GAME INFORMATION
Gamen No. 13
Daemen Wildcats (6-6, 1-2 ECC) vs. Salem Tigers (4-9)
Wednesday, Jan. 3 | 2 p.m.
Salem, W. Va. | T. Edward Davis Gymnasium
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Daemen's string of six consecutive road games continues Wednesday as the Wildcats square off with Division II independent Salem. The Wildcats and Tigers will be meeting for the first time since Daemen swept three meetings between the two during the 2012-13 season.
RETURN OF THE MAC
Mike MacDonald returns to the bench for his fourth season as Daemen's head coach, and his 21st season overall as a collegiate head coach...in his first three seasons roaming the Daemen sidelines, MacDonald led the Wildcats to a 59-29 overall record...the Wildcats have won at least 19 games in each of MacDonald's three seasons, and the team's 59 victories in that span are the second most among all NCAA Division II programs in New York State...before coming to 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 opened the 2017-18 season with a career record of 315-255.
IT'S A HARDWOOD LIFE
Mike MacDonald and his family were recently profiled in a USA Today article which detailed the family's love affair with basketball, and the intricacies of having the husband/father coaching collegiately and four sons who play the game, including two at the college level. Written by Buffalo native Erik Brady, CLICK HERE to read the full story.
REDBAND FOR THREE
Redshirt sophomore forward Jeff Redband established himself as one of the preeminent three-point shooters in the ECC last season. For the season, Redband canned 68-of-151 three-point attempts becoming the first Daemen freshman with more than 50 triples since Brian Montanaro had 70 in 2002-03. A four-time ECC Rookie of the Week honoree, Redband ranked third among all ECC players in total three-point baskets, and fifth in three-point field percentage (.450). He made at least one three-pointer in 23 games, and knocked down multiple threes in 17 contests. Appearing in all 28 games while making 27 starts, Redband contributed 10.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Redband shook off a slow start to the 2017-18 season (three three-pointers in first four games) and is shooting 47.7 percent from long distance (21-for-44) over the last eight games (averaging 12.8 points per game in that span). Redband scored a season-high 18 points in a three-point loss at Lake Erie on Dec. 2. For the season, he is contributing 11.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, and he presently ranks seventh in the ECC in three-point field goals (24) and 13th in three-point percentage (38.7).
SHINING STAR-KIS
Redshirt sophomore guard Jay Sarkis has made a successful return to the lineup after missing all of last season with an injury. Sarkis, who quarterbacked the Wildcats to an appearance in the ECC Tournament finals as a freshman in 2015-16, was a four-time ECC Rookie of the Week selection as he appeared in all 29 games while making 26 starts, and averaging 8.5 points and 2.3 assists per game that season. Through the first 12 games this season, Sarkis is producing 12.2 points and a team-best 3.4 assists per game. He scored a career-high 20 points in Daemen's 79-73 win over Wilmington on Nov. 18, and matched his career-high with six assists in an 80-77 loss at Slippery Rock on Nov. 26, one of four games this season that he's had five or more assists. Sarkis ranks among the ECC leaders in minutes per game (32.1 - 8th), three-point field goal percentage (41.3 - 9th), three-point field goals (26 - 5th), free throw percentage (84.8 - 7th) and total assists (41 - 6th).
GARV-ELOUS
With injuries to key backcourt players in each of the last two seasons, Daemen has become reliant on the steady play of junior guard Darius Garvin who appeared in 58 of a possible 59 games while making 40 starts in his freshman and sophomore seasons. Last season, Garvin upped his statistical numbers in nearly every category, including minutes per game (from 17.9 as a freshman to 27.4 as a sophomore), points per game (from 4.8 to 7.6), rebounds per game (from 2.8 to 4.4) and assists per game (from 1.1 to 1.8). Garvin has started all 12 contests so far this season, and he is contributing 8.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Garvin is the only player on Daemen's roster to have games of at least 10+ points, 10+ rebounds and 5+ assists this season. He scored a career-high 24 points in a recent one-point loss to St. Michael's.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Redshirt freshman center Andrew Sischo has his collegiate career off to a fast start with double-figure scoring in eight of Daemen's 12 games. The 6-foot-9 Sischo is averaging 13.3 points per game - tops among all ECC freshmen at present. He's also producing a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game (10th in ECC) and shooting a team-best 58.9 percent from the field (2nd in ECC). A two-time ECC Rookie of the Week selection this season, Sischo poured in a career-high 27 points on 12-of-14 shooting to lead Daemen to an 86-82 win at Mercy on Dec. 15, igniting a scorching four-game stretch that's seen him post three 20-point games, average 20.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game and shoot 74.5 percent from the field (35-for-47).
BRING YOUR "A" GAME
Redshirt senior forward Aleks Miljenovic is chipping in with 8.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game this season. Miljenovic opened the year with back-to-back double-figure scoring games in wins over Felician and Nyack en route to earning all-tournament team honors at the ECC-CACC Challenge for the second-straight season. His 16 points and nine rebounds in the win over Felician led the team. Miljenovic, who began his career by playing two seasons at Roberts Wesleyan, has appeared in 39 games and made 17 starts for Daemen since the start of last season.
THINNING BENCH
Daemen's bench has grown a little thinner than anticipated in recent weeks. Redshirt junior guard Nick Petrucelli is out for the year after suffering an injury Nov. 26 at Slippery Rock. It's the second time that Petrucelli has suffered a season-ending injury. He was averaging 9.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game before his 2015-16 season was cut short with an injury that cost him all of the 2016-17 season as well. In two games this season, Petrucelli was averaging 5.0 points and 2.0 rebounds in 11.0 minutes per game off the bench. Also, redshirt senior forward Xavier Long has exercised his option to graduate in December. Long, who scored a career-high nine points in Daemen's 82-72 win over Edinboro on Nov. 28, was averaging 2.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 11.6 minutes per game off the bench this season. For his career, Long appeared in 92 games, shot 44.4 percent from the field, and totaled 176 points and 172 rebounds. Also, redshirt junior wing Deion Hamilton is out for the season. Hamilton was averaging a team-best 15.1 points per game through the team's first 10 games.
STARTING 1-0
Daemen's season-opening 62-57 win over Felician at the ECC-CACC Challenge was the Wildcats' 16th consecutive win in a regular season opener, a streak that dates back to the 2002-03 season. The wins in that span have come over 14 different opponents. Fisher (Mass.) and Wilfrid Laurier (Ont.) are the only opponents Daemen has defeated twice in season openers during the streak. The Wildcats' average margin of victory during the streak is an astonishing 24.4 points per game. The five-point win over Felician was Daemen's closest margin of victory in a season opener since beginning to play a full Division II schedule; the Wildcats' average margin of victory in the four previous season openers as a Division II institution was 22.3 points per game. Just one game in the streak prior to the win over Felician - a 68-65 final over Toronto in 2011 - had been decided by single digits. Daemen has gone over 100 points in three of the last six season openers; the high-water mark came in 2013 when they downed Ohio Valley 111-90. Last season opened with a 75-64 dispatching of Caldwell which put the Wildcats en route to their first 5-0 start to a season since 2012-13. Daemen's last loss in a season opener came at the Spring Hill College (Ala.) Tournament against the hosts on Nov. 2, 2001, falling 75-35.
DEFENDING THE DEN
Daemen posted a 14-2 record at the friendly confines of Lumsden Gymnasium last season, matching the program record for home wins in a season last achieved in 1999-2000. The Wildcats are 4-2 at home this season. Since the start of the 2011-12 season, Daemen is 74-12 at Lumsden Gymnasium (.860 winning percentage).
LAST TIME OUT
Daemen is coming off a 68-60 victory over regionally-ranked St. Rose on Dec. 31. The Daemen win snapped the 14-game home winning streak of St. Rose which was ranked ninth in last week's D2SIDA East Region poll. Daemen led for more than 32 minutes in the game. Andrew Sischo poured in a game-high 22 points and ripped down seven boards to lead the way. The Wildcats also got double-figure scoring from Jay Sarkis (19) and Darius Garvin (12), and Breon Harris chipped in with a career-high eight points.
SALEM SCOUTING REPORT
Salem is an independent member of NCAA Division II, and the Tigers are led by first-year head coach Adam Williams who came over after a one-year stint as an assistant at Division I Longwood. Williams assumed control over an SU program that had posted just nine wins over the previous three seasons. The Tigers return just five players from their 2016-17 team which posted a 2-24 record. The team's returners are headlined by senior guard Ignacio Rodriguez and sophomore guard Jarius Farrow who averaged 10.6 and 9.1 points per game, respectively, last season. After splitting their first six games this season, the Tigers have dropped six of their last seven. All four of SU's wins have come at home, including a 66-65 defeat of Lincoln on Dec. 10 (their last win). The Tigers will enter Wednesday's game looking to snap a four-game slide which includes a 76-75 loss at Glenville State on Dec. 31. The Tigers have been led this season by junior forward Malik Toppin (22.6 ppg, 10.5 rpg) and senior guard Reggie Oliver (20.7 ppg, 5.1 apg). Toppin, who has posted three 30-point games this season, ranks among the national leaders in double-doubles (8 - 3rd), field goal percentage (69.3 - 9th) and scoring (15th). Oliver has done the majority of his work from behind the three-point arc, shooting 48-for-121 thus far, ranking seventh nationally in both attempts and made threes per game (3.69). Rodriguez is chipping in with 9.7 points per game as well.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Salem: 3-0
Streak: Won 3
Last Meeting: Daemen 79, Salem 68 | Feb. 9, 2013 | Salem, W. Va.
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UP NEXT
Daemen concludes its stretch of six consecutive road games by visiting rival Roberts Wesleyan this Saturday, Jan. 6.
