Sischo, MacDonald Earn NABC All-District Honors

3/25/2019 11:05:00 AM

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

AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen College redshirt sophomore center Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) has been named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District First Team, and head coach Mike MacDonald has been named the NABC District Coach of the Year. The announcement of NABC All-District Teams and Coach of the Year honorees was made today in a press release. Both awards are selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC in NCAA Division II.

Sischo was the unquestioned catalyst for Daemen this season, leading the Wildcats to a 24-6 overall record, a 16-2 East Coast Conference mark, the program's second ECC regular-season championship and first NCAA tournament berth. He appeared in 28 games while making 26 starts, and averaged team-highs of 20.9 points ad 10.1 rebounds per game. Sischo is the first Daemen player to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds per game since Gerald Beverly (20.0 ppg, 12.0 rpg) during the 2014-15 season. He finished the year with 585 points (eighth all-time) and 283 rebounds (ninth all-time), ranking in the top-10 in team history for a single season, and also the most ever by a Daemen sophomore.

Sischo shot 229-for-391 from the field this season, finishing first among the ECC leaders in field goal percentage (58.6). His 17 double-doubles are the most for a Daemen player since Beverly recorded 19 in 2014-15, and they rank sixth among the national leaders. Sischo also ranks 34th in scoring, 22ndin field goal percentage and 16th in rebounding among the NCAA Division II leaders.

The announcement today marks the second regional accolade for Sischo this season. He was previously named the East Region Player of the Year by the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA). Sischo also earned first-team All-ECC honors for the second straight season, and was named the ECC Player of the Year.

Sischo is joined on the NABC All-District First Team by Elijah Bailey (New Haven), Tim Guers (St. Anselm), Juvaris Hayes (Merrimack), Isaiah McLeod (Southern Connecticut State) and Ryan Richmond (Bentley). NABC All-District Second Team selections include DaQuaise Andrews (Southern New Hampshire), Kavione Green (Bloomfield), Bryan Griffin (Mercy), Jermaine Head (Wilmington) and Curtis Jenkins (Molloy).

MacDonald earns his second Coach of the Year distinction this season, and the eighth of his career. He was named the ECC Coach of the Year earlier this month, the first time he's grabbed those honors since taking the reins at Daemen five seasons ago. MacDonald's guidance helped vault the Wildcats into both NCAA Division II national polls for the first time in team history, ranking as hiigh as No. 10 in the D2SIDA poll and No. 13 in the NABC poll.

The veteran mentor earned a pair of milestone victories this season. His 350th career win came Jan. 18 at Mercy College, and he registered his 100th win at Daemen in an 89-63 defeat of Queens College on Feb. 10, placing him among an elite fraternity of coaches who have achieved at least 100 victories as a head coach in each of the NCAA's three divisions. Including prior head coaching stints at Canisius College (1997-2006) and Medaille College (2006-14), MacDonald holds a career coaching record of 361-269 across 22 seasons. Since taking over at Daemen, MacDonald has led the Wildcats to a 105-43 record; the team's 105 wins in the span are second among all East Coast Conference and New York State Division II teams.

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