at Daemen. |
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| FANTASTIC FROSH |
| It hasn't taken long for redshirt-freshman forward Jeff Redband to make an impact for the Wildcats...the 6-foot-7 sharp-shooter has started all 20 games this season and is producing 11.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 48.8 percent from three-point range...he leads all ECC freshmen in scoring, and ranks second in the league overall with 59 three-pointers this season...of the six players in the ECC with at least 50 three-pointers, Redband is one of three to also be ranked in the top five in terms of three-point field goal percentage...Redband was recently named the ECC Rookie of the Week for Jan. 23-29...it was his fourth Rookie of the Week selection this season, including the last three straight weeks...in that span, Redband is averaging 13.2 points per game and shooting a blistering 59.5 percent from three-point range (22-for-37)...he scored a career-high 22 points in last week's win over LIU Post, and he's made at least three three-pointers in  12 games this season. |
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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? |
| A win Thursday would mark the 17th time in the last 20 season that Daemen has recorded at least 15 wins in a season. |
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| ON THE HORIZON |
| The Wildcats are idle until Wednesday, Feb. 8 when they visit N.Y. Institute of Technology for another ECC contest. |
