Wildcats Rise To #17 In NABC National Poll

11/19/2019 2:45:00 PM

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

AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen College is ranked No. 17 in the first regular season edition of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) top-25 poll released today. The Wildcats move up five spots after opening the year at No. 22 - the first time in the program's NCAA Division II era that they've been nationally-ranked to start a season.

Daemen is off to a 5-1 start this season, and the Wildcats take a five-game winning streak into tonight's contest against regional rival Le Moyne College (7 p.m., Lumsden Gymnasium). The Wildcats extended their winning streak last week by knocking off both of the 2019 Atlantic Region finalists in successive games. Daemen dropped defending Atlantic Region champion Mercyhurst University 67-65 last Thursday, and followed up with a 98-83 throttling of nationally-ranked West Liberty University on Saturday. The Hilltoppers came into the contest ranked No. 4 in the NABC preseason poll. Daemen has now defeated a top-five ranked team in each of the last two seasons.

The recent wins also extended a pair of home-court winning streaks. Daemen is unbeaten in 12 straight games at Lumsden Gymnasium, and 13 straight non-conference home tilts.

Redshirt-junior center Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) has led the way. The reigning East Coast Conference Player of the Year has posted double-doubles in all six contests this season, and is averaging 25.2 points, 15.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 69 percent from the field. He has twice been named the ECC Player of the Week, and has also earned a National Player of the Week selection from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. The Wildcats are also getting double-figure scoring from Joey Wallce (Rochester, N.Y.) (12.2 ppg), Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y.) (10.0 ppg) and Breon Harris (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) (10.0 ppg).

Daemen, which went 24-6 last season, has now been ranked in nine consecutive NABC polls. The Wildcats closed the 2018-19 season at No. 22.

The Wildcats will take the floor tonight (Nov. 19) against Le Moyne, and will follow with the program's first-ever contest at KeyBank Center in downtown Buffalo this weekend. The Wildcats will welcome Wilmington University to the downtown arena for a 12 p.m. tip-off, followed by the Canisius College vs. St. Bonaventure University men's basketball game at 2:30.

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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