ECC Coaches Pick Daemen First In Men's Basketball Preseason Poll

10/29/2019 4:20:00 AM

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

AMHERST, N.Y. - For the first time since joining the East Coast Conference, the league's coaches have predicted a first-place finish for the Daemen College men's basketball team. The Wildcats sit atop the 2019-20 ECC preseason poll which was released today from conference headquarters on Long Island.

Daemen amassed 80 total points in the poll, grabbing eight of nine first-place votes. St. Thomas Aquinas College picked up the remaining first-place vote, finishing with 72 points in the poll to sit at No. 2. The University of Bridgeport (64 points) and defending ECC tournament champion Molloy College (53 points) round out the top four teams.

Daemen is coming off its best season since gaining full NCAA Division II membership in 2015. The Wildcats posted a 24-6 overall record - the program's eighth consecutive season with at least 19 wins - and spent a combined 16 weeks ranked among the top-25 teams in the country between the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) national polls. A 16-2 mark in ECC games placed the Wildcats at the top of the standings and delivered the program's second ECC regular-season championship. After being upset in the semifinal round of the ECC Championships by fourth-seeded Bridgeport, Daemen went on to earn the program's first invitation to the NCAA Division II tournament. Their season came to an end in the opening round of the NCAA East Regional as the fell to fourth-seeded University of New Haven.

The expectations remain high in 2019-20 as the Wildcats bring back 10 players, including four starters. The group is led by 6-foot-9 redshirt-junior center Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) who averaged 20.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game last season en route to earning ECC and East Region Player of the Year honors. Sischo was named the ECC Preseason Player of the Year today, earning that accolade for the second straight season.

Breon Harris (Niagara Falls, N.Y.), Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y.) and Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y.) round out the Wildcats' returning starters. The trio, all seniors, holds a combined 240 games of experience, and all three have earned All-ECC honors in their careers. Since Harris was inserted into the starting lineup midway through the 2017-18 season, Daemen is 41-8.

The maestro in charge of it all is head coach Mike MacDonald who returns for his sixth season on the Daemen bench. Since taking the reins of the program, MacDonald has guided the Wildcats to a 105-43 record, amassing the second-most victories of any NCAA Division II program in New York State. The 2018-19 ECC Coach of the Year, MacDonald is among an elite fraternity of coaches to have achieved at least 100 career wins across all three NCAA divisions.

Daemen holds an 87-27 all-time record in ECC contests dating back to the 2013-14 season. Only St. Thomas Aquinas (89-24) holds more wins in ECC games during that time frame. The Wildcats have finished third or better in all six seasons since joining the league.

The Wildcats, who played exhibition contests at the University at Buffalo and Syracuse University last week, host Mohawk College (Ont.) in their final exhibition tune-up tonight. Daemen opens the regular season this weekend (Nov. 1-2) at the Small College Basketball National Hall of Fame Classic where they'll face defending national champion Northwest Missouri State University and Missouri Western State University.

EAST COAST CONFERENCE PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
1. DAEMEN (8) - 80
2. St. Thomas Aquinas (1) - 72
3. Bridgeport - 64
4. Molloy - 53
5. Dist. Columbia - 40
6. Roberts Wesleyan - 28
T7. New York Tech - 23
T7. Queens - 23
9. Mercy - 22

( ) denotes first-place votes

Daemen College features the only NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. 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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