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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
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Daemen Ranked 19th In D2SIDA National Poll

1/15/2019 4:25:00 PM

By: By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications
D2SIDA MEN'S BASKETBALL
NATIONAL MEDIA POLL
WEEK 8 - JANUARY 15, 2019
Rank School Pts. Record Previous
1. Bellarmine (11) 371 14-0 1
2. Northwest Missouri St. (4) 364 16-0 2
3. Indiana (Pa.) 331 14-1 3
4. St. Edward's 324 15-1 6
5. Nova Southeastern 317 13-1 4
6. Queens (N.C.) 281 15-2 9
7. Ashland 255 14-1 7
8. West Liberty 251 11-2 11
9. Point Loma 249 13-2 13
10. USC Aiken 238 13-1 5
11. Texas A&M-Commerce 196 13-2 T-19
12. St. Thomas Aquinas 184 13-2 RV
13. Findlay 166 14-2 17
14. Morehouse 165 13-1 25
15. St. Martin's 147 12-2 18
16. West Texas A&M 138 16-3 8
17. Lynn 137 13-1 RV
18. Northern State 120 13-3 NR
19. DAEMEN 119 12-3 14
20. UC San Diego 113 14-3 23
21. St. Anselm 85 12-2 15
T-22. Valdosta St. 61 13-3 10
T-22. Fairmont St. 61 11-3 24
T-24. Bentley 45 14-2 12
T-24. Washburn 45 11-3 16
( ) - denotes first-place votes
AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's basketball team is ranked No. 19 in the NCAA Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) national media poll for week eight of the 2018-19 season which was released this afternoon. It marks the second straight week that Daemen has been nationally ranked. The Wildcats dropped five spots after debuting in the poll at No. 14 last week. 

Daemen (12-3, 3-0 ECC) split a pair of East Coast Conference contests last week, falling to Molloy College (72-71) before defeating Queens College (80-65).

The loss to Molloy was of particularly gut-wrenching fashion as the visiting Lions rallied from a 10-point deficit with under three minutes to play, getting the go-ahead basket on a three-pointer by Nick Corbett with 5.9 seconds remaining. The loss snapped Daemen's 10-game ECC winning streak, their 18-game regional winning streak and their 11-game home winning streak.

They rebounded with Sunday's 15-point win over Queens, thanks in large part to a 48-22 advantage in points in the paint. After going to the locker room tied at 28-28, Daemen erupted for 52 points and shot nearly 70 percent from the field in the second half to dispatch of the upset-minded Knights.

The Wildcats' signature win of the season came earlier this month against previously unbeaten Saint Anselm. The meeting, which was billed as the regional "Game of the Year" by the experts at d2easthoops.org, featured 13 lead changes. Daemen allowed just 72 points, a season-low for the Hawks who entered the game as winners of 10 straight games, and ranked first in the D2SIDA regional poll and fourth in both the D2SIDA and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II national polls. It marked Daemen's second win against a nationally-ranked opponent in the team's NCAA Division II era. Saint Anselm is ranked 21st in this week's D2SIDA poll.  

Redshirt sophomore center Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) continues to lead the team in both scoring (21.4 ppg) and rebounding (10.4 rpg). He has scored at least 20 points in eight games this season, including the last two in a row. He's also tallied nine double-doubles, a total that ranks fifth among the NCAA Division II leaders. Earlier today, he was named to the Bevo Francis Award Top 100 Watch List. 

Redshirt junior forward Jeff Redband has continued his strong play. Over the last six games, the 6-foot-7 sharpshooter is shooting over 60 percent from both the field (34-for-55) and three-point range (22-for-34). He currently leads the ECC in total three-pointers (46) as well as three-point shooting accuracy (51.7%), and he ranks third nationally in the latter. Redband is contributing a career-high 15.0 points per game this season, sixth-best in the ECC at present. 

Deion Hamilton (Rochester, N.Y.), Breon Harris (Niagara Falls, N.Y.), Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y.) and Quinn Lee Yaw (Jamestown, N.Y.) are also producing for head coach Mike MacDonald. Hamilton matched his career-high with 26 points in the win over nationally-ranked Saint Anselm, and is averaging 12.9 points per game with a team-high 38 assists. Harris owns a pair of 20-point games this season, and is contributing 10.9 points per game with a team-high 24 steals. Sarkis missed the majority of November and December, but returned to lineup recently. He scored a season-high 19 points in a win over Dallas Baptist University, and is producing 7.0 points and 3.0 assists per game. Lee Yaw ranks second in the ECC in field goal percentage (58.9), and is giving the team 9.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. 

With 13 returning players off last season's 22-8 team, expectations were high for MacDonald's club at the season's outset. The Wildcats were picked second in the ECC preseason poll, and 22nd in the Division II Bulletin preseason national poll, while also receiving top-25 votes in both the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and D2SIDA preseason national polls. The Wildcats are also presently tied for the No. 1 ranking in the D2SIDA East Region media poll which was released yesterday. 

Daemen hits the road for ECC games this weekend at Mercy College (Friday, Jan. 18) and the University of Bridgeport (Sunday, Jan. 20). 

The D2SIDA national media poll is voted on by sports information professionals from around the country.

For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.



 
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