GAME INFORMATION
Game No. 25 (Presented by WNY Imaging Systems)
Daemen Wildcats (17-7, 11-3 ECC) vs. Molloy Lions (6-18, 5-9 ECC)
Friday, Feb. 16 | 8 p.m.
Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium
Game No. 26 (Presented by UNYTS)
Daemen Wildcats (17-7, 11-3 ECC) vs. Queens Knights (7-14, 5-9 ECC)
Sunday, Feb. 18 | 3 p.m.
Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium
GAME LINKS - VS. MOLLOY
Live Stats
Watch Live on the ECC Network
Game Day
GAME LINKS - VS. QUEENS
Live Stats
Watch Live on the ECC Network
Game Day
JUMP BALL
Daemen plays its final two homes of the regular season this weekend, hosting East Coast Conference foes Molloy and Queens. Both opponents enter the weekend tied for sixth in the conference standings as they battle for one of the final conference tournament berths that's up for grabs in the waning weeks of the season. Meanwhile, Daemen enters the weekend looking to keep pace with second-place St. Thomas Aquinas (22-6, 13-3 ECC). The Wildcats are locked into a top-four finish which guarantees them at least a first round home game to open conference tournament play. Should the Wildcats win their final four regular season games and end up tied with STAC for second place, a coin toss will determine the two teams' conference tournament seeds.
SENIOR SALUTE
The Wildcats will honor a pair of players in their annual Senior Day ceremony prior to Sunday's game vs. Queens. Redshirt senior forward Aleks Miljenovic and junior Giambattista Davis will be recognized. Miljenovic has appeared in 51 games for the Widlcats to date since transferring from Roberts Wesleyan, and has helped the team to a 36-16 record in that span. This season has been Miljenovic's finest as he's producing 9.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while shooting 52.2 percent from the field. Davis will graduate this spring, needing just three years of study to do so. Since arriving on camps in the fall of 2015, Davis has helped Daemen to a 55-26 record. He's appeared in 20 games this season, the most of his career, and is shooting over 40 percent from the field and over 30 percent from three-point range.
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.
REGIONAL RANKS
A 12-1 record since Dec. 31 has vaulted Daemen into the official NCAA Division II East Region rankings for the first time in team history, coming in at No. 9 in the poll released on Valentine's Day. The NCAA announces the 10-team regional rankings each of the three Wednesdays prior to the NCAA Championships selection announcement, which will be made this year on Sunday, March 4. Subsequent rankings will be announced on February 21 and February 28. The eight-team NCAA Championships East Regional will consist of three automatic berths and five at-large selections. In addition, Daemen remains ranked in the D2SIDA East Region media poll, coming in at No. 5 this week, the team's highest-ever ascent in that poll. The Wildcats debuted in the poll in a tie for 10th on Jan. 15, marking the first time that Daemen had been regionally-ranked since the final week of the 2015-16 regular season. The Wildcats moved up a spot to ninth on Jan. 22 and held steady in that position on Jan. 29. Road wins over St. Thomas Aquinas, the No. 3 team in the poll, and District of Columbia helped Daemen climb to sixth on Feb. 5.
BREAKOUT BREON
Sophomore guard Breon Harris has exploded on the scene with an incredible stretch of late, helping Daemen to wins in 12 of their 13 games since he was inserted into the starting lineup back on Dec. 31 vs. St. Rose. After producing just 3.1 points on 31.8 percent shooting while coming off the bench in the team's first 11 games, Harris is contributing 13.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game, while shooting 53.4 percent from the field. After totaling just just three three-pointers in the first 21 games of his career, Harris has made at least one in 13 straight games (17 total three-point field goals in that span). He was named the ECC Player of the Week for Jan. 8-14 after leading Daemen to a trio of home wins. In that stretch, he eclipsed his career-high for both points and rebounds in consecutive games. He scored 16 points, grabbed seven boards and swiped a career-high seven steals in the Wildcats' eight-point win over LIU Post on Jan. 12. Harris followed that up by shooting a perfect 9-for-9 from the field and 2-for-2 from three-point range while totaling 23 points and eight rebounds in a 93-82 win over NYIT. On Jan. 28, Harris led a wild second-half comeback that came up just short against nationally-ranked Bridgeport. With Daemen trailing by 24 points, Harris erupted for 22 points in the final 13:17 of the game as Daemen cut the deficit to two points in the game's final minute. He ended the game with a career-high 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting to go with seven rebounds and six steals. For the season, Harris is producing 8.5 points per game, and he presently ranks fourth in total steals (51), fifth in steals per game (2.1), eighth in total assists (74) and 10th in assist per game (3.1) among the ECC leaders. He recently became the first Daemen player with more than 50 steals in a season since Casey Sheehan (68) and Mark Coppola (57) both did so during the 2012-13 campaign.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Redshirt freshman center Andrew Sischo has his collegiate career off to a fast start with double-figure scoring in 20 of Daemen's 24 games, including the last 16 in a row. The 6-foot-9 Sischo is averaging 14.6 points per game - tops among all ECC freshmen and ninth in the league overall at present. He's also producing a team-high 7.9 rebounds per game (2nd in ECC) and shooting a team-best 57.3 percent from the field (2nd in ECC). Sischo has earned seven ECC Rookie of the Week selections, the most for any player in the league since former Molloy guard/forward John Petrucelli had nine during the 2010-11 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 16-game stretch that's seen him post four 20-point games and the first six double-doubles of his career. In that 16-game span, Sischo is averaging 17.1 points on 60.4 percent field-goal shooting (119-for-197), while adding 9.3 rebounds per game. Sischo posted 20 points and 12 rebounds in a 68-60 win over Mercy on Jan. 26, scoring 17 points in a game-changing 22-4 second-half run that turned a 38-31 deficit into a 53-42 lead. With 351 total points this season, Sischo has the most points for a Daemen since Brian Montanaro's 420 during the 2002-03 season.
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 23 contests so far this season, and he is contributing 10.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.1 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 one-point loss to St. Michael's on Dec. 30, and has reached double figures in 10 of the last 14 games. He's increased his scoring thanks in part to his three-point shooting; Garvin totaled just four three-pointers in the first nine games of the season, but he made at least one triple in a career-high 13 straight games from Dec. 17 through Feb. 2, shooting 25-for-54 from downtown (46.3%) in that span. Garvin's 29 total three-pointers this season establishes a new career-high, as does his 243 points and 74 assists. Daemen is 9-3 this season and 19-6 since the 2015-16 season when Garvin scores 10 or more points in a game. In a 73-66 win over regionally-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas on Feb. 2, Garvin totaled 15 points and 10 assists to become the first Wildcat player to record a points-assists double-double since Supreme Hannah on Dec. 17, 2014. Garvin presently ranks eighth among the ECC leaders in total assists (74 - 8th), assists per game (3.1 - 10th), assist-turnover ratio (1.5 - 9th), defensive rebounds (109 - 10th) and minutes per game (33.3 - 7th).
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). 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) 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 19 points in Daemen's 80-56 win over District of Columbia on Jan. 10, and he posted back-to-back 17-point outings in road wins over Molloy and Queens in mid January. He canned 5-of-8 three-pointers in a Feb. 2 win at regionally-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas. For the season, he is contributing 11.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, and he presently ranks fourth in three-point field goals (53) and ninth in three-point field goal percentage (43.8) among the league leaders. Redband has made at least one three-pointer in 43 of his 52 career games, and has made multiple triples 32 times. He's the first Daemen player to record consecutive seasons with at least 50 three-pointers since Jordan Greene did so in three straight seasons (2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15).
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 23 games this season, Sarkis is producing 12.0 points and a team-best 3.8 assists per game. He has posted the first three 20-point games of his career this season, including a career-high 24 in a 78-65 win over District of Columbia on Feb. 4. Sarkis has dished out five or more assists in nine games this season, including a career-high 11 in a Jan. 21 win at Queens when he became the first Daemen player with 10 or more since Supreme Hannah on Dec. 17, 2014. Sarkis' string of 24 consecutive games with a three-point field goal was snapped on Jan. 26 vs. Mercy, but he rebounded a short time later by shooting 6-for-9 from distance in a pair of road wins over St. Thomas Aquinas and UDC. He played in the 50th game of his career on Jan. 28 vs. Bridgeport, and has made 49 consecutive starts when healthy. Sarkis presently ranks among the ECC leaders in minutes per game (34.6 - 5th), three-point field goal percentage (44.2 - 6th), three-point field goals (53 - 4th), and total assists (91 - 4th).
IMPORTER/EXPORTER
Since being imported from Roberts Wesleyan, redshirt senior forward Aleks Miljenovic has exported solid efforts for the Wildcats, mostly off the bench of late. The 6-foot-6 Serbian native is chipping in with 9.9 points and 5.0 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 has reached double-figure scoring in 12 games this season. He scored a season-high 19 points in 24 minutes of action in the Wildcat's 77-70 victory over thruway rival Roberts Wesleyan. He poured in 17 points and grabbed eight boards in Daemen's 80-56 win over District of Columbia on Jan. 10, and added 17 points and nine rebounds in a 74-66 defeat of LIU Post on Jan. 12. Since transferring from RWC, Miljenovic has appeared in 51 games for Daemen, helping the Wildcats to a 36-16 record in the last two seasons.
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 9-3 at home this season. Since the start of the 2011-12 season, Daemen is 79-13 at Lumsden Gymnasium (.859 winning percentage).
THRUWAY RIVALRY DOMINANCE
Daemen picked up a 98-73 win over Roberts Wesleyan on Jan. 6, giving the Wildcats 10 in a row at RWC's Voller Athletic Center. Jeff Redband (18 pts), Andrew Sischo (18 pts) and Jay Sarkis (17 pts) combined for 53 points and helped Daemen lead for nearly 39 minutes. Roberts Wesleyan came into the game as the ECC leader in field goal percentage defense, but the Redhawks allowed Daemen to shoot season-bests of 59.1 percent from the field and 60.9 percent from three-point range. The Wildcats matched a season-high with 21 assists and went over 90 points for the first time since Jan. 21, 2017. Daemen swept the Redhawks in the regular season with a 77-70 win on Feb. 9, giving the Wildcats wins in 14 straight and 21 of the last 22 meetings with the Redhawks. Aleks Miljenovic and Andrew Sischo combined for 37 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Wildcats. Daemen outscored Roberts 18-10 in the final seven minutes of the game.
STREAK STOPPERS
Twice this season Daemen has snapped long home winning streaks of their opponents. A 68-60 win at St. Rose on Dec. 31 snapped the Golden Knights' 14-game home winning streak. A 73-66 win at St. Thomas Aquinas on Feb. 2 snapped the Spartans' 19-game home winning streak, longest in the East Region at the time. The Spartans also entered that contest as winners of 20 consecutive home league games.
MOLLOY SCOUTING REPORT
Molloy is led by veteran head coach Charles Marquardt who has guided the Lions to a 261-393 record in his 24-year tenure to date. The Lions have won 16 or more games in four of the last five seasons. Last season was one of their finest as Marquardt steered the Lions to an 18-11 record, a second-place finish in the ECC standings, and their first appearance in the ECC Tournament finals since 2000. But, gone from last year's team are stars Charlie Marquardt, the coach's son, and Jaylen Morris, both of whom are now playing in the NBA Developmental League. Marquardt and Morris were the highest scoring tandem in the league last year, combining for 41.8 points per game which was equal to 51.1 percent of the Lions' offense. Buoyed by 10 returning players, including sophomore guard Nick Corbett and junior guard Curtis Jenkins, the Lions were picked sixth in the ECC preseason poll. Corbett is the reigning ECC Rookie of the Year after producing 9.3 points and 3.5 assists per game last season. Jenkins has been a double-figure scorer in each of his first two collegiate seasons. The Lions enter the weekend with just six wins in 24 games, but they've played a tough schedule with six losses to regionally-ranked teams and a pair of losses to Division I opponents. After starting the conference season with back-to-back wins over District of Columbia and Queens, the Lions have dropped five straight ECC games (seven straight overall). Corbett has developed into their go-to player as he's averaging 16.4 points per game, fifth-best in the league at present. Jenkins ranks first in the league in steals (59) and is contributing a career-high 15.6 points per game. Additional production is coming from junior forward Mike Torre (13.1 ppg). Turnovers have plagued the Lions this season as they rank 300th out of 300 Division II teams with 18.9 turnovers per contest.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Molloy: 6-4
Streak: Won 1
Last Meeting: Daemen 82, Molloy 74 | Jan. 19, 2018 | Rockville Centre, N.Y.
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QUEENS SCOUTING REPORT
Queens is led by second-year head coach Matt Collier who guided the Knights to a 13-13 campaign and a sixth-place finish (10-8 league record) in the East Coast Conference last season. The Knights qualified for the ECC Tournament, but bowed out in the opening round after an 85-74 loss to third-seeded Bridgeport. This year, Collier's squad, which features just five returners, was picked eighth in the ECC preseason poll. The Knights, who recently snapped a seven-game losing streak, are coming off back-to-back wins against NYIT and LIU Post. The Knights defeated NYIT 84-65 and most recently beat LIU Post 69-66 last Saturday, February 10th. Senior guard Tyrone Hall paces three double-figure scorers, averaging 12.6 points per contest. Sophomore forward Issac Grant (10.3 ppg) and senior guard Simon Green (10.3 ppg) are also producing. Grant (5.3 rpg) ranks second in the ECC in field goal percentage, connecting on 57.8 percent of his attempts. Queens is hitting 9.5 three-pointers per game which ranks first among ECC teams and 41st nationally.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Queens: 8-2
Streak: Won 3
Last Meeting: Daemen 81, Queens | Jan. 21, 2018 | Flushing, N.Y.
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UP NEXT
Daemen's closes out their 2017-2018 regular season next weekend, first facing off against LIU Post on Friday, Feb. 23 (7:00 p.m.) followed by visiting NYIT on Sunday, Feb. 25 (3:30 p.m.).
