| THE LEAD |
| The Daemen College men's basketball team takes its five-game winning streak on the road to face N.Y. Institute of Technology in an East Coast Conference battle on Wednesday evening...the Wildcats are averaging 87.4 points during their recent win streak which has moved them into a tie for second place in the ECC standings...they'll hope their hot shooting continues on the road where they are just 2-4 in league play this season. |
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| GAME INFORMATION & LINKS |
 Â Â Â Â VS Â Â Â  |
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Date:
Wednesday, Feb. 8 |
Time:Â
6 p.m. |
Location:Â
Recreation Hall - Old Westbury, N.Y. |
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| Daemen Roster |
NYIT Roster |
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| Daemen Schedule |
NYIT Schedule |
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| Daemen Stats |
NYIT 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: |
@NYITBears |
| 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 (15-6, 9-4 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...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, chipping 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, despite being hit by the injury bug during the preseason as notable 2015-16 contributors Jay Sarkis (8.5 ppg, 2.3 apg) and Nick Petrucelli (9.9 ppg, 4.6 rgp) were lost to season-ending injuries...Daemen enters Wednesday's contest at NYIT having won 10 of its last 12 games overall, and nine of the last 10 league games dating back to mid-December...most recently, the Wildcats have won five straight games, and are coming off an 82-73 win over Bridgeport on Feb. 2...Mehmetaj matched his career-high with 30 points to help Daemen rally from a 15-point first-half deficit to pick up the win...the Wildcats connected on 20 consecutive free throw attempts, 19 of which came in the pivotal second half...Mehmetaj leads the team and ranks eighth in the league in scoring (15.8 ppg)...he's posted five 20-point games this season, four of which have come in the last seven games...he also leads the team in rebounding (5.3 rpg) and total blocks (19)...Hannah is producing 14.7 points per game and he leads the team in assists (71)...Redband leads all ECC freshmen in scoring at 11.7 points per game...he also leads the team and ranks third in the league with 60 three-pointers while shooting 47.6 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 11 straight games, is contributing 10.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game...additional production is coming from sophomore guard Darius Garvin (8.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg, team-high 28 steals) and senior guard Jaleo Wilkes (7.1 ppg, 2.0 apg, 26 steals)...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...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 70.3 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 (.323)...offensively, the three-point shot continues to play a major role for the Wildcats...they lead the league in total three-pointers made (203) and attempted (525), as well as three-pointers made per game (9.7)...shooting 38.7 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 (11.8) and assist-turnover ratio (1.2). |
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| NYIT SCOUTING REPORT (6-15, 4-9 ECC) |
| The NYIT Bears are led by first-year head coach Kevin Hamilton...this is Hamilton's first foray into collegiate coaching, but he's no stranger to the college game as he sits in the Iona College Hall of Fame after a successful playing career from 1976-80 in which he led the Gaels to an 84-31 record and two NCAA Tournament appearances...the Bears suffered through an injury-plagued 2015-16 season, finishing 3-24 overall and 2-18 in ECC play...the Bears return eight players from their 2015-16 roster, including 6-foot-8 forward Jon Feiler...Feiler was an honorable mention All-ECC pick in 2014-15 when he averaged 11.2 points and 10.9 rebounds per game, before being limited to just four games last season due to injury...also back is sophomore forward Jeffrey Hayden who was producing 15.7 points per game before missing the final 11 games last season...the Bears also bring back double-figure scorer Onyekachi Nzerem (11.0 ppg)...the Bears were picked ninth in the ECC preseason poll, and have dropped four straight games heading into Wednesday's tilt with Daemen, including a 94-83 loss to LIU Post in their last outing (Feb. 4) ...NYIT is just 3-8 since Christmas, including a pair of two-point conference losses to District of Columbia (71-69 on Jan. 7) and Queens (72-70 on Jan. 21)...despite the team's struggles, Feiler is having a monster season as he leads the league in rebounding (14.5 rpg) while ranking second in scoring (19.9 ppg)...he was named the ECC Player of the Week three times during the month of January when he averaged 19.9 points and 16.1 rebounds over the Bears' nine games...he has five games of 20+ rebounds this season, three of which came in January, and he leads the country with 17 double-doubles...Feiler made a season-high three three-pointers as part of a 21-point, 13-rebound effort in the recent loss to LIU Post, and he scored a season-high 33 points in a loss at league-leading St. Thomas Aquinas back on Dec. 10...the Bears, who rank seventh in the league in scoring at 76.9 points per game, are also receiving double-figure scoring from Hayden (13.3 ppg), Kieran Hamilton (12.4 ppg) and Walter King (11.3 ppg)...Hayden, who ranks seventh in the league in field goal percentage (56.3), scored a season-high 29 points in a 78-75 win over Mercy on Jan. 18...Hamilton has emerged as the team's top threat from three-point range as he ranks fourth in the league with 54 three-pointers...King also leads the team in assists with 68...additional production is coming from Nzerem (7.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg)...NYIT comes in as the top rebounding team in the league, averaging 43.4 caroms which results in a league-best rebounding margin of 5.7 per game as well...15.5 of those rebounds are coming at the offensive end which also leads the league...the Bears get to the free throw line more often than any other team in the league as well, averaging 24 attempts per game, but they rank eighth in free throw accuracy (64.1 percent)...defensively, no team in the league gives up more points than the Bears who are surrendering 85.7 points per game...NYIT is giving up 95.7 points over their last three games, and the team is just 2-11 when the opposition reaches 80 points (4-4 when holding teams below 80 points). |
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| BY THE NUMBERS |
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NYIT |
| 77.4 |
POINTS PER GAME |
76.9 |
| 70.3 |
POINTS PER GAME ALLOWED |
85.7 |
| +7.1 |
SCORING MARGIN |
-8.8 |
| .452 |
FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE |
.426 |
| .427 |
FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE DEFENSE |
.471 |
| .387 |
3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE |
.291 |
| .323 |
3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE DEFENSE |
.355 |
| 9.7 |
3-POINT FIELD GOALS MADE PER GAME |
5.7 |
| .763 |
FREE THROW PERCENTAGE |
.641 |
| 12.7 |
FREE THROWS MADE PER GAME |
15.4 |
| 34.9 |
REBOUNDS PER GAME |
43.4 |
| -2.8 |
REBOUNDING MARGIN |
+5.7 |
| 14.1 |
ASSISTS PER GAME |
12.4 |
| 11.8 |
TURNOVERS PER GAME |
16.7 |
| 15.0 |
TURNOVERS FORCED PER GAME |
12.7 |
| +3.2 |
TURNOVER MARGIN |
-4.0 |
| 1.2 |
ASSIST/TURNOVER RATIO |
0.7 |
| 6.3 |
STEALS PER GAME |
5.3 |
| 3.3 |
BLOCKS PER GAME |
2.7 |
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| DAEMEN VS. NYIT: THE HISTORY |
| All-Time:Â Daemen leads the all-time series 4-3 |
| Streak: Won 3 |
| Previous Meetings: CLICK HERE |
| Last Meeting: Daemen 88, NYIT 74 | Dec. 14, 2016 |
| Last Meeting Highlights: Daemen snapped a four-game losing streak, using an 18-2 run early in the second half en route to a 14-point victory...Aleks Miljenovic came off the bench to score 15 points, leading a quintet of double-figure scorers for the Wildcats...Supreme Hannah and Jesse Lalka chipped in with 13 points apiece...NYIT held a big advantage off the backboard, out-rebounding Daemen 50-38, thanks in part to 25 offensive rebounds which resulted in a 23-7 edge in second chance points...Jon Feiler paced the Bears with 24 points and 11 rebounds. |
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| ALMOST CLINCHING TIME |
| With five games remaining in their regular season schedule, Daemen is closing in clinching its second straight East Coast Conference tournament berth...the Wildcats enter Wednesday's action in a tie for second place in the league standings with Molloy (the Lions are idle until they visit Bridgeport on Saturday)...a win on Wednesday at NYIT can't clinch a conference tournament berth outright, but depending on other results from around the league it would certainly move Daemen one step closer...NYIT, which sits in eighth place, essentially needs a win Wednesday to avoid elimination from conference tournament contention...the top six teams in the final league standings go on to the conference tournament which is slated to being on Wednesday, March 1...the tournament's top two seeds receive a bye into the semifinal round which will be played on Saturday, March 4 at Bridgeport, with the tournament finals to follow the next day. |
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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 (203) and attempted (525), 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 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 four 20-point games since the calendar turned to January, redshirt-senior forward Arif Mehmetaj has now recorded 14 games of at least 20 points in his Daemen career...the Wildcats are 10-4 when Mehmetaj reaches 20 points...that includes a 4-1 record this season...Mehmetaj matched his career-high with 30 points on 11-of-19 shooting in Daemen's 82-73 win over Bridgeport on Feb. 2...Mehmetaj has certainly hit his stride of late, averaging 21.1 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 55.8 percent from the field over the last seven games...a matchup nightmare on the perimeter for opposing big men, Mehmetaj has knocked down multiple three-pointers in seven of the last 10 games, and he ranks third on the team with 32 three-pointers this season...since transferring to Daemen from SUNY Delhi, Mehmetaj has appeared in 50 games while making 46 starts, and he's totaled 749 points (15.0 ppg), 309 rebounds (6.2 rpg) and 83 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 14 consecutive games - the longest streak of his career - and is averaging 15.4  points per game in that stretch...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 on Jan. 28, 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 12th in the league) in scoring (14.7 ppg) this season...he also leads the team and ranks seventh in the league in total assists (71)...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 100 games, including 58 starts, and has totaled 806 points and 255 assists...he's currently 15 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 21 games this season and is producing 11.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 47.6 percent from three-point range...he leads all ECC freshmen in scoring, and ranks third in the league overall with 60 three-pointers this season...of the seven 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 three straight weeks in January...in that span, Redband averaged 13.2 points per game while shooting a blistering 59.5 percent from three-point range (22-for-37)...he scored a career-high 22 points in an 88-66 win over LIU Post on Jan. 25...Redband has made at least one three-pointer in 19 games this season, including the last 13 games in a row. |
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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? |
| Last Thursday's win over Bridgeport was Daemen's 15th of the season, marking the 17th time in the last 20 years that the Wildcats have reached that many victories in a season. |
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| ON THE HORIZON |
| A huge showdown with league-leading St. Thomas Aquinas College looms next Wednesday, Feb. 15 in Sparkill, N.Y....Daemen is one of two teams to have defeated the Spartans (19-4, 12-2 ECC) this season. |
