GAME INFORMATION
Game No. 29
ECC Tournament - First Round
#3 Daemen Wildcats (21-7, 15-3 ECC) vs. #6 Roberts Wesleyan (14-13, 7-11 ECC)
Wednesday, Feb. 28 | 7 p.m.
Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium
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Championship Central
JUMP BALL
March Madness comes a day early as the East Coast Conference Championship Tournament tips off Wednesday with a first round game between third-seeded Daemen and sixth-seeded Roberts Wesleyan. Daemen enters the game as one of the hottest teams in the country with wins in seven straight and 16 of their last 17 games. The Wildcats' only loss in the last eight weeks came against ECC regular season champion Bridgeport on Jan. 28. Conversely, Roberts Wesleyan comes into the tournament having lost their last seven regular season games. The Redhawks are making their first ECC Championship appearance since joining the league in 2012-13. Daemen and Roberts Wesleyan, longtime rivals with more than 45 all-time meetings, will be meeting in postseason play for the sixth time in their history, and for the first time since Feb. 21, 2012 when Daemen scored a 65-45 win in the semifinals of the now-defunct American Mideast Conference Tournament. Daemen has dominated the series with wins in 14 straight and 21 of the last 22 meetings. The winner of Wednesday's game moves on to the semifinal round where No. 2 Saint Thomas Aquinas awaits. Both the semifinals (Saturday, March 3) and finals (Sunday, March 4) are being held at the Voller Athletic Center on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan.
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 16-1 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. 8 this week. 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. 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, 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.
ECC TOURNEY HISTORY
Daemen will be making its third consecutive appearance in the ECC Championship Tournament. The Wildcats debuted in the tourney back in 2016, earning the No. 2 seed in the team's first season of postseason eligibility at the Division II level. Five players scored in double figures, led by Torrence Dyck's 23 points, in a 103-102 overtime win over sixth-seeded Mercy in the semifinals that year. The Wildcats went on to fall 80-63 against top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas in the tournament finals. Last season, Daemen entered as the No. 4 seed and knocked off No. 5 District of Columbia 73-71 in the first round as Arif Mehmetaj poured in 23 points to lead the way. But, it was once again the top-seeded STAC Spartans who bounced the Wildcats, doing so in the semifinals with an 85-66 victory.
BREAKOUT BREON
Sophomore guard Breon Harris has exploded on the scene with an incredible stretch of late, helping Daemen to wins in 16 of their 17 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 13.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.5 steals per game, while shooting 51.9 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 16 of the last 17 games (23 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. Harris totaled 21 points, nine boards and four assists in a wild 102-98 double-overtime win over Molloy on Feb. 16, playing 48 of a possible 50 minutes in the contest. For the season, Harris is producing 9.3 points per game, and he presently ranks secnod in the ECC and 14th nationally in total steals (61). He also ranks fifth in steals per game (2.2), eighth in assists per game (3.2) and ninth in total assists (89) among the ECC leaders. He recently became the first Daemen player with more than 60 steals in a season since Casey Sheehan (68) 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 24 of Daemen's 28 games, including the last 20 in a row. The 6-foot-9 Sischo is averaging 15.8 points per game - tops among all ECC freshmen and sixth in the league overall at present. He's also producing a team-high 8.4 rebounds per game (2nd in ECC) and shooting a team-best 57.8 percent from the field (3rd in ECC, 32nd nationally). Sischo has earned eight 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 27 points on 12-of-14 shooting to lead Daemen to an 86-82 win at Mercy on Dec. 15, igniting a scorching 20-game stretch that's seen him post six 20-point games and the first seven double-doubles of his career. In that 20-game span, Sischo is averaging 18.2 points on 60.3 percent field-goal shooting (155-for-257), while adding 9.8 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. He erupted for 36 points (5th most by an ECC player this season) and 23 rebounds (most by an ECC player, 4th most by any player in the country this season) in a 102-98 double-overtime win over Molloy on Feb. 16, propelling him to ECC Co-Player of the Week honors. It was the most points for a Daemen player since Torrence Dyck's 35 against Roberts Wesleyan on Jan. 12, 2016; it was also the most rebounds for a Daemen player since Gerald Beverly's 21 against Dowling on Jan. 9, 2015. With 441 total points this season, Sischo has the most points for a Daemen freshman since Brian Montanaro's 420 during the 2002-03 season. He's also the first Daemen player with more than 200 total rebounds since Beverly hauled in 373 during the 2014-15 season.
GARV-ELOUS
With injuries to key backcourt players in each of the last three seasons, Daemen has become reliant on the steady play of junior guard Darius Garvin who has appeared in 84 of a possible 85 games while making 68 starts. 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 28 contests so far this season, and he is contributing 9.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Garvin is one of only two players in the ECC to have games of at least 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 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 12 of the last 18 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 32 total three-pointers this season establishes a new career-high, as does his 278 points and 88 assists. Daemen is 11-3 this season and 21-6 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 10th in total assists (88), ninth in assists per game (3.1), sixth in assist-turnover ratio (1.5), eighth in defensive rebounds (129), sixth in total minutes (953) and seventh in minutes per game (34.0) among the ECC leaders.
REDBAND FOR THREE
Over the last two seasons, redshirt sophomore 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. 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 18-point outings in road wins over LIU Post and NYIT in Daemen's regular-season finales in late February. He canned 5-of-8 three-pointers in a Feb. 2 win at regionally-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas. He's made at least one three-pointer in 23 of 28 games, and has posted a career-high 18 games with at least 10 points. For the season, he is contributing 11.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, and he presently ranks second in three-point field goals (64) and eighth in three-point field goal percentage (41.3) among the league leaders. He's the first Daemen player to record consecutive seasons with at least 60 three-pointers since Montanaro did so in four straight seasons from 2002-06.
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 28 games this season, Sarkis is producing 12.5 points and a team-best 3.6 assists per game. He has posted the first five 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, and again in a 92-68 road win over NYIT on Feb. 25. 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. He's also the first Daemen player with 100 assists in a season since Hannah's 109 in 2014-15. 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 54 consecutive starts when healthy. Sarkis presently ranks among the ECC leaders in total minutes (984 - 4th), minutes per game (35.1 - 5th), three-point field goal percentage (42.6 - 6th), three-point field goals (63 - 3rd), total assists (100 - 4th) and assists per game (3.6 - 6th).
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 9.4 points and 4.9 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 13 games this season. He scored a season-high 19 points in 24 minutes of action in the Wildcats' 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 55 games for Daemen, helping the Wildcats to a 40-16 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 11-3 at home this season, marking the sixth time in the last seven years that they've had at least 10 home victories. Since the start of the 2011-12 season, Daemen is 81-13 at Lumsden Gymnasium (.862 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.
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 186. The Redhawks went just 3-24 overall and 2-16 in ECC play last season, but opened this season with nine wins in their first 13 games. The early season success came 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. The Redhawks have been ranked as high as 10th in the D2SIDA East Region poll, but they've dropped their final seven regular season games. The Redhawks are the only ECC team with a win over league-leading Bridgeport, defeating the Purple Knights 85-82 back on Dec. 15. Eight players are averaging at least seven points per game. Sophomore guard Isaiah Lewis leads the way, averaging 12.8 points per contest. Newcomers Peyton McLaurin (9.8 ppg, 42.5 3PT%), Jean Toussaint (9.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg), Michael Bush (9.6 ppg), Brad Williams (8.7 ppg), Justin Vaughan (7.9 ppg) and Gintaras Bartaskas (7.4 ppg, 45.4 3PT%) have all made immediate impacts. Manny Joseph, who led the team in scoring last season (13.6 ppg) is producing 91. points per game this time around; he scored a season-high 25 points in RWC's last meeting with Daemen.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Roberts Wesleyan: 36-12
Streak: Won 14
Last Meeting: Daemen 77, Roberts Wesleyan 70 | Feb. 9, 2018 | Amherst, N.Y.
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UP NEXT
Second-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas awaits the winner of Wednesday's game. The ECC Tournament semifinals are set for Saturday, March 3 with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off at the Voller Athletic Center on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan.
