GAME INFORMATION & LINKS
GAME #18: #17/RV Daemen Wildcats (14-3, 6-1 ECC) vs. #11/#12 St. Thomas Aquinas Spartans (15-2, 7-0 ECC)
Friday, Jan. 25 | 8 p.m. | Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium
Live Stats
Watch Live: ECC Network
Game Day
GAME #19: #17/RV Daemen Wildcats (14-3, 6-1 ECC) vs. District of Columbia Firebirds (9-8, 2-5 ECC)
Sunday, Jan. 27 | 3 p.m. | Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium
Live Stats
Watch Live: ECC Network
JUMP BALL
Daemen tips off an East Coast Conference homestand with games this weekend against St. Thomas Aquinas and District of Columbia. Friday's meeting between the Wildcats and Spartans features the two winningest Division II programs in New York State since the start of the 2014-15 season. Daemen's 95 wins in that span are second only to St. Thomas Aquinas which has racked up 117 wins and won the last three successive ECC championships. As if the meeting needed any more hype, the teams come into the game ranked first (STAC) and second (Daemen) in the latest D2SIDA regional poll, and both are nationally ranked. It'll be Daemen's third game this season against a nationally-ranked opponent, and their first as a nationally-ranked team themselves. STAC will bring a four-game winning streak into the contest, and they are the last team without a loss in ECC play this season. On Sunday, Daemen will be looking for their fifth straight win in the series with UDC.
NATIONAL RANKING
Daemen is ranked 17th in the latest Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) national media poll which was released earlier this week. The Wildcats moved up two spots after being ranked 19th the previous week. The Wildcats made their first-ever appearance in an in-season Division II top-25 national poll earlier this month, coming in at No. 14 in the same poll. Daemen is also receiving votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II national poll. The ascent into the national rankings comes after Daemen was ranked 22nd 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.
REGIONAL RANKING
Daemen is ranked second in the latest Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region media poll which was released Jan. 21. Daemen has been ranked in each of the nine regional polls released this season, rising as high as No. 1 in back-to-back weeks earlier this month. The poll includes teams from the East Coast Conference, Northeast-10 Conference and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.
ROAD WARRIORS
Daemen picked up a pair of nail-biting road wins last weekend, extending their ECC road winning streak to 12 straight games. The Wildcats rallied for a 75-74 win at Mercy on Jan. 18, overcoming a four-point deficit with less than 25 seconds to play. Breon Harris drilled a pull-up three-pointer to bring them within a point, then converted an acrobatic steal and layup on the ensuing inbounds pass to put the Wildcats ahead for good. Harris canned a career-high six three-pointers and scored a season-high 24 points in the win. Less than 48 hours later, the Wildcats pulled off an 87-85 win over ECC preseason favorite Bridgeport. Andrew Sischo and Deion Hamilton scored 18 points apiece to lead the way in Daemen's first win at Hubbell Gymnasium since the 2013-14 season.
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 95-40 overall record. The Wildcats have won at least 19 games in each of MacDonald's first four seasons, and the team's 95 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 351-266. He picked up the 350th win of his career on Jan. 18 at Mercy College.
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 59.1 percent from the field and averaging 20.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. He presently ranks among the league, regional and national leaders in scoring (ECC - 2nd; region - 7th; national - 37th), rebounding (ECC, region - 2nd; national - 14th) and double-doubles (ECC, region - 2nd; national - 8th).
AWARD WATCH LIST
Earlier this month, 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.
THREE-DICULOUS SHOOTING
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. He is off to a fast start this season, averaging 14.8 points per game while shooting 50.3 percent from the field and 50.5 percent from three-point range, while totaling 53 three-pointers. He ranks among the ECC leaders in field goal percentage (8th), three-point field goals (1st) and three-point field goal percentage (1st). Redband also ranks third in three-point field percentage and 33rd in three-pointers made per game (3.1) among the national leaders. 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 four times this season, and was named the ECC Player of the Week for Dec. 31-Jan. 6. Redband has made at least one three-pointer in 21 consecutive games, and is closing in on becoming just the fifth player in team history with 200 three-pointers. Over the course of his career, Redband has appeared in 75 games and made 73 starts; he has racked up 876 points, 345 rebounds and 190 three-pointers.
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 11.3 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 21-8 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 12.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
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 32 of the last 36 games (59 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. Harris' biggest game of the season came Jan. 18 at Mercy where he scored 24 points, including five in the final 25 seconds that helped Daemen overcome a four-point deficit; his pull-up three-pointer - his career-high sixth of the night - pulled Daemen within a point, then he converted an acrobatic steal and layup which proved to be the difference in the game. For the season, he's producing 11.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.1 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 leading the ECC in field goal percentage (59.2%) and producing 8.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Lee Yaw has reached double-figure scoring in seven of the last 13 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 10 games and is averaging 6.7 points and 3.5 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 100 of a possible 104 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 is 23-6 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. He scored a season-high 13 points in a road win at Bridgeport on Jan. 20.
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.
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS SCOUTING REPORT
St. Thomas Aquinas is led by veteran mentor Tobin Anderson who is now in his sixth season at the helm. Anderson has guided the Spartans to a 132-45 record in hs tenure, and the team's 117 wins since the start of the 2014-15 season are the most for any East Coast Conference team, and also the most for any Division II program in New York State. STAC has advanced to the ECC Championship finals in each of the last four seasons, and they've won the last three conference titles. After graduating a class that included Justin Reyes, the ECC's all-time leading scorer, STAC was picked third in the ECC preseason poll as they return just four players from their 2017-18 team that went 26-7. The Spartans bring a four-game winning streak into Friday's game, and they've posted a 10-1 record during the months of December and January, a run that has vaulted them into both top-25 national polls for Division II (#11 in D2SIDA poll; #12 in NABC poll), and also to the top of the D2SIDA regional poll. With six players averaging better than 8.0 points per game, the Spartans are producing 81.2 points as a team, second-best in the ECC this season. Freshman forward Osbel Caraballo has made an immediate impact by averaging a team-high 13.8 points as well as 6.9 rebounds per game. Caraballo scored a season-high 35 points in a win over Adelphi on Dec. 30, and he's been a two-time ECC Player of the Week and two-time ECC Rookie of the Week honoree. Fellow newcomers Demetre Roberts (12.8 ppg) and Sekou Cisse (11.0 ppg) have also produced.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. St. Thomas Aquinas: 4-13
Streak: Lost 1
Last Meeting: St. Thomas Aquinas 60, Daemen 57 | Mar. 3, 2018 | Rochester, N.Y. | ECC Championship Semifinals
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DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SCOUTING REPORT
UDC is led by sixth-year head coach Mike Riley who has guided the Firebirds to a 53-101 record since taking the reins. Just four players return from the Firebirds' 2017-18 team that went 7-20 overall and 5-13 in ECC play. Three of the four returners played prominent roles last season: Danny Shand (team-highs 13.7 ppg, 3.9 apg), Quadire Truesdale (10.3 ppg) and Kevin Cox (9.8 ppg, team-high 6.5 rpg). The Firebirds were picked fifth in the ECC preseason poll, and they've already eclipsed last season's win total. UDC brings a two-game losing streak into their contest Friday night at Roberts Wesleyan. Newcomers Zachary Olukanni (team-high 12.8 ppg) and Juanye Colon (11.3 ppg) have gotten their UDC careers off to a good start. Olukanni scored a season-high 26 points in UDC's most recent game, an 80-79 loss to Queens last Saturday. Colon ranks third among the ECC leaders in made three-pointers (47) and three-point shooting percentage (43.1). Cox (11.1 ppg, team-high 7.1 rpg) and Shand (10.9) are also producing.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Dist. Columbia: 9-2
Streak: Won 4
Last Meeting: Daemen 78, Dist. Columbia 65 | Feb. 4, 2018 | Washington, D.C.
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DID YOU KNOW?
* Since joining the ECC in 2013-14, Daemen is 41-9 in conference home games; only St. Thomas Aquinas (3) and Molloy (2) have multiple wins among visiting teams
* Daemen leads the ECC in scoring defense, allowing just 70.6 points per game
UP NEXT
Daemen's three-game homestand concludes Thursday, Jan. 31 when the Thruway Rivalry resumes with Roberts Wesleyan coming to Lumsden Gymnasium.
