GAME INFORMATION & LINKS
GAME #16: #19 Daemen Wildcats (12-3, 4-1 ECC) vs. Mercy Mavericks (4-9, 2-3 ECC)
Friday, Jan. 18 |  7 p.m.  |  Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.  |  Victory Gymnasium

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Watch Live: ECC Network
Game Day

GAME #17: #19 Daemen Wildcats (11-2, 3-0 ECC) vs. Bridgeport Purple Knights (7-8, 2-3 ECC)
Sunday, Jan. 20 |  3 p.m.  |  Bridgeport, Conn.  |  Hubbell Gymnasium

Live Stats
Watch Live: ECC Network

JUMP BALL
Daemen hits the road for the first time as a nationally-ranked Division II team for East Coast Conference contests vs. Mercy and Bridgeport. The Wildcats have won 29 of their last 34 games dating back to Dec. 31, 2017. After dropping two straight games, the Wildcats got back on track last Sunday with an 80-65 defeat of Queens, using a 52-37 second-half blitz to pull away. The Wildcats are unbeaten all-time (11-0) against Mercy. The Mavericks feature one of the region's top players in redshirt sophomore center Bryan Griffin (17.2 ppg, 10.8 rpg). Bridgeport is coming off a 25-win season and picked to win the ECC. 

NATIONAL RANKING
Daemen is ranked 19th in the latest Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) national media poll which was released earlier this week. The Wildcats dropped five spots after making their first-ever appearance in an in-season Division II top-25 national poll last week, coming in at No. 14 in the same poll. The ascent into the national rankings comes after 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.

MOVIN' ON UP
Daemen has moved up to No. 1 in the latest D2SIDA East Region media poll which was released Jan. 14. It marks the second straight week the Daemen has been No. 1 in the poll, and it represents the team's highest-ever ascent in the regional rankings. The poll includes teams from the East Coast Conference, Northeast-10 Conference and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. 

DON'T LET THE BALL DROP
The 2018 calendar year was a remarkable one for Daemen. The Wildcats posted a 25-3 record in the calendar year. The team's success also included a 14-1 record in home games, a 17-1 record in East Coast Conference contests and a 22-2 mark against all regional opponents. 

SIGNATURE WIN
Daemen opened 2019 by knocking off nationally-ranked St. Anselm 78-72 on Jan. 2. St. Anselm, which was ranked fourth in both national polls for Division II at the time, had entered the contest with an unblemished 10-0 record, and hadn't suffered a regulation loss in regular season play since Feb. 6, 2018. Deion Hamilton scorched the nets with six three-pointers and 26 points, and Andrew Sischo tallied 20 points in his return to the Daemen lineup. The meeting was billed as the "Game of the Year" by the experts from d2easthoops.org, and it lived up the hype. The game featured 13 lead changes, and Daemen rallied from a five-point halftime deficit with a 51-40 second half. 

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 a 93-40 overall record. The Wildcats have won at least 19 games in each of MacDonald's first four seasons, and the team's 90 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 349-266.

THRUWAY RIVALRY DOMINANCE IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Daemen's 78-70 win at Roberts Wesleyan on Dec. 5 was their 16th straight win in the Thruway Rivalry series, and it came as the national spotlight shined. The game was featured as part of the NCAA Division II Basketball Showcase, and it was broadcast across a variety of online mediums. Andrew Sischo racked up season-highs of 32 points and 18 rebounds, and Deion Hamilton (season-high 24 points) keyed a game-closing 20-7 run by scoring 11 points, including the tying and go-ahead buckets. Daemen has won 23 of the last 24 meetings with RWC, and 12 straight at the Voller Athletic Center. The 16-game winning streak is tied for Daemen's longest active streak against a single opponent. Eleven of the last 16 meetings have been decided by nine points or fewer, including the last three. 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. 

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 posted double-doubles in the first six games, including a 32-point, 18-rebound effort in a win over Roberts Wesleyan on Dec. 5. He was named to the all-tournament team at the season-opening ECC-CACC Challenge, and has been named the ECC Player of the Week three times. After suffering an injury at NYIT on Dec. 16, Sischo missed two consecutive games, but returned to the lineup with a 20-point effort in Daemen's six-point win over nationally-ranked St. Anselm on Jan. 2. For the season, Sischo is shooting 59.3 percent from the field and averaging 21.4 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. He presently ranks among the league, regional and national leaders in scoring (ECC - 2nd; region - 7th; national - 32nd), rebounding (ECC, region - 2nd; national - 10th) and double-doubles (ECC, region - 1st; national - 5th). 

AWARD WATCH LIST
Earlier this week, Andrew Sischo was named to the Bevo Francis Award Top 100 Watch List. The Bevo Francis Award is named for the former basketball star at Rio Grande College, and 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). Sischo is one of 50 NCAA Division II players on the list, and one of six from the East Region. Small College Basketball will publish its 50-player watch list on February 15, and a 25-player watch list on March 15. The finalists will be announced on April 6, and the 2019 Bevo Francis Award winner will be announced on April 8. 

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 11.2 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 20-8 since the start of the 2016-17 season when Hamilton shoots 50 percent or better from the field. He registered just the second double-double of his career (12 points, 10 rebounds) in an earlier win over Slippery Rock, and scored 24 points in Daemen's 78-70 win over Roberts Wesleyan on Dec. 5, 11 of which came in a game-closing 20-7 run. He posted his best outing of the season in a big-time matchup with nationally-ranked St. Anselm, canning six three-pointers and matching his career-high with 26 points in Daemen's win. For the season, he's averaging 12.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.

SEEING RED-BAND
Over his first two collegiate seasons, forward Jeff Redband 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, and has made at least one three-pointer in 17 straight games. He is off to a fast start this season, averaging 15.0 points per game while shooting 52.1 percent from the field and 51.7 percent from three-point range. He ranks among the ECC leaders in field goal percentage (5th), three-point field goals (2nd) and three-point field goal percentage (1st). Redband also presently leads the country in three-point field percentage, and ranks 33rd nationally in three-pointers made per game (3.1). 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. Redband canned a career-high six three-pointers, and scored a career-high 23 points in Daemen's 74-55 win over St. Rose on New Year's Eve. He's scored 20 or more points in three of the last four games, and was named the ECC Player of the Week for Dec. 31-Jan. 6.

BREAKOUT BREON
Junior guard Breon Harris enjoyed a breakout season in 2017-18, and has helped Daemen to wins in 27 of 30 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 30 of the last 32 games (52 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. He heated up in December, registering back-to-back 20-point games for the first time in his career. Harris knocked down five three-pointers and totaled 22 points in a road win at NYIT on Dec. 16, and followed up with 23 points and five steals in a home win over St. Michael's on Dec. 29. He was named the ECC Defensive Player of the Week for games played Dec. 28-30. For the season, he's producing 10.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game. 

QUINN-ING
Daemen has gotten great production out of redshirt senior forward Quinn Lee Yaw so far this season. The 6-foot-5 Jamestown native is presently second in the ECC in field goal percentage (58.9%) and producing 9.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Lee Yaw has reached double-figure scoring in seven of the last 11 games, including a season-best 21 points in a road win at NYIT on Dec. 16. The 2018-19 season marks Lee Yaw's first with actual game action since 2015-16. He began his career at Division II Edinboro where he appeared in 41 games over two seasons. He later transferred to Division I St. Bonaventure where he made the team as a walk-on, but had to sit out per NCAA transfer rules. He was forced to sit out the 2017-18 season after transferring to Daemen, again per the NCAA transfer rules. The Lee Yaw name is a familiar one in local basketball circles as he earned Co-Player of the Year honors in the Erie County Interscholastic Conference and second team All-Western New York honors while leading Jamestown High School to a section title in his senor season. 

SHINING STAR-KIS
Redshirt junior guard Jay Sarkis returned to the lineup recently after missing the majority of November and December with an injury. Sarkis scored the go-ahead bucket in what turned out to be a 64-55 win over St. Michael's on Dec. 29, and totaled nine points, four rebounds and three assists in his return. He went on to record a game-high six assists in Daemen's 74-55 win over St. Rose on Dec. 31, and 13 points in the upset victory over St. Anselm on Jan. 2. For the season, Sarkis has appeared in eight games and is averaging 7.0 points and 3.0 assists per game. 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 that season as he appeared in all 29 games while making 26 starts, and averaging 8.5 points and 2.3 assists per game that season. 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. Sarkis 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). 

GARV-ELOUS
Daemen has become reliant on the steady play of senior guard Darius Garvin who has appeared in 98 of a possible 102 games while making 75 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 was again out of the lineup in mid-December, but made his return to the lineup on Dec. 29.  

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. The Wildcats have opened the 2018-19 campaign with an 8-1 home record. Their 11-game home winning streak was snapped following a 72-71 loss to Molloy on Jan. 11. Since the start of the 2011-12 season, Daemen is 90-14 at Lumsden Gymnasium (.865 winning percentage). Of those 14 losses, six have been decided by three points or fewer, including three by just a single point.  

MERCY SCOUTING REPORT 
Mercy is led by second-year head Michael Maczko who led the Mavericks to a 10-19 record last season, an eight-win improvement over the previous campaign. Six players, including one regular starter (senior guard Sal Barbetto), return to the Mercy roster this season. Barbetto started all 29 contests and averaged 12.5 points and 3.1 assists per game last season. After averaging just 3.8 points and 2.5 rebounds in 24 games last season, redshirt sophomore forward Bryan Griffin has come into his own this season. Griffin is one of two players in the ECC (also Daemen's Andrew Sischo) to be averaging a double-double as he's putting up 17.2 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-8, 230-pound Griffin has notched nine double-doubles this season, a total that ranks fifth in the country. He leads the league in rebounding and ranks fourth in field goal percentage (56.1) and fifth in scoring. Griffin has reached double figures in 12 of 13 games this season, including a season-high 28 points in a 107-81 loss to Bridgeport last Wednesday. Newcomer Tawayne Anderson, Jr., a graduate transfer from Merrimack, has made an immediate impact, averaging 9.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per outing. Barbetto (8.7 ppg, 2.6 apg) and sophomore Matthew Alectus (8.0 ppg, team-high 18 three-pointers) are also producing. The Mavericks, who have been idle since Jan. 9, are looking to snap a four-game slide. Mercy's last win came on Dec. 12 when they dispatched of ECC rival Queens, 61-56. Mercy was picked ninth in the ECC preseason poll. 

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Mercy: 11-0
Streak: Won 11
Last Meeting: Daemen 68, Mercy 60 | Jan. 26, 2018 | Amherst, N.Y.
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BRIDGEPORT SCOUTING REPORT 
Bridgeport is led by veteran mentor Mike Ruane who has developed the Purple Knights into perennial contenders in the ECC during his 19-year tenure. Ruane, who holds a career record of 358-198, led the Purple Knights to a 25-6 campaign last season which included a 17-1 ECC mark, a run to the ECC Championship finals and the10th NCAA tournament berth of Ruane's tenure. Eight players return to the fold, including a trio of incumbent starters - Bakary Camara, D'Vonne Trumbo and Vakas Iqbal. However, Trumbo has apparently been lost for the season after suffering an injury just six games into the 2018-19 campaign. After opening the season with a 5-2 record, Bridgeport dropped six straight games from Dec. 8-30. They snapped the slide with an 87-75 defeat of American International on Jan. 5, and have since added a 107-81 win over Mercy. Camara has started all 15 contests this season, and is producing team-highs in scoring (14.2 ppg), rebounding (6.3 rpg), blocks (15) and steals (23). Six additional players are averaging more than 8.0 points per game, including double-figure scorers Hashem Abbas (10.9 ppg) and Eric Rankin (10.7 ppg). As a team, Bridgeport is scoring 90.3 points per game which ranks seventh in the country. They're also allowing 88.6 points per game which ranks 300th out of 304 NCAA Division II teams. Bridgeport was picked first in the ECC preseason poll. 

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Bridgeport: 5-5
Streak: Lost 2
Last Meeting: Bridgeport 77, Daemen 71 | Jan. 28, 2018 | Amherst, N.Y.
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DID YOU KNOW?
* Daemen's 11-game winning streak in the all-time series with Mercy is their third-longest active streak against a single opponent; the Wildcats have won 16 straight meetings with both Roberts Wesleyan and Houghton.
* Daemen is seeking their first win at Bridgeport's Hubbell Gymnasium since a 90-79 final on Jan. 18, 2014; the Wildcats are 0-4 there since then. 
* Since joining the ECC in 2013-14, Daemen is 34-17 in conference road games; the Wildcats posted a program-best 8-1 road record in ECC road games last season, and have won 10 straight conference road games
* Daemen leads the ECC in scoring defense, allowing just 69.5 points per game; Daemen also leads the ECC and ranks 19th in field goal percentage defense (40.0%)

UP NEXT
Daemen returns to Lumsden Gymnasium for a three-game homestand which starts Friday, Jan. 25 with a matchup against nationally-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas.