| JUMP BALL |
Fourth-seeded Daemen College meets top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas College in the first of two East Coast Conference Tournament semifinal round games on Saturday, March 4 at Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium on the campus of the University of Bridgeport...Daemen advanced to the semifinals with a 73-71 defeat of fifth-seeded District of Columbia earlier this week...St. Thomas Aquinas, the defending ECC Tournament champions, earned a bye into the semifinals by locking up the No. 1 seed and the program's second-straight regular season league championship...Saturday's game will be a rematch of last season's ECC Tournament finals in which the Spartans emerged with an 80-63 win...the teams split their regular season series this year with each winning on their home floors...the winner of Saturday's first semifinal moves on to the tournament final against the winner of second-seeded Molloy and third-seeded Bridgeport...the tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
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| SURVIVE & ADVANCE |
| Daemen advanced to Saturday's semifinal by with a 73-71 win over fifth-seeded District of Columbia in first-round action on March 1...Arif Mehmetaj totaled 23 points, nine rebounds and two blocks to pace the Wildcats, while Deion Hamilton came off the bench to shoot 7-for-10 from the field and total 16 points...Hamilton scored nine points during a 17-3 second-half run which helped put the Wildcats in control...Joseph Nickerson led the Firebirds with 29 points, including 17 in the final 5:03...UDC engineered a late 11-3 run to make things interesting after trailing by as many as 15 points, but it wasn't enough as the Wildcats emerged victorious to advance in the tournament. |
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| GAME INFORMATION & LINKS |
| Date:Â Saturday, Mar. 1 |
Time:Â 5Â p.m. |
Location:Â Hubbell Gymnasium - Bridgeport, Conn. |
| Tickets: $10 General Admission | $5 Students with ID, Senior Citizens, Children Ages 5-12 |
| A portion of all ticket sales will be donated to Team IMPACT |
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| LIVE STATSÂ |Â LIVE VIDEO |
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#4Â DAEMEN WILDCATS
(19-8, 12-6Â ECC) |
#1Â ST. THOMAS AQUINAS SPARTANS
(23-5, 15-3Â ECC) |
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| Daemen Roster |
St. Thomas Aquinas Roster |
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| Daemen Schedule |
St. Thomas Aquinas Schedule |
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| Daemen Stats |
St. Thomas Aquinas Stats |
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| EAST COAST CONFERENCE WEBSITE |
EAST COAST CONFERENCE STANDINGS |
EAST REGION INSIDERS WEBSITE |
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EAST COAST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT CENTRAL |
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| SOCIAL MEDIA |
| Daemen Twitter:Â |
@DaemenAthletics, @DaemenMBB |
| Daemen Hashtags:Â |
#DCWildcatNation, #WNYsD2Team, #LiveBreatheDaemen, #beFIERCE |
| St. Thomas Aquinas Twitter: |
@STACSpartans |
| 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 |
| Daemen is making its second-straight ECC Tournament appearance...the Wildcats' roster features 12 players from last year's team which entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed, advancing to the tourney finals where their season came to an end at 19-10 overall...Daemen has recorded at least 18 wins in six-straight seasons...the Wildcats rebounded from a two-game slide in mid-February to close the regular season with a pair of wins last week, defeating Queens (71-59) and Roberts Wesleyan (80-72)...the win over Queens marked the 11th time this season that Daemen has held their opponent under 70 points, going 10-1 in those contests...red-shirt senior forward Arif Mehmetaj scored 26 points in the win over Queens, while sophomore guard Darius Garvin shot a perfect 7-for-7 from the field and totaled 16 points off the bench...in the win at Roberts Wesleyan in the regular season finale, red-shirt sophomore wing Deion Hamilton (career-high 26 points on 11-of-13 shooting) and red-shirt senior guard Supreme Hannah (23 points) combined for 49 points to pace the Wildcats...the Wildcats have been led all season long by Mehmetaj and Hannah...Mehmetaj, who earned second-team All-ECC honors last season, leads the team in scoring (15.6 ppg), rebounding (5.2) and blocked shots (26)...he matched a career-high with 30 points in a win over Bridgeport on Feb. 2...Daemen is 6-1 this season when he scores 20 or more points...Mehmetaj ranks eighth in the league in scoring, and third in free throw percentage (82.0)...Hannah ranks 13th in the league in scoring (13.7 ppg), 10th in minutes per game (33.0), ninth in free throw percentage (77.8) and 11th in assists (80)...he scored a career-high 29 points in an early-December loss at District of Columbia, and reached double-figure scoring in 15 consecutive contests from Dec. 3 through Feb. 8...Hamilton (12.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.1 apg) and red-shirt freshman Jeff Redband (10.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg) have also produced this season...Hamilton has come off the bench since mid-December after starting the first nine games of the season...he is averaging 14.3 points and shooting 60.2 percent from the field over the last nine games...Daemen is 14-2 this season when he shoots 50 percent or better from the field...Redband has started 26 of the team's 27 games, and has made at least one three-pointer in all but four games...he ranks second among all ECC freshmen in scoring while ranking third among the league's overall leaders in three-point field goals (68) and fourth in three-point field goal percentage (45.9)...Redband has recorded the most three-point field goals for Daemen since Jordan Greene knocked down 75 during his senior season in 2014-15...additional production is coming from Garvin (7.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, team-high 33 steals) and senior guard Jaleo Wilkes (7.4 ppg, 1.9 apg, team-high 33 steals)...Daemen is 7-2 when Garvin scores 10 points or more this season...Wilkes has reached double figures in four of the last eight games...guard/forward Jesse Lalka (3.1 ppg, 37.8% 3FG) and forwards Aleks Miljenovic (5.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg), Xavier Long (1.8 ppg, 2.0 rpg) and Alex Borges (1.5 ppg, 1.0 rpg) are also part of the Wildcats' regular rotation...Lalka posted back-to-back double-figure scoring games upon being inserted into the starting lineup in mid-December, and he's made 18 consecutive starts...Daemen leads the ECC in scoring defense, allowing just 70.6 points per game, while also ranking in the league's top-two teams in field goal percentage defense (43.2) and three-point field goal percentage defense (31.8)...offensively, the three-point shot continues to play a major role for the Wildcats...they rank second league lead in total three-pointers made (237) and attempted (638) while leading outright in three-pointers made per game (8.8)...shooting 37.1 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 (11.6) and assist-turnover ratio (1.2). |
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| ST. THOMAS AQUINAS SCOUTING REPORT |
| Since coming to St. Thomas Aquinas, fourth-year head coach Tobin Anderson has led the program to unprecedented heights, posting a 86-35 record to date (.711 winning percentage)...STAC has advanced to the ECC Tournament finals in each of Anderson's first three seasons, finally breaking through last season with an 80-63 win over Daemen for the program's first-ever ECC championship...2015-16 was a magical season for the Spartans, finishing at 27-5 overall (18-2 in ECC play)...STAC saw its 21-game winning streak come to an end in the second round of the NCAA Division II East Regional vs. St. Anselm...the Spartans return 11 players, including all five starters from their 2015-16 team...reigning ECC Player of the Year Justin Reyes headlines the list of returners...Reyes posted 17.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game last season, and was named the ECC Preseason Player of the Year prior to this season...the Spartan roster also features two-time first-team All-ECC pick Chaz Watler...the 6-foot-2 senior averaged 15.9 points and 3.3 assists per game last season, and was named the Most Outstanding Player at the ECC Tournament...Shaquille McFarlan (10.6 ppg), James Mitchell (6.7 ppg, 3.0 apg), Jules de Courtenay (5.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and the 2015-16 ECC Rookie of the Year Jonathan Lawton (9.3 ppg, 49 percent three-point field goal shooting) also return...with so much experience returning, the Spartans were the near unanimous pick to repeat as league champs according to the ECC preseason poll...the Spartans enter Saturday's semifinal contest ranked fourth in the latest NCAA Division II East Region rankings, while also receiving votes in this week's NABC national rankings...after dropping four consecutive contests between Dec. 17 and Jan. 4 (including a three-point loss to Daemen), the Spartans re-grouped and won 13 of their final 14 regular season games...their only loss in that span came on the court where Saturday's game will be played - a 90-89 loss at Bridgeport on Feb. 8...the Spartans enter the tournament having won four-straight games, and they've been idle since closing the regular season with a 103-74 defeat of Mercy on Feb. 22...Reyes has once again been among the league's top players, presently ranking first in field goal percentage (62.8), fifth in scoring (19.6 ppg) and fourth in rebounding (8.9 rpg), steals (57) and blocked shots (34)...he has posted 11 double-doubles this season, including a 37-point, 15-rebound outing in a win over Queens on Jan. 7...he has scored in double figures in all 26 games that he's played in this season...Watler (15.1 ppg, 3.5 apg, 3.2 rpg), Lawton (13.7 ppg) and McFarlan (10.1 ppg) have also produced...Watler is 10th in the league in scoring and fourth in total assists (98)...he scored a season-high 26 points in a win over District of Columbia on Feb. 4...Lawton led the team in three-point field goals during the regular season with 50, despite missing the final eight games...his status for Saturday's game is unknown...senior guard Aaron Cust (10.4 ppg, 43.5 FG%) has come on of late...he's reached double figures in 12 of the team's final 13 games, averaging 15.7 points per game in that span...he scored 30 points, including the 1,000th of his career, in the regular-season finale win over Mercy, and was named as the league's final Player of the Week this season......additional production has come from Mitchell (9.0 ppg, 2.6 apg), de Courtenay (5.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg) and sharp-shooting red-shirt sophomore guard Adam Koziol (9.1 ppg)...25 of Koziol's 33 three-pointers this season have come since Lawton went out of the lineup, and he's averaging 16 points per game over the last three...offensively, the Spartans lead the league and rank 23rd nationally in points per game (87.2)...they also lead the league and rank eighth nationally in field goal percentage (51.3)...pressure defense has become a staple for the Spartans, and they rank third in the country in turnovers forced per game (19.4) and fourth in steals per game (10.4). |
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| BY THE NUMBERS |
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ST. THOMAS AQUINAS |
| 76.0 |
POINTS PER GAME |
87.2 |
| 70.6 |
POINTS PER GAME ALLOWED |
74.2 |
| +5.4 |
SCORING MARGIN |
+13.0 |
| .444 |
FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE |
.513 |
| .432 |
FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE DEFENSE |
.458 |
| .371 |
3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE |
.400 |
| .318 |
3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE DEFENSE |
.354 |
| 8.8 |
3-POINT FIELD GOALS MADE PER GAME |
8.0 |
| .740 |
FREE THROW PERCENTAGE |
.733 |
| 13.2 |
FREE THROWS MADE PER GAME |
12.9 |
| 35.3 |
REBOUNDS PER GAME |
34.2 |
| -2.7 |
REBOUNDING MARGIN |
+2.3 |
| 13.3 |
ASSISTS PER GAME |
16.6 |
| 11.6 |
TURNOVERS PER GAME |
13.5 |
| 14.5 |
TURNOVERS FORCED PER GAME |
19.4 |
| +2.9 |
TURNOVER MARGIN |
5.9 |
| 1.2 |
ASSIST/TURNOVER RATIO |
1.2 |
| 6.3 |
STEALS PER GAME |
10.4 |
| 3.5 |
BLOCKS PER GAME |
2.3 |
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| DAEMEN VS. ST. THOMAS AQUINAS: THE HISTORY |
| All-Time: St. Thomas Aquinas leads the all-time series 10-3 |
| Streak: Lost 1 |
| Previous Meetings: CLICK HERE |
| Last Meeting: St. Thomas Aquinas 84, Daemen 50 | Feb. 15, 2017 |
| Last Meeting Highlights: St. Thomas Aquinas exacted some revenge for a 67-64 loss at Daemen earlier in the season, racing to a 17-5 lead en route to an 84-50 win...it was STAC's 16th consecutive win in ECC home games as the Spartans were buoyed by reigning ECC Player of the Year Justin Reyes who totaled 18 points...Adam Koziol came off the bench to notch a career-high 23 points while knocking down 7-of-10 from three-point range...Deion Hamilton was the lone Daemen player to reach double figures with 10 points. |
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| RALLY CATS |
| Daemen is developing quite the reputation for rallying from sizable deficits, having done so in three recent wins...on Jan. 28 at Mercy, the Wildcats trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half, and rallied from a 61-50 second-half deficit, outscoring the hosts 32-11 in the final 12 minutes en route to an 82-72 victory...Mercy shot just 3-for-19 from the field while committing seven turnovers in the final 12+ minutes...on Feb. 2 vs. Bridgeport, the Wildcats fell behind by 15 points in the opening stanza, and trailed by 10 early in the second half before rallying to an 82-73 victory...Bridgeport shot 1-for-7 and committed two turnovers during a decisive 13-2 run for the Wildcats which turned a 64-63 lead into a 77-65 advantage with just over a minute to play...on Feb. 8 at NYIT, the Wildcats found themselves down by 16 points (54-38) in the second half, before they outscored the Bears 42-18 in the final 14 minutes to walk away with an 80-72 road victory...all together, Daemen has six wins this season when trailing at halftime...all five have come since Jan. 4. |
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| GOING STREAKING |
| An 80-72 defeat of Roberts Wesleyan on Feb. 25 was Daemen's 12th-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)...Deion Hamilton came off the bench to hit 11-of-13 shots from the field and total a career-high 26 points in the win...the eight-point margin of victory was nothing new as eight of the wins in the streak have come by eight points or fewer, including the last five 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 at Lumsden Gymnasium earlier this season, 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, but 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, sealing an 88-85 victory...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 19 of the last 20 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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| 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 59-28 mark. |
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| DID YOU KNOW? |
Saturday's contest features two of the ECC's heavyweight programs...since the 2013-14 season, St. Thomas Aquinas ranks first among ECC teams in total wins (86) and league wins (59), while Daemen ranks second in total wins (80) and league wins (56).
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Saturday's game will also be the first neutral site contest for both teams this season...Daemen is 6-2 in neutral site games over the last two seasons...STAC is 5-2 in neutral site games over the same time period. |
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| ON THE HORIZON |
| A Daemen win Saturday would propel the Wildcats into the ECC title game for the second straight year...they would face the winner of Saturday's second semifinal featuring second-seeded Molloy and third-seeded Bridgeport with the tournament champion receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament. |
