#16 / #15 DAEMEN WILDCATS (12-2, 2-1 ECC) vs. ST. ANSELM HAWKS (6-4, 3-1 NE-10)
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1
STOUTENBURGH GYMNASIUM (MANCHESTER, N.H.) - 1:00 PM

#16 / #15 DAEMEN WILDCATS vs. ST. MICHAEL'S PURPLE KNIGHTS (3-7, 0-4 NE-10)
THURSDAY, JANUARY 2
VINCENT C. ROSS SPORTS CENTER (COLCHESTER, VT.) - 1:00 PM

#16 / #15 DAEMEN WILDCATS vs. STONEHILL SKYHAWKS (7-5, 4-2 NE-10)
SATURDAY, JANUARY 4
MERKERT GYMNASIUM (NORTH EASTON, MASS.) - 12:00 PM

FASTBREAK POINTS: 10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE GAME (VS. ST. ANSELM)
1. Daemen returns from the NCAA-mandated holiday break by facing defending East Region champion St. Anselm in a New Year's Day matinee. It's the first of three games in the first four days of January for the Wildcats who will also visit St. Michael's (Jan. 2) and Stonehill (Jan. 4) on this tour of New England.   
2. The Wildcats have been idle since Dec. 19 when they scored a 96-88 road win at St. Rose - their 12th win in their last 13 games.  
3. St. Anselm comes in at 6-4 this season, but looking to rebound after going just 1-3 during the month of December. The Hawks' lone win of the month was a 71-70 defeat of Jefferson on Dec. 15. They've been idle since an 88-79 loss to Bridgeport on Dec. 18 which snapped the Hawks' seven-game home winning streak. St. Anselm has gone 39-4 at home since mid-January of 2017.     
4. The Wildcats and Hawks will be meeting for the second straight season. The teams met for the first time ever last January in a game dubbed the regional "Game of the Year" by the experts from d2easthoops.org. Daemen emerged with a 78-72 win at Lumsden Gymnasium, handing the Hawks - then ranked No. 4 in both Division II national polls - their first loss of the 2018-19 season.       
5. Daemen is a top-20 ranked team in both Division II national polls. After climbing as high as No. 8 in both the NABC and D2SIDA national polls, the Wildcats are presently ranked 19th in the Division II coaches poll (NABC) and 15th in the eyes of Division II sports information directors (D2SIDA).
6. Andrew Sischo claimed his fifth ECC Player of the Week honor this season (and the 11th of his career) following a 34-point, seven-rebound, four-steal outing in Daemen's pre-Christmas win over St. Rose. Sischo leads all of Division II in rebounding (13.1 rpg), double-doubles (11) and made field goals (146), and also ranks fifth nationally in scoring (26.4 ppg). He's made at least 12 field goals in five straight games, and averaged 30.2 points in five December games. 
7. Jeff Redband has made at least one three-pointer in 45 of the last 48 games, and is coming off a 5-for-7 showing from downtown in Daemen's win over St. Rose. It marked the 16th game in his career with at least five three-point field goals. He ranks third in program history with 257 three-pointers, including 41 this season which ranks second in the ECC and 14th nationally.
8. After missing three games from Nov. 30 to Dec. 7, Breon Harris is shooting 54 percent from the field and 46 percent from three-point range, and averaging 16.3 points and 2.0 steals over the last three games.
9. St. Anselm will be the second of four straight Northeast-10 Conference opponents to be faced by Daemen. The Wildcats are 7-3 against NE-10 opponents under head coach Mike MacDonald, with all 10 matchups coming since the start of the 2016-17 season. Daemen has won five of their last six against NE-10 opponents, including wins over Le Moyne and St. Rose this season.  
10. St. Anselm is the fifth opponent on Daemen's schedule that reached the "Sweet 16" round of last season's NCAA Division II tournament. The Wildcats are 2-2 in those contests thus far, earning wins over Mercyhurst and West Liberty, while suffering losses to Northwest Missouri State and St. Thomas Aquinas.    

ST. ANSELM SCOUTING REPORT

• St. Anselm is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference, and the Hawks are led by one of the region's longest tenured coaches, Keith Dickson. Now in his 34th season at the helm, Dickson has been a five-time NE-10 Coach of the Year recipient, and he stands one win shy of 650 for his career.
• The Hawks are the defending champions of the NCAA Division II East Region. Entering the NCAA tournament as the region's No. 1 seed, St. Anselm defeated eighth-seeded Molloy, fourth-seeded New Haven and sixth-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas en route to the second regional title in program history. They went on to advance to the national semifinals where they were upended by eventual national champion Northwest Missouri State. St. Anselm completed the 2018-19 season with a 26-6 overall record. 
• St. Anselm returns 12 players, including three starters, from their regional championship team. The two departed starters - guards Tim Guers and Cody Ball - were each All-NE-10 selections last winter. Guers was a two-time NE-10 Player of the Year recipient.
• Junior forward Chris Paul, an honorable mention All-NE-10 pick, headlines the team's returners. Paul leads St. Anselm's five double-figure scorers by averaging 18.2 points per game, and also leads the team in rebounding (7.5 rpg). He recently became the 53rd player in team history to reach 1,000 career points.
• Additional production is coming from senior guard Danny Evans (14.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg), sophomore guard Miles Tention (13.7 ppg, 4.3 apg), freshman guard Tyler Arbuckle (13.7 ppg) and junior forward Gustav Suhr-Jessen (10.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg).
• The Hawks opened the season ranked in both national polls: NABC No. 21; D2SIDA No. 12. They are currently receiving votes in the NABC national poll, and are ranked No. 7 in the D2SIDA East Region media poll.
• After going 5-1 in November, the Hawks went just 1-3 in December. They are coming off an  88-79 loss to Bridgeport on Dec. 18. That loss snapped their seven-game home winning streak. St. Anselm has won 39 of their last 43 home games dating back to mid-January of 2017.

SERIES HISTORY VS. ST. ANSELM
All-Time Series: Daemen 1-0
At St. Anselm: 0-0
Current Streak: Daemen won 1
Last Meeting: Daemen 78, St. Anselm 72 | Jan. 2, 2019 | at Amherst, N.Y. 

ST. MICHAEL'S SCOUTING REPORT

• St. Michael's is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference, and the Purple Knights are led by first-year head coach Eric Eaton. Coach Eaton has assumed control following a long history as a Division I assistant with stops at Iona, Quinnipiac, Albany and Holy Cross. 
• The Purple Knights were picked seventh in the NE-10 Northeast Division preseason coaches' poll, and have opened the season with three wins in their first 10 contests. After opening the season with wins over Caldwell and New York Tech, the Purple Knights are just 1-7 in their last eight games. Thursday's game against Daemen is their first since a 91-76 conference loss to Assumption on Dec. 18. 
• St. Michael's returns eight players, including two starters, from their 2018-19 team that went 7-19 overall and 4-17 in NE-10 play. The Purple Knights are seeking their first winning season since 2014-15 when they went 18-11. 
• Three players are producing double-figure scoring, led by senior guard Jordan Guzman (15.3 ppg). He's been one of the top three-point shooters in the NE-10 this season, ranking seventh in three-point field goals (31) while shooting 47.7 percent from downtown. Guzman shot 9-for-10 from three-point range and scored a season-high 31 points in SMC's 114-88 season-opening win over Caldwell. 
• Freshman forward Kasai Brown (14.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg) and senior forward Eli DiGrande (12.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg) are also scoring in double figures, as well as being the team's top two rebounders. 
• Additional production is coming from junior forward Walker Storey (8.6 ppg) and sophomore guard Jontai Williams (8.2 ppg). 
• The Purple Knights rank 11th in the NE-10 in field goal percentage defense (45.1), but lead the league in blocks per game (4.2). They also rank second in steals per game (8.2). 

SERIES HISTORY VS. ST. MICHAEL'S
All-Time Series: Daemen 2-1
At St. Michael's: St. Michael's 1-0
Current Streak: Daemen won 1
Last Meeting: Daemen 64, St. Michael's 55 | Dec. 29, 2018 | at Amherst, N.Y. 


STONEHILL SCOUTING REPORT

• Stonehill is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference, and the Skyhawks are led by alumnus Chris Kraus. The 2006 Stonehill graduate is now in his sixth season at the helm. He's guided Stonehill to a 90-66 overall record to date, a pair of NCAA tournament berths and the 2016 East Region championship.  
• Kraus has a veteran roster to work with this season as 13 of the team's 15 players are returners. That group includes four returning starters, three of whom averaged at least 10 points per game last season: Will Moreton (18.2 ppg), Brandon Twitty (14.3 ppg) and Owen Chose (12.6 ppg). 
• The lone newcomers are Division I transfers Isaiah Burnett and Monty Urmilevicius. Burnett appeared in 25 games last season for Navy, and Urmilevicius was a 33-game participant over two seasons at Bryant. 
• Moreton, 6-foot-6 senior guard, is again leading the way, averaging 17.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. He's scored in double figures 11 times, including a season-high 25 in a win over Franklin Pierce on Dec. 4. He's also posted six double-doubles. 
• Twitty and Chose are both producing 13.8 points per game, and sophomore forward Andrew Sims is also contributing (10.6 ppg). 
• The Skyhawks have been idle since a 63-61 loss to Caldwell, a result that snapped their four-game winning streak. Stonehill is 2-1 this season against teams from the East Coast Conference, owning wins over District of Columbia (61-55) and Molloy (80-66), and a loss to St. Thomas Aquinas (85-70). 
• Stonehill was picked second in the NE-10 Northeast Division preseason coaches poll. They've won three straight and five of their last six home games. 

SERIES HISTORY VS. STONEHILL
All-Time Series: 0-0
At Stonehill: 0-0
Current Streak: N/A
Last Meeting: N/A

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 117-45 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 373-271.

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.

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. 

GOING STREAKING
Daemen has embarked on four winning streaks of at least nine games since the start of the 2018-19 season. Most recently, the Wildcats put together an 11-game winning streak, covering games played Nov. 2 through Dec. 13. The streak came to an end Dec. 15 following a seven-point loss to arch-nemesis St. Thomas Aquinas. The recent streak ranks as the longest of Daemen's NCAA Division II era (2015-present), and it also ranked as the longest streak in Division II and the second-longest across all NCAA divisions at the time it was broken.

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 31 of their last 33 home games dating back to the 2017-18 season, as well as their last 16 in a row - their longest streak at home since winning 44 straight from 2011-15. Daemen is also unbeaten in 16 straight non-conference home games. Since joining the ECC (2013-14 season), Daemen is 49-9 in home conference games (.844 winning percentage). Since the start of the 2011-12 season, Daemen is 104-14 at home (.881 winning percentage). Of those 14 losses, six have been decided by three points or fewer, including three by just a single point. Daemen's current home-court winning streak ranks as the fifth-longest active streak among all Division II teams....
1. West Texas A&M: 34
T2. Missouri Southern State: 22
T2. Northwest Missouri State: 22
4. St. Edward's 21
T5. DAEMEN: 16
T5. Wisconsin-Parkside: 16
T5. Virginia State: 16

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), and have since risen as high as No. 8 in the NABC and D2SIDA polls, marking their highest ascent in both. The Wildcats are presently ranked in the top-20 of each: No. 19 NABC, No 15 D2SIDA. Daemen has been ranked in 13 successive NABC polls, and 15 of the last 16 D2SIDA polls dating back to last January. The Wildcats are also ranked No. 2 in the D2SIDA East Region media poll this week. 

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. 

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. Six of their 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)

REPRESSING THE REDHAWKS
Daemen has won 18 straight (and 25 of the last 26) meetings with Roberts Wesleyan. It ranks as Daemen's longest active winning streak against any single opponent, and one of three that have reached double figures (also 13 straight vs. Mercy, 16 straight vs. Houghton). Eleven of the last 18 meetings have been decided by nine points or fewer. The closest margin was a 98-96 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. 

TOURNAMENT TESTED
St. Anselm is the sixth opponent on Daemen's schedule that advanced to the NCAA tournament last season, the fifth that reached at least the Sweet 16 round, the third that reached the Elite 8 and the second the made it as far as the Final 4. The Wildcats are 3-2 against NCAA tournament teams so far this season, earning wins over Mercyhurst, West Liberty and Le Moyne. Losses have come against defending national champion Northwest Missouri State and East Region finalist St. Thomas Aquinas.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
Daemen allowed just 61.3 points per game in decisive wins over U. Sciences (83-57), Salem (89-59), Roberts Wesleyan (96-70) and Mercy (103-59). The Wildcats limited those opponents to just 39 percent shooting overall (87-for-224) and a chilly 28 percent from three-point range (26-for-92). They held back-to-back opponents under 60 points for the first time since wins over St. Michael's (64-55) and St. Rose (74-55) in late December of 2018. Daemen recorded a season-high 11 steals in the win over U. Sciences, and added 10 more thefts against Salem - their first consecutive games with 10+ steals since a three-game string in January of 2014 (vs. Dominican, District of Columbia, Dowling). For the season, Daemen is allowing 72.5 points per game, second-best among all ECC teams.

LET IT FLY
After making a season-low five three-pointers in a 67-65 win over Mercyhurst on Nov. 14, Daemen is averaging 10.8 made threes in the nine games since. The Wildcats have hit 10+ threes in six of those games, including five straight from Nov. 16 to Dec. 4. It's the first such five-game streak in recent history. You have to go back to the final two games of the 2014-15 season and the first two of 2015-16 to find a consecutive four-game stretch where the Wildcats hit 10 or more threes. The Wildcats equaled their season-high with 14 three-pointers in a road win at Mercy on Dec. 13, and they lead the ECC in averaging 9.9 made threes per game this season.  

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 also became 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 for the second straight season. Through 14 games this year, Sischo is averaging monster numbers (26.4 ppg, 13.1 rpg, 1.3 bpg, 66.7% FG). He's posted 12 20-point games, and has topped 30 points five times. He leads the country in rebounding, double-doubles and made field goals, and also ranks fifth in scoring and ninth in field goal percentage. Already this season, he's been named to the SCB National Hall of Fame Classic all-tournament team, MVP of the ECC-CACC Challenge, a two-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week, a five-time ECC Player of the Week and a two-time U.S. Basketball Writers Association Men's Division II National Player of the Week.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE YOUR DELIGHTMENT
Andrew Sischo has been a double-double machine this season, racking up 11 of them through the Wildcats' first 14 games, a total that presently leads the country. He opened the season with seven consecutive double-doubles, and has four this season that include 30-point outputs. Sischo, who ranked sixth nationally with 17 double-doubles last season, has totaled 36 of them in 72 career games - the most for a Daemen player since Gerald Beverly totaled 46 in his career spanning 2011-15. 

CLIMBING THE LADDER
With each passing game, Andrew Sischo continues to climb among Daemen's all-time statistical leaders. In 72 career games, Sischo has totaled 1,416 points and 727 rebounds. He stands as one of only five players in program history with at least 1,400 points and 700 rebounds. He ranks eighth all-time in scoring, fifth in career rebounding and sixth in made field goals (570), and is also one blocked shot shy of moving into the top-10 in that category.

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 102 games since the start of the 2016-17 season, making 99 starts and helping Daemen to a 77-25 record. He has totaled 1,183 points, 469 rebounds, 257 three-point field goals and 81 blocks in his career. He recently moved past Kharmen Wingard for third place on Daemen's all-time three-point field goals list, and he stands 31 shy of Montanaro's program record (288). He also ranks 14th in points and sixth in blocks among Daemen's all-time leaders. Redband has made at least one three-pointer in 45 of the last 48 games, and has made five or more 16 times in his career. He leads the team with 41 three-pointers (ranks 14th nationally) this season, and is producing 12.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.0 blocks and 1.0 steals 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 topped 20 points twice this season, including Nov. 23 vs. Wilmington when he hit the go-ahead three-pointer with just over 30 seconds remaining. He's producing 13.4 points per game and leads the team in steals (19) 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 94 of a possible 103 games (excluding a redshirt season in 2016-17), while making 88 starts. He's recorded at least one three-pointer in 78 games, totaling 163 triples in his career (8th in team history). 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). Sarkis dished out a season-high eight assists in Daemen's 89-59 win over Salem on Dec. 4. He has totaled 894 points and 282 assists in his career. He recently moved past Monty Montgomery for 10th place on Daemen's career assists list. Sarkis is seeing 32.0 minutes per game, and producing 7.3 points and 3.1 assists per outing this season. 

WALK WITH WALLACE
Redshirt senior wing Joey Wallace is the most experienced of Daemen's 10 newcomers this season. The son of former Syracuse star and NBA veteran John Wallace, Joey Wallace came 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. He's made an immediate impact here with the Wildcats, starting the first 13 contests and producing 9.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and a team-high 3.2 assists per game. He has had five games with 10+ points, including a season-high 19 vs. nationally-ranked West Liberty on Nov. 16. He's also making his mark at the defensive end, routinely matching up with the opposition's top perimeter player. Wallace has twice been named the ECC Defensive Player of the Week this season. 

FRESH FACES
The Wildcats welcome 10 new players to the fold this season to round out a large 20-player roster. Buffalo natives Donte' Williams and Kyle Harris are 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. Freshmen Keith Slack and Ryan Salzberg are expected to compete for minutes in the backcourt.

NEXT JUMP BALL
Following this week's road trip, the Wildcats return to East Coast Conference play when they host Queens on Friday, Jan. 10.