Sischo Named To Bevo Francis Award Top 100 Watch List

1/15/2019 10:35:00 AM

By: By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

AMHERST, N.Y. - Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) of the Daemen College men's basketball team has been named to the Bevo Francis Award Top 100 Watch List which was announced today by Small College Basketball, a national organization which highlights the accomplishments of non-NCAA Division I basketball teams and student-athletes. The Bevo Francis Award is named for the former basketball star at Rio Grande College who averaged 50.1 points per game during the 1952-53 season. It is awarded to the player who is deemed to have had the finest season within Small College Basketball, which consists of NCAA Divisions II and III as well as the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) and National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA).

"This was an extremely difficult process, and I am very thankful to our committee for their input and feedback on many players throughout the country," said Small College Basketball Founder John McCarty. "When we look out over the landscape of small college basketball, we're trying to find the best of the best, based on our criteria, out of about 1,100 - 1,200 colleges and universities.

"As such, it's a real honor to be included on this prestigious list. Each of the players on this list is in the midst of a heck of a season, and I congratulate each and every one of them."

Sischo, a 6-foot-9 redshirt sophomore center, has been the catalyst behind Daemen's 12-3 start this season which has the Wildcats ranked atop the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region media poll, and included in the D2SIDA national media poll for the first time (ranked No. 14 last week). He has appeared in 13 of the team's 15 games, and is averaging 21.4 points, 10.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game, while shooting 59.3 percent from the field and 75.6 percent from the free throw line. Sischo has racked up nine double-doubles this season, a total that ranks fifth among all NCAA Division II players. He also ranks among the Division II leaders in rebounding (10th), scoring (31st) and field goal percentage (30th).

Big things were expected from the Daemen big man this season. He was named the East Coast Conference Preseason Player of the Year in October. That came on the heels of his redshirt freshman campaign in which he averaged 15.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game en route to ECC Rookie of the Year and first team All-ECC honors.

He opened the 2018-19 season by leading Daemen to back-to-back wins as part of the ECC-CACC Challenge presented by Western New York Knee and Orthopedic Surgery PC. He scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the Wildcats' 75-60 win over Caldwell University which extended their winning streak in season-openers to 17 straight. He added 17 points and 10 boards in a win over Nyack College the following day, and was promptly named to the all-tournament team, as well as ECC Player of the Week.

Sischo went on to earn ECC Player of the Week honors again in back-to-back weeks covering late November and early December. He notched 31 points and 15 rebounds in a home win over Slippery Rock University, getting the better of his matchup with Street & Smith Magazine Preseason All-American Micah Till. Sischo went on to total 32 points and 18 rebounds in a come-from-behind road win at Roberts Wesleyan College on Dec. 5. That win extended Daemen's winning streak in the all-time series vs. RWC to 16 straight, and Sischo's performance came with the national spotlight shining as the game was featured as part of the NCAA Division II Basketball Showcase.

After suffering an injury Dec. 16 at New York Institute of Technology, Sischo was forced out of the lineup for two straight games. He returned to lineup for Daemen's Jan. 2 meeting with Saint Anselm College, a game billed as the regional "Game of the Year" by the experts at d2easthoops.org. Sischo came off the bench to score 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting, and added a trio of blocked shots as the Wildcats knocked off the previously unbeaten Hawks which came into the game ranked fourth in both national polls for Division II.

Most recently, Sischo scored 29 points in a one-point loss to Molloy College, and followed up with a 23-point outing this past Sunday vs. Queens College. He has scored at least 20 points in eight games this season.

In his career, Sischo has appeared in 43 games and made 30 starts. He has totaled 740 points (17.2 ppg) and 396 rebounds (9.2 rpg), and has helped Daemen to a 34-11 overall record.

Sischo is the lone player from the ECC to be included in the Bevo Francis Award Top 100 Watch List, and one of six from NCAA Division II East Region teams. Also included from the East Region are senior guard Daquaise Andrews of Southern New Hampshire University, Tim Guers of Saint Anselm, Juvaris Hayes of Merrimack College, Ryan Richmond of Bentley University and Corey Taite of Goldey-Beacom College.

This marks the fourth season of the Bevo Francis Award. Previously recipients include Dominez Burnett of Davenport University (Mich.) in 2016, Justin Pitts of Northwest Missouri State University in 2017 and Emanuel Terry of Lincoln Memorial University last season.

On February 15, Small College Basketball will publish the next Watch List with 50 players. The list will be narrowed down to 25 players in a Watch List published on March 15. The finalists will be announced in a highlight video that will be released on April 6.

The 2019 Bevo Francis Award winner will be announced on April 8. The award will be presented to the award winner on May 11 at the Small College Basketball National Awards Show in conjunction with the Small College Basketball Alumni Association's Celebration of the Game event at the Crowne Plaza in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.

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