GAME INFORMATION & LINKS
GAME #12: Daemen Wildcats (10-1, 3-0 ECC) vs. Dallas Baptist Patriots (9-4, 2-0 HC)
Friday, Jan. 4 | 5 p.m. | Austin, Texas | Recreation & Convocation Center
Live Stats
Watch Live: Heartland Conference Digital Network
Game Day
GAME #13: Daemen Wildcats (10-1, 3-0 ECC) vs. #7/#22 Saint Edward's Hilltoppers (12-1, 2-0 HC)
Sunday, Jan. 6 | 12 p.m. | Austin, Texas | Recreation & Convocation Center
Live Stats
Watch Live: Heartland Conference Digital Network
JUMP BALL
Fresh off an upset of nationally-ranked Saint Anselm, the Daemen men's basketball team takes the East Region's longest active winning streak into a two-game trip to The Lone Star State. The Wildcats have won eight straight games, and 27 of their last 30 dating back to last season, including Wednesday's 78-72 defeat of the Hawks who were ranked fourth in both the NABC and D2SIDA national polls for Division II. The road doesn't get much easier as they'll face two of the top programs from the Heartland Conference this weekend. First is a neutral site game against a Dallas Baptist team that recently upset No. 11 Southern Nazarene. The Patriots are off to a 9-4 start this season, after posting a 26-6 mark in 2017-18. The trip concludes with a true road game against Saint Edward's which is ranked seventh in the D2SIDA national poll and 22nd in the NABC national poll. The Hilltoppers have won six straight games, and are off to a 12-1 start this season.
FAST START
At 10-1, Daemen off to its best start since the 2012-13 season when they won eight of their first 10 outings. The Wildcats played an independent schedule that season as they began their transition to NCAA Division II, finishing the season with a school-record 27 wins. Daemen's previous best start during its NCAA Division II era (from 2013-14 on) came during the 2014-15 campaign when they started 6-3. Presently, Daemen is one of only four teams in the East Region with one or fewer losses (also: St. Anselm [10-1], Bentley [12-1], St. Thomas Aquinas [11-1]).
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 91-38 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 347-264.
POLLS, POLLS, POLLS
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. The Wildcats also received votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) preseason national polls. Daemen received seven votes in the latest NABC national poll released on Dec. 21.
MOVIN' ON UP
Daemen has moved up to No. 4 in the latest D2SIDA East Region media poll which was released Dec. 20. It's the second straight week that Daemen has been ranked fourth. The poll includes teams from the East Coast Conference, Northeast-10 Conference and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. The Wildcats debuted in the poll at a tie for third on Nov. 12, the team's highest-ever regional ranking at the Division II level. Following a road loss at Mercyhurst on Nov. 14, the Wildcats dropped to seventh, but have moved up one spot in three successive weeks.
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 this season, 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 59.7 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 - 6th; national - 32nd), rebounding (ECC, region - 1st; national - 11th) and double-doubles (ECC, region - 2nd; national - 10th).
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 20-7 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 a recent 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 14.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.2 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 15 straight games. He is off to a fast start this season, averaging 13.9 points per game while shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 47.8 percent from three-point range. He ranks among the ECC leaders in field goal percentage (13th), three-point field goals (2nd) and three-point field goal percentage (2nd). 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.
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 28 of the last 30 games (50 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 has heated up of late, 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 13.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.9 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 leading the ECC in field goal percentage (65.1%) and producing 9.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Lee Yaw has reached double-figure scoring in five of the last seven 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 Saturday 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, 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 a season-high 13 points in the upset victory over St. Anselm on Jan. 2. 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 94 of a possible 98 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 starting lineup Saturday vs. St. Michael's.
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 seven home wins, extending their home-court winning streak to 11 in a row. Since the start of the 2011-12 season, Daemen is 89-13 at Lumsden Gymnasium (.873 winning percentage).
DALLAS BAPTIST SCOUTING REPORT
Dallas Baptist is a member of the Heartland Conference, and the Patriots are led by veteran head coach Dr. Blake Flickner. Now in his 14th season with the program, Dr. Flickner has led the Patriots to a 235-158 record and three NCAA tournament appearances. The Patriots won a team-record 26 games last season and captured their second straight Heartland Conference regular season title. They went on to win their conference tournament, and finished the season ranked No. 16 in the NABC national poll. Seven players return to the fold, led by sophomore guard Chandler Jacobs who earned HC Freshman of the Year and second team All-HC honors last season. The Patriots have opened the season with nine wins in their first 13 outings, including an upset of No. 11 Southern Nazarene last month at the Hoops in Hawaii Division II Power Invitational. DBU returned from the NCAA-mandated holiday last Saturday with a 69-62 win over Cameron. The Patriots are averaging 80.5 points per game, and boast nine players averaging at least seven points per game. That group is led by redshirt senior forward J.T. Harris who is producing 13.2 points per outing. Jonathyn Washington (12.7 ppg), Jacobs (11.6 ppg) and Jordan Manse (11.1 ppg) are also producing double-figure scoring for DBU.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Dallas Baptist: 0-0
Streak: N/A
Last Meeting: N/A
ST. EDWARD'S SCOUTING REPORT
St. Edward's is a member of the Heartland Conference, and the Hilltoppers are led by veteran head coach Andre Cook. Cook, an upstate New York native, has led the Hilltoppers to 147 wins over his nine-year tenure, and boasts a career record of 266-165 in 14 seasons as a collegiate head coach. The Hilltoppers are presently ranked seventh in the D2SIDA national poll, and 22nd in the NABC national poll. Ten players return from their 2017-18 team that went 18-12 overall. SEU has won six straight games, including a 116-57 rout of Paul Quinn College earlier this week. Their only setback so far this season was a 69-58 loss at home to Texas A&M-Kingsville back on Nov. 24. The Hilltoppers are averaging 91.2 points per game, 15th-best in the nation this season. Four players are averaging more than 10 points per game, led by Division I transfer Ashton Spears (17.4 ppg) who began his career at Jacksonville State. Corey Shervill (13.0 ppg), Dorian Lopez (7.7 rpg) and August Haas (10.8 ppg) have also produced.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. St. Edward's: 1-0
Streak: Won 1
Last Meeting: Daemen 74, St. Edward's 64 | Nov. 19, 2016 | Amherst, N.Y.
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UP NEXT
Daemen returns to East Coast Conference play when Molloy visits Lumsden Gymnasium on Jan. 11.
