Men's Basketball | 11/29/2019 1:00:00 PM

#13 / #8 DAEMEN WILDCATS (7-1, 0-0 ECC) vs. U. SCIENCES DEVILS (2-3, 0-0 CACC)
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30 | 3 PM
PHILADELPHIA, PA. | BOBBY MORGAN ARENA

JUMP BALL
The nationally-ranked Daemen Wildcats ride a seven-game winning streak into their first true road game of the season this Saturday as they trek to The City of Brotherly Love to face the U. Sciences Devils. Four of the Wildcats' recent wins have been by six points or less as they've made plays down the stretch in each. That was the case last Saturday when the Wildcats erased a seven-point deficit with under eight minutes to play in an 83-81 win over Wilmington at KeyBank Center. Andrew Sischo continues to lead the way as he's topped 20 points in seven of eight games this season, and has posted seven double-doubles. Daemen's winning streak has vaulted them into the top-15 of both national polls for Division II. They'll be facing U. Sciences for the first time since the 1999-2000 season when the school was referred to as Philadelphia Pharmacy. It also marks Daemen's first game in Philadelphia since a 68-59 loss to Holy Family on Nov. 22, 2014. The Wildcats are looking to snap a three-game slide in games played in the state of Pennsylvania. Their last win in The Keystone State came Nov. 23, 2016 at Edinboro (90-79). 

WHAT A RIDE
The 2018-19 season was one for the record books at Daemen as the Wildcats captured their second East Coast Conference regular season title, sat atop the regional rankings for much of the campaign, ascended into the top-25 national polls for the first time as an NCAA Division II member and garnered the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament bid. The Wildcats rattled off wins in 11 of their first 12 games, including a 78-72 defeat of previously unbeaten St. Anselm who came into the Jan. 2 contest ranked No. 4 in both Division II national polls. Daemen embarked on a 10-game winning streak beginning in mid-January, a stretch that vaulted them to the top of the regional poll and as high as No. 10 (D2SIDA) and No. 13 (NABC) in the top-25 national polls. It marked the Wildcats' longest winning streak since the 2013-14 season when they won 14 consecutive games. The Wildcats wrapped up the ECC regular season title with a 93-71 defeat of Bridgeport on March 3. They entered the ECC Championship tournament as the No. 1 seed, but were upset by fourth-seeded Bridgeport in game played at UB's Hubbell Gymnasium. Despite the conference tournament loss, Daemen was awarded an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, earning the No. 5 seed to the East Region Championship. They made their NCAA tourney debut March 16, but saw their season come to an end with a 72-67 loss to fourth-seeded New Haven. The team's 24 wins this season were the most since their transition to NCAA Division II.

RETURN OF THE MAC
Mike MacDonald returns to the bench for his sixth season as Daemen's head coach, and his 23rd overall as a collegiate head coach. Since beginning to roam the Daemen sidelines, MacDonald has led the Wildcats to a 112-44 overall record. The Wildcats have won at least 19 games in each of MacDonald's five seasons, and the team's 107 victories in that span are the second most among all NCAA Division II programs in New York State, as well as all East Coast Conference teams. He recorded the 100th win of his Daemen tenure last Feb. 10 against Queens, placing him in an elite fraternity of coaches that have achieved at least 100 wins in each of the NCAA's three divisions. He went on to be named the East Coast Conference, NABC District and Basketball Coaches Association of New York Division II Coach of the Year following the 2018-19 season. 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 368-270.

BECOMING THE NORM
Daemen's 108-63 win over LIU Post last Feb. 15 was their 20th of the 2018-19 season. It marked Daemen's sixth 20-win campaign in the last eight seasons. Daemen has not won less than 19 games in a season since the 2010-11 campaign. Finishing the year at 24-6, it marked the program's most in a season since going 27-6 during the 2012-13 campaign, a year before the Wildcats began play as members of the East Coast Conference. 

TUNE-UPS
In preparation for the 2019-20 regular season, Daemen played a trio of exhibition contests, including two against highly-touted Division I programs Buffalo and Syracuse. Despite having just seven days of practice under their belt, Daemen opened the brief exhibition season with a 111-73 loss against a Buffalo team that spent the majority of the 2018-19 season ranked among the top-25 teams in the country, finishing the year with a 32-4 overall record and a trip to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Less than 48 hours later the Wildcats made their first-ever appearance at the iconic Carrier Dome on the campus of SU, falling to the Orange and legendary head coach Jim Boeheim 90-71. It left as a decent a feeling as one can have following a 19-point defeat at the Wildcats played SU even (43-43) over the final 20 minutes. The exhibition slate wrapped up on Oct. 29 with Daemen blasting Mohawk (116-54) out of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association. Andrew Sischo led the Wildcats by averaging 18.3 points and 10.3 rebounds over the three contests. He put up 28 points and 12 rebounds against Buffalo, numbers that no player has achieved against the Bulls in the last three seasons, and followed up with another double-double (15 points, 12 rebounds) at Syracuse. Breon Harris netted a team-high 23 points at the Carrier Dome, and finished the exhibition slate averaging 10.7 points per game. Newcomer Joey Wallace also made his presence felt, averaging 10.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. 

SMALL COLLEGE BASKETBALL NATIONAL HALL OF FAME CLASSIC
Daemen opened the 2019-20 season in prestigious fashion as they were selected to take part in the Small College Basketball National Hall of Fame Classic held at the St. Joseph (Mo.) Civic Arena. In a battle of nationally-ranked teams, Daemen fell 85-65 in their season opener against No. 1 Northwest Missouri State. The Bearcats, who have won two of the last three national titles, extended their winning streak to 39 games, despite being outscored (55-54) over the middle 30 minutes of the contest. Daemen's Andrew Sischo impressed against the highly-touted Bearcats as he recorded the 26th double-double of his career, finishing with 24 points and 15 rebounds. The Wildcats regrouped for a come-from-behind win the following night against Missouri Western State, the quasi-tournament host playing less than 10 miles from their campus. A game-closing 15-6 run over the final 5:29 lifted the Wildcats past the Griffons. Newcomer Kyle Harris netted the go-ahead bucket at the 1:41 mark, part of his 11-point outing off the bench. 

ECC-CACC CHALLENGE DOMINANCE
Daemen continued its winning ways at the ECC-CACC Challenge, earning home victories over Felician (95-80) on Nov. 8, and Nyack (80-74) on Nov. 9. Both games featured come-from-behind efforts. The Wildcats erased a 17-point first-half deficit in the win over Felician. After trailing by 11 at halftime, Daemen erupted for 56 second-half points, outscoring the Golden Falcons by 26 in the period. Andrew Sischo (31 points, 19 rebounds) scored 22 second-half points to lead the surge. Sischo was at it again vs. Nyack, finishing with 34 points and 17 boards en route to tournament MVP honors. The Wildcats led for most of the game, but found themselves trailing by three late in the second half. An old-fashioned three-point play by Sischo sparked a decisive 11-2 run down the stretch that included back-to-back trifectas by Jay Sarkis. Sischo, an ECC-CACC Challenge all-tournament team selection for the third straight year, was joined on the all-tournament team by Sarkis and senior guard Breon Harris who collected his first career double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds) in the win over Nyack. 

HURST CURSE DASHED
Daemen exorcised some demons with a 67-65 defeat of Mercyhurst on Nov. 14. It marked the Wildcats' first win over Lakers since 2013, and just their second in the series overall. Andrew Sischo produced a double-double (22 points, 11 rebounds) and Joey Wallace put up 18 points, five boards, three assists and two steals to lead the way. The Wildcats and Lakers have met in seven successive seasons with five of those contests being decided by six points or less. 

TOPPLING THE TOPPERS
Daemen posted a wire-to-wire 98-83 win over nationally-ranked West Liberty on Nov. 16. The Hilltoppers came into the game ranked in the top-five of both national polls for Division II (No. 4 NABC; No. 3 D2SIDA), and have routinely been among the nation's highest scoring teams, including in 2018-19 when they ranked first in scoring (100.9 ppg). The Hilltoppers came in averaging 130.5 points per game following two lopsided wins over Mansfield and Shaw, but Daemen was the aggressor from the get-go and built an 18-point advantage late in the first half. West Liberty would cut the deficit to seven points several times in the second half, but Daemen charged back and eventually cruised to the 15-point win. Andrew Sischo was dominant inside (29 points on 12-of-13 shooting, 18 rebounds), and the Wildcats got additional scoring from Joey Wallace (19 points), Breon Harris (17), Kyle Harris (11) and Jeff Redband (10). 

DOWNTOWN DEBUT
Daemen's first-ever game at KeyBank Center in downtown Buffalo was a successful one on Nov. 23 as the Wildcats rallied for an 83-81 win over upset-minded Wilmington. After opening up an early nine-point lead, the tables turned and Daemen trailed by as many as seven points in the second half. Wilmington led for more than 22 minutes in the game, but a deep three-pointer by Breon Harris with 32 seconds remaining put Daemen ahead. Harris came up with a steal on Wilmington's final possession to help seal the deal. He finished with a season-high 21 points, and Andrew Sischo tossed in 24 points and eight rebounds as well. Joey Wallace keyed the comeback by shooting 10-for-11 from the free throw line in the second half. The game was played as a part of a doubleheader with Big 4 rivals Canisius and St. Bonaventure taking the floor afterwards. It marked the first doubleheader at Buffalo's largest indoor sporting venue invovling local teams since 2015. The 19,000-seat arena has been the site of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament six times since its opening in 1996. 

YOU CAN COME HOME AGAIN
Daemen's game at KeyBank Center was a return 14 years in the making for Daemen head coach Mike MacDonald. The longtime bench boss coached in more than 40 games at the downtown arena from 1996-2005 while working at Canisius (including stints as an assistant and head coach). It marked his first game coached in the building since a 79-59 loss to Rider in the 2005 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament (Mar. 5, 2005). MacDonald is the all-time leader for coaching wins at KeyBank Center. The Daemen win there over Wilmington extended his career record to 18-11 in the building, and was his first victory there since a 62-60 triumph over Marist on March 4, 2005.   

COMEBACK KIDS
Daemen is quickly developing a reputation as a team that won't be buried as six of their seven wins this season have featured second-half comebacks. Here is a summary of  deficits overcome this season:
vs. Missouri Western: 10 points (1st half); 5 points (under 7 minutes to play)
vs. Felician: 17 points (1st half); 11 points (halftime)
vs. Nyack: 3 points (under 3 minutes to play)
vs. Mercyhurst: 8 points (under 10 minutes to play)
vs. Le Moyne: 9 points (under 6 minutes to play)
vs. Wilmington: 7 points (under 8 minutes to play)

DEFENDING THE DEN
Daemen has posted 10 or more home wins seven times in the last eight seasons, including a 15-1 mark in 2018-19 that established a new benchmark for home-court wins in a single season. The Wildcats have won 29 of their last 31 home games dating back to the 2017-18 season, as well as their last 14 in a row. Daemen is also unbeaten in 15 straight non-conference home games. Since joining the ECC (2013-14 season), Daemen is 48-9 in home conference games (.842 winning percentage). Since the start of the 2011-12 season, Daemen is 102-14 at Lumsden Gymnasium (.879 winning percentage). Of those 14 losses, six have been decided by three points or fewer, including three by just a single point.  

NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
For the first time as a member of NCAA Division II, Daemen opened the season as a nationally-ranked team. The Wildcats were ranked in both preseason national polls for Division II (NABC poll No. 22; D2SIDA poll No. 18). The Wildcats have since risen to No. 13 in the NABC poll and No. 8 in the D2SIDA poll out earlier this week, marking their highest ascent in both polls. Daemen has been ranked in 10 successive NABC polls, and 12 of the last 13 D2SIDA polls dating back to last January. The Wildcats are also ranked No. 1 in the D2SIDA East Region media poll this week, a spot they've laid claim to in nine of the last 10 regional media polls dating back to last January. 

GREAT ECC-XPECTATIONS
For the first time since joining the East Coast Conference, the league's coaches have predicted a first-place finish for Daemen. The Wildcats sit atop the 2019-20 ECC preseason poll which was released in late October. 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 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. 

C-A-C-C YOU LATER
Since joining the ECC in 2013, Daemen has been dominant in games against regional foes from the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. The Wildcats are 16-3 against CACC opponents in the span, including a 15-2 mark since head coach Mike MacDonald took control in 2014. That includes three wins already this season as Daemen downed Felician and Nyack as part of the ECC-CACC Challenge, and Wilmington on Nov. 23 at KeyBank Center. Daemen brings a 12-game winning streak against CACC teams into Saturday's game vs. Wilmington. The Wildcats' last loss to a CACC team came Nov. 14, 2015 against Holy Family. 

CORE FOUR
Continuity has played a large role in Daemen's success over the last several seasons as the group of Andrew Sischo, Jeff Redband, Breon Harris and Jay Sarkis have been constants in the Wildcats' starting lineup. Since Dec. 31, 2017 (when Harris was inserted into the starting lineup for the first time), all four players have been in Daemen's starting lineup 41 out of possible 56 games. Daemen is 33-8 in those contests. The Wildcats are also 42-9 when at least three of the four are in the starting lineup. 

MAN IN THE MIDDLE
Redshirt-junior center Andrew Sischo headlines Daemen's returning players after earning East Coast Conference and Division II Conference Commissioner's Association East Region Player of the Year honors in 2018-19. A two-time first-team All-ECC selection, Sischo has been downright dominant in his career for the Wildcats. He has set new team benchmarks for points scored by a freshman (462) and sophomore (585), and is already one of only 10 players in program history with 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. Sischo recorded 17 double-doubles last season, ranking first among all ECC players and sixth nationally, while also becoming just the sixth player in team history to average a double-double (20.9 ppg, 10.1 rpg) for an entire season. In late October he was named the ECC Preseason Player of the Year, marking the second straight season that he's earned the accolade, and he's picked up right where he left off last season. Through eight games this year, Sischo is averaging monster numbers (25.3 ppg, 13.9 rpg, 1.8 bpg, 68.5% FG). He opened the season by posting seven straight double-doubles, and was named to the SCB National Hall of Fame Classic all-tournament team, MVP of the ECC-CACC Challenge, the ECC Defensive Player of the Week, a two-time ECC Player of the Week and a two-time U.S. Basketball Writers Association Men's Division II National Player of the Week. 

THREE-DICULOUS SHOOTING
Over the course of his career, forward Jeff Redband has established himself as one of the preeminent three-point shooters in the ECC, as well as among Daemen's all-time leaders. Redband is the first Daemen player with 60 or more three-pointers in three straight seasons since Brian Montanaro did so four straight times from 2002-06. A two-time All-ECC pick, including a second-team selection last season, Redband has appeared in all 96 games since the start of the 2016-17 season, making 93 starts and averaging 11.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. He ranks fourth in team history with 236 three-point field goals (one shy of Kharmen Wingard for third place), and he's made at least one trifecta in 39 of the last 42 games. Redband leads the team with 20 three-point field goals this season, and his producing 10.3 points per game. 

BREAKOUT BREON
Senior guard Breon Harris was inserted into the starting lineup midway through the 2017-18 season, and went on to help Daemen wins in 41 of their next 49 contests (through the end of the 2018-19 season). He's been a third-team All-ECC selection in each of the last two seasons, and has also earned ECC Championships all-tournament team honors twice in his career. Harris swiped 70 steals as a sophomore, the third-highest single-season total in team history and making him the first player with at least 70 since Russell John totaled 73 in 1990-91. He added 53 steals to his career total last season, becoming just the fifth player to lead the Wildcats in steals at least twice, and the first player with 50+ steals in consecutive seasons since Mark Coppola in 2011-12 and 2012-13. He was named to the ECC-CACC Challenge all-tournament team for the second straight year after averaging 14.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists in Daemen wins over Felician and Nyack. Those contributions included the first double-double of his career, as he totaled 11 points and a career-high 11 boards vs. Nyack. He's producing 12.1 points per game and leads the team in assists (21) and steals (13) this season. 

SHINING STAR-KIS
Redshirt-senior guard Jay Sarkis has been a fixture in the Daemen lineup since arriving on campus in 2015. Sarkis has appeared in 88 of a possible 97 games (excluding a redshirt season in 2016-17), while making 82 starts. He's recorded at least one three-pointer in 72 games, totaling 153 triples in his career. He's just the eighth player in program history with at least 150 three-point field goals. Sarkis contributed 8.2 points and a team-best 3.1 assists per game in 2018-19. His finest season came a year earlier when he put up career-highs in points (372), assists (106) and rebounds (86), and finished the season ranking among the ECC's top-five statistical leaders in minutes (3rd), minutes per game (5th), three-point field goals (4th), three-point shooting percentage (5th) and assists (3rd).

FRESH FACES
The Wildcats welcome 10 new players to the fold this season to round out a large 20-player roster. While some of the newcomers are expected to redshirt, several are expected to make immediate impacts. Redshirt-senior guard Joey Wallace is the most experienced of the bunch. The son of former Syracuse star and NBA veteran John Wallace, Joey Wallace comes to Daemen with 85 games of Division II experience under his belt across parts of four seasons playing for Southern Connecticut State. The Rochester native contributed 8.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game across his tenure there. Buffalo natives Donte' Williams and Kyle Harris are also proven college players. Williams, a 6'4" guard/forward, has one season of remaining eligibility following previous stops at Southeastern Iowa Community College and California University (Pa.). He averaged 10.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game for the Vulcans last season. Harris comes over after a prolific junior college career at Erie Community College where he played for head coach Alex Nwora, a Daemen graduate and inductee of the Daemen Hall of Fame. Harris brings a winning pedigree (47-17 record at ECC) and tremendous three-point shooting ability (166 three-pointers in the last two seasons) to the Wildcats. Big man Chris Luke (7'0", Jr., C) gives the Wildcats some depth at the center position and freshmen Keith Slack and Ryan Salzberg will compete for minutes.

U. SCIENCES SCOUTING REPORT 
U. Sciences is a member of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, and the Devils are led by veteran head coach David Pauley. Now in his 38th season with the program overall, Pauley has led the Devils to a 261-272 overall record since becoming head coach in 2000. The Devils have qualified for the CACC tournament 15 times during Pauley's tenure, and they've made one NCAA tournament berth (2015). The Devils posted an 11-17 overall record and an 8-11 mark in CACC play last season. They return 10 players, including three starters, from their 2018-19 team, and they've been picked tied for fourth in the CACC South Division preseason poll. Junior guard Paddy Casey headlines the U. Sciences returners after averaging 12.9 points (second on team) and a team-high 4.5 assists per game last season. The Devils have opened the season with two wins in their first five games. All three of their losses have come against East Coast Conference teams: 70-52 vs. St. Thomas Aquinas; 65-64 vs. District of Columbia; 70-56 vs. Bridgeport. Freshman forward Connor Murphy has made an immediate impact by leading the team in scoring (14.8 ppg) and rebounding (13.6 rpg). Murphy has posted four straight double-doubles, including a 20-point, 15-rebound performance in the loss to Bridgeport last Saturday. He ranks third in overall rebounding and first in defensive rebounding (10.0 def rpg) among the national leaders for Division II. Sophomore guard Sean Simon leads the team with 17 three-point field goals, and is averaging 13.2 points while coming off the bench in all five games thus far. Redshirt-sophomore guard Jordan White is averaging 13.0 points, and Casey is chipping in 9.6 points per contest.  

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. U. Sciences (formerly Philadelphia Pharmacy): 1-0
Streak: Won 1
Last Meeting: Daemen 68, Philadelphia Pharmacy 56 | Jan. 29, 2000 | at Amherst, N.Y.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats return to Lumsden Gymnasium to host a non-conference contest vs. Salem (W. Va.) on Wednesday, Dec. 4.