GAME INFORMATION & LINKS
GAME #6: Daemen Wildcats (4-1, 0-0 ECC) vs. Roberts Wesleyan Redhawks (3-3, 0-0 ECC)
Wednesday, Dec. 5 | 8:05 p.m. | Rochester, N.Y. | Voller Athletic Center
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Game Day
JUMP BALL
Daemen steps into the national spotlight Wednesday night as they renew the Thruway Rivalry with Roberts Wesleyan as part of the NCAA Division II Basketball Showcase. The Wildcats, who are ranked fifth in the latest D2SIDA East Region media poll, have won two straight games - non-conference home wins over Slippery Rock (78-71 on Nov. 24) and Lake Erie (71-51 on Nov. 26). Daemen brings a 15-game winning streak in the all-time series with Roberts Wesleyan into Wednesday's contest. Roberts Wesleyan has alternated wins and losses through the first month of the season, and they'll enter the game with an even 3-3 record. Wednesday's game marks the first East Coast Conference contest of the season for both squads.
NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
The game has been selected to be broadcast as part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Basketball Showcase. In an agreement between the two institutions, the NCAA and its media partner, Niles Media Group, both games that evening will be broadcast live on the NCAA Facebook and Twitter pages, as well as on the East Coast Conference Network.
RETURN OF THE MAC
Mike MacDonald returns to the bench for his fifth season as Daemen's head coach, and his 22nd season overall as a collegiate head coach. Since beginning to roam the Daemen sidelines, MacDonald has led the Wildcats to an 85-38 overall record. The Wildcats have won at least 19 games in each of MacDonald's first four seasons, and the team's 85 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 powerhouse, 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 holds a career record of 341-264.
TOP 25 RANKING
Daemen was ranked No. 22 in the Division II Bulletin preseason poll, marking the first time in the program's Division II era that they've been included in any of the several national polls. Division II Bulletin is a national publication that specializes in the coverage of NCAA Division II men's basketball. The Wildcats have also received votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) preseason national polls.
MOVIN' ON UP
Daemen has moved up to No. 5 in the latest D2SIDA East Region media poll which was released earlier this week. It's the second straight week that Daemen has moved up in the poll which includes teams from the East Coast Conference, Northeast-10 Conference and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. The Wildcats debuted in the poll at a tie for third on Nov. 12, the team's highest-ever regional ranking at the Division II level. Following a road loss at Mercyhurst on Nov. 14, the Wildcats dropped to seventh, but have moved up one spot in the two successive polls since then.
MAN IN THE MIDDLE
Redshirt sophomore center Andrew Sischo headlines Daemen's returning players. After earning first team All-ECC and ECC Rookie of the Year honors last season, Sischo was named the ECC Preseason Player of the Year for 2018-19. An eight-time ECC Rookie of the Week selection in 2017-18, Sischo was downright dominant on the interior last season as he led the team in points (462), points per game (15.4), made field goals (195), field goal percentage (56.5%), rebounds (261), rebounds per game (8.7) and blocked shots (25). His point total established a new team record for scoring by a freshman, eclipsing the previous mark of 420 set by Brian Montanaro during the 2002-03 season. He was also the first Daemen player with more than 200 rebounds in a season since Gerald Beverly (373 in 2014-15), and his rebound total is second among freshmen players in team history. Appearing in all 30 games, Sischo reached double-figure scoring 25 times and totaled seven double-doubles. Sischo led all ECC freshmen and ranked among the league's overall leaders in scoring (seventh), rebounding (second) and field goal percentage (third). He was Daemen's first major award winner from the conference since Beverly earned ECC Defensive Player of the Year honors for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons, and the first freshman to earn first team All-ECC honors since John Petrucelli of Molloy College in the 2010-11 season. To start the 2018-19 campaign, Sischo has posted five double-doubles in as many games this season, including a 31-point, 15-rebound effort in a win over Slippery Rock. He was named to the all-tournament team at the season-opening ECC-CACC Challenge, and has twice been named the ECC Player of the Week. For the season, Sischo is shooting 55.4 percent from the field and averaging 22.4 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. He is the only player in the ECC to be averaging a double-double, and he presently ranks among the league leaders in scoring (third), rebounding (first), field goals made (third), field goal percentage (fifth), free throws made (first), free throw percentage (seventh) and blocks (eighth).
SEEING RED-BAND
Over the last two seasons, forward Jeff Redband has established himself as one of the preeminent three-point shooters in the ECC. In the 2016-17 season, Redband canned 68-of-151 three-point attempts becoming the first Daemen freshman with more than 50 triples since Brian Montanaro's 70 in 2002-03. He followed that up by shooting 69-for-169 from deep last season, becoming the first Daemen player with 60 or more three-pointers in back-to-back seasons since Montanaro did so in four straight seasons from 2002-06. A third team All-ECC pick in 2017-18, Redband averaged 11.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, while finishing third in three-point field goals and sixth in three-point shooting percentage among the ECC leaders. Redband recently became just the seventh player in team history to reach 150 three-point field goals in a career. He is off to a fast start this season, averaging 14.2 points per game while shooting 50 percent from the field and 54.2 percent from three-point range. He was named to the ECC-CACC Challenge all-tournament team after helping Daemen pick up wins over Caldwell and Nyack, and registered his first 20-point game since the 2015-16 season in a win over Slippery Rock. He was named the ECC Defensive Player of the Week after grabbing a team-high six rebounds to go with two steals and two blocks in a win over Lake Erie.
BREAKOUT BREON
Junior guard Breon Harris enjoyed a breakout season in 2017-18, and has helped Daemen to wins in 20 of 23 games since he was inserted into the starting lineup. After producing just 3.1 points on 31.8 percent shooting while coming off the bench in the team's first 11 games last season, Harris contributed 13.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.7 steals per game, while shooting 51.4 percent from the field as a starter. After totaling just just three three-pointers in the first 21 games of his career, Harris has made at least one in 23 of the last 24 games (37 total three-point field goals in that span). A third team All-ECC and ECC All-Tournament Team selection, Harris finished the 2017-18 season averaging 9.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.3 steals per game. He finished second in the ECC in total steals with 70, becoming the first Daemen player with more than 60 steals in a season since Casey Sheehan (68) during the 2012-13 campaign. Harris opened the 2018-19 season by earning MVP honors at the ECC-CACC Challenge where he averaged 16.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists while leading Daemen to wins over Caldwell and Nyack. For the season, he's producing 12.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
THE HAMILTON PRODUCTION
Redshirt senior guard/forward Deion Hamilton has returned to the lineup after missing the final 20 games of the 2017-18 season. The 6-foot-4 slasher provides another viable scoring option for the Wildcats with a career scoring average of 11.0 points per game. Hamilton was leading the team in scoring (15.1 ppg) through the first 10 games last season, while also chipping in 4.2 rebounds per game. He's also been a two-time All-Tournament Team pick at the season-opening ECC-CACC Challenge. Daemen is 17-7 since the start of the 2016-17 season when Hamilton shoots 50 percent or better from the field. He's averaging 12.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and a team-high 4.0 assists through the first five games of the 2018-19 season. He registered just the second double-double of his career (12 points, 10 rebounds) in a recent win over Slippery Rock.
GARV-ELOUS
Daemen has become reliant on the steady play of senior guard Darius Garvin who has appeared in 90 of a possible 92 games while making 72 starts over the course of his career. Each season he's increased his statistical impact on the team, and he was voted as the team's MVP by his teammates in 2017-18. Only fellow backcourt mate Jay Sarkis logged more minutes than Garvin's 1,022 last season. He finished the year averaging 9.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Garvin was one of only two players in the ECC to record double-figure points, rebounds and assists at some point during last season. Daemen was 12-3 last season and 22-6 since the start of the 2015-16 season when Garvin scores 10 or more points in a game. He has been slowed by an injury so far this season, exiting just four minutes into Daemen's second game of the season vs. Nyack on Nov. 10. Garvin was out of the lineup when Daemen suffered its only loss of the season (Nov. 14 at Mercyhurst), but returned for the Nov. 24 game vs. Slippery Rock. Garvin came off the bench to log 29 minutes against The Rock, and made perhaps the biggest play of the game, connecting on a hanging jumper with under two minutes to play after SRU had cut a comfortable Daemen lead to just four points. Garvin returned to the starting lineup two days later against Lake Erie.
INJURY BUG
Daemen has been hit hard with the injury bug early this season as incumbent starting guards Darius Garvin and Jay Sarkis, as well as redshirt senior guard Nick Petrucelli have all missed time. Sarkis played just 11 minutes in the season-opener vs. Caldwell before going out, and Petrucelli is feared to have suffered the third season-ending injury of his career. In 30 games last season, Sarkis produced 12.5 points and a team-best 3.6 assists per game and earned third team All-ECC honors. He finished the season ranking among the ECC leaders in total minutes (1,057 - 3rd), minutes per game (35.2 - 5th), three-point field goal percentage (42.5 - 5th), three-point field goals (68 - 4th), total assists (106 - 3rd) and assists per game (3.5 - 6th). Petrucelli appeared in the first three games of the season, and started at Mercyhurst on Nov. 14, his first time in the starting lineup since Jan. 22, 2016. Injuries have cost him the final 13 games of the 2015-16 season, all of the 2016-17 season, and all but five games since then. The rash of recent injuries marks the fifth straight season that the Wildcats have been without at least one prominent player for a significant amount of time.
STARTING 1-0
Daemen's 75-60 win over Caldwell on Nov. 9 extended their winning streak in season openers to 17, a streak that dates back to the 2002-03 season. The wins in that span have come over 14 different opponents. Fisher (Mass.), Wilfrid Laurier (Ont.) and Caldwell 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 23.8 points per game; in the team's six season openers since beginning to play a full Division II schedule, the average margin of victory is 18.2 points per game. Just two games - a 68-65 final over Toronto in 2011, and a 62-57 final over Felician in 2017 - have been decided by single digits. Daemen has gone over 100 points in three of the last seven season openers; the high-water mark came in 2013 when they downed Ohio Valley 111-90. 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 12-3 record at the friendly confines of Lumsden Gymnasium last season, reaching double-figure home wins for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. Since the start of the 2011-12 season, Daemen is 86-13 at Lumsden Gymnasium (.869 winning percentage).
ROBERTS WESLEYAN SCOUTING REPORT
Roberts Wesleyan is a fellow member of the East Coast Conference, and the Redhawks are led by interim head coach Mark Saladzius. After nine years as an assistant, Saladzius assumed control of the program earlier this fall following the retirement of longtime bench boss Rob McCoy who tallied 185 wins in 16 seasons at the helm. The Redhawks were the most improved team in the ECC last season, increasing their overall wins (from 3 to 14) and conference wins (from 2 to 7) while earning the program's first ECC Championship tournament berth. Six players return from RWC's 2017-18 team that went 14-14 overall and 7-11 in league play. The group of returners is headlined by junior guard Isaiah Lewis, a third team All-ECC pick who averaged 13.1 points per game last season. Incumbent starters Peyton McLaurin (9.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg), Jean Toussaint (9.6 ppg, 6.9 rpg) and Michael Bush (9.4 ppg) also return. The Redhawks have alternated wins and losses over the first month of the season, and are coming off an 82-61 road loss American International this past Saturday. Six players are averaging at least 7.0 points per game, led by McLaurin (11.7 ppg) and fellow returner Justin Vaughan (11.7 ppg). Vaughan is also leading the team in rebounding (6.0 rpg). Lewis is also averaging in double figures (10.3 ppg), and newcomer Fope Okuyiga has made an immediate impact (9.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg). Additional production is coming from Bush (8.5 ppg, team-high 16 assists) and Toussaint (7.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg).
ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Roberts Wesleyan: 37-12
Streak: Won 15
Last Meeting: Daemen 75, Roberts Wesleyan 69 | Feb. 28, 2018 | Amherst, N.Y. | ECC Championship First Round
More Details
THRUWAY RIVALRY DOMINANCE
Daemen has dominated the series with Roberts Wesleyan of late, winning 15 straight and 22 of the last 23 meetings. It's one of three active winning streaks for Daemen that has reached double figures against a single opponent (16 straight vs. Houghton, 11 straight vs. Mercy). The streak reached 15 after a trio of wins last season, including a six-point defeat in the opening round of the ECC Championship tournament. The Daemen backcourt of Jay Sarkis (18 points), Breon Harris (15 points, five steals) and Darius Garvin (12 points, eight rebounds) combined for 45 points on 15-of-28 shooting in the win. Ten of the last 15 meetings have been decided by nine points or fewer, including the last two. The closest margin was a 98-86 final on Jan. 12, 2016 when Daemen erased a 22-point deficit with just over six minutes to play, riding the strong play of Rochester native Torrence Dyck who finished with a career-high 35 points. The streak also includes one overtime game, a 77-72 final on Nov. 26, 2013 which was Daemen's first-ever ECC victory.
DID YOU KNOW?
* Daemen has won 11 straight games at RWC's Voller Athletic Center.
* Since joining the ECC in 2013, Daemen is 71-25 in all league games (.740 winning percentage), and 31-17 in ECC road games (.646 winning percentage).
* Darius Garvin is 16 assists shy of becoming thr 18th player in team history to reach 200 assists in a career
UP NEXT
Daemen makes its first of four trips to the New York City metro area for East Coast Conference contests vs. LIU Post (Friday, Dec. 14) and NYIT (Sunday, Dec. 16).
