GAME INFORMATION
Game No. 14
Daemen Wildcats (7-6, 1-2 ECC) vs. Roberts Wesleyan Redhawks (9-4, 2-2 ECC)
Saturday, Jan. 6 | 4 p.m.
Rochester, N.Y. | Voller Athletic Center
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Game Day
JUMP BALL
Daemen concludes a string a six-straight road games by visiting longtime rival Roberts Wesleyan this weekend. The Wildcats have won 12 consecutive meetings with the Redhawks, and 19 of the last 20 dating back to the 2007-08 season. Roberts Wesleyan has been one of the surprise teams in the East Region this season having already tripled their win total from all of last 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 to shoot 55.9 percent from long distance (19-for-34) over a six-game stretch from late November to mid December. Redband scored a season-high 18 points in a three-point loss at Lake Erie on Dec. 2. For the season, he is contributing 10.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, and he presently ranks eigth in the ECC in three-point field goals (25).
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 13 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 (33.6 - 3rd), three-point field goal percentage (42.3 - 10th), three-point field goals (30 - 3rd), free throw percentage (84.8 - 6th) and total assists (44 - 5th).
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 13 contests so far this season, and he is contributing 9.1 points, 6.2 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, and has reached double figures in three-straight games. In that span, Garvin is averaging 17.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game while shooting 45 percent from the field (18-for-40) and 50 percent from three-point range (10-for-20).
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Redshirt freshman center Andrew Sischo has his collegiate career off to a fast start with double-figure scoring in nine of Daemen's 13 games. The 6-foot-9 Sischo is averaging 13.2 points per game - tops among all ECC freshmen at present. He's also producing a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game (7th in ECC) and shooting a team-best 57.3 percent from the field (3rd in ECC). A three-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 five-game stretch that's seen him post three 20-point games and the first two double-doubles of his career, average 19.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game while shooting 67.8 percent from the field (40-for-59).
BRING YOUR "A" GAME
Redshirt senior forward Aleks Miljenovic is chipping in with 8.6 points and 5.1 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 40 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).
SURVIVING SALEM
Daemen built a 17-point lead early in the second half and then fended off a late rally in their 77-69 win this past Wednesday at Salem. Sophomore guard Breon Harris scored a career-high 15 points and Darius Garvin tossed in the same amount to lead the way. Andrew Sischo posted his second double-double (13 points, 12 rebounds) in the last three games, and Jay Sarkis (12 points) and Aleks Miljenovic (10 points) also contributed double-figure scoring in the win.
ROBERTS WESLEYAN SCOUTING REPORT
Roberts Wesleyan is led by head coach Rob McCoy, a 1981 Roberts Wesleyan graduate. Now in his 16th season as the team's head coach, McCoy is the program's all-time leader in wins with 198. The Redhawks went just 3-24 overall and 2-16 in ECC play last season, but have rattled off nine wins in their first 13 games this season. The early season success has come despite the loss of two of the team's top three scorers - guards Quinn Carey (12.2 ppg, team-high 83 three-pointers) and Zack Panebianco (11.3 ppg) - who both transferred to Division III Geneseo. After opening the season 6-0, the Redhawks were garnering votes for the D2SIDA East Region poll, but they've gone just 3-4 since late November. The Redhawks have split their four ECC games thus far, and their best win of the season came Dec. 15 at then nationally-ranked Bridgeport, 85-82. Eight players are averaging at least seven points per game. Sophomore guard Isaiah Lewis is the team's lone double-figure scorer at 14.8 points per contest, ninth-best in the league at present. Lewis has shaken off a slow start to reach double figures in eight-straight games, including a season-best 26 in the win at Bridgeport. Newcomers Peyton McLaurin (9.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg), Michael Bush (9.5 ppg), Justin Vaughan (9.3 ppg) and Jean Toussaint (8.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg) have all made immediate impacts. Manny Joseph, who led the team in scoring last season (13.6 ppg) is producing 8.5 points per game this time around, and newcomer Gintaras Bartaskas is currently second in the ECC in three-point field goal percentage (50.9). As a team, the Redhawks rank last in the league in field goal percentage (40.8), but they're making 8.4 three-pointers per game (3rd in league) and getting 16.6 points per game at the free throw line (2nd in league). Defensively, the Redhawks lead the league in opponents' field goal percentage (42.0) and rebounds per game (41.7).
ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Roberts Wesleyan: 34-12
Streak: Won 12
Last Meeting: Daemen 80, Roberts Wesleyan 71 | Feb. 25, 2017 | Rochester, N.Y.
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UP NEXT
Daemen opens up a three-game homestand by hosting District of Columbia next Wednesday, Jan. 10 for a noon tip-off.
